Norman McLaren
Archives
NFB Archives hold numerous items, documents and reproductions of documents related to the work of Norman McLaren. This section features a representative selection of texts, artwork, photos and objects from the McLaren collection.
Explore McLaren archives
Information Sheet : Hen Hop. - 1942. - One-sheet : 1 page : 28 x 21.5 cm
One-sheet for the film Hen Hop, which Norman McLaren made in 1942. The document briefly introduces the film, the themes...
Dope Sheet for Une Perdriole. - ca1946. - Dope sheets : 14 pages : 28 x 21.5 cm
Cut-out technique for the animated film La Perdriole (never completed). Working from a pre-recorded song score, McLaren calculated the time...
A Chairy Tale : shooting script. - 1951. - Technical document : 4 pages : 35 x 30 cm
Technical document for the film A Chairy Tale, directed by Norman McLaren and Claude Jutra. The document is a shooting...
A Brief Summary of the Early History of Animated Sound on Film. / by Norman McLaren. - 1952. - 4 pages : 28 x 21.5 cm
A text written by Norman McLaren that paints the broad outline of the history of synthetic music on film stock...
Neighbors : An Academy Award Film. - 1952. - One-sheet : 1 page : 28 x 21.5 cm
One-sheet for the Oscar® winning film Neighbours/Voisins, which Norman McLaren made in 1952. The document briefly introduces the film, the...
Feuille d'information : Voisins. - 1952. - One-sheet : 1 page : 28 x 21.5 cm.
One-sheet for the film Neighbours/Voisins, which Norman McLaren made in 1952. The document briefly introduces the film, the themes it...
Film Information Bulletin : Blinkity Blank. - 1955. - One-sheet : 1 page : 28 x 21.5 cm
One-sheet for the film Blinkity Blank, which Norman McLaren made in 1955. The document briefly introduces the film, the themes...
A Chairy Tale. - 1957. - One-sheet : 1 page : 28 x 21.5 cm
One-sheet for the film A Chairy Tale, which Norman McLaren and Claude Jutra made in 1957. The document briefly introduces...
Ciné-fiche : Il était une chaise. - 1957. - One-sheet : 1 page : 28 x 21.5 cm
One-sheet for the film Il était une chaise, French version of the film A Chairy Tale, which Norman McLaren and...
Le Merle Bgd Reshoot #1. - ca1958. - Shooting Notes: 2 pages : 35.5 x 21.5 cm
Technical documents for the film Le merle, directed by Norman McLaren in 1958, giving instructions for background shots using the...
Film Information Bulletin : Le merle. - 1958. - One-sheet : 1 page : 28 x 21.5 cm
One-sheet for the film Le merle, which Norman McLaren made in 1958. The document briefly introduces the film, the themes...
Short and Suite. - 1959. - One-sheet : 1 page : 28 x 21.5 cm
One-sheet for the film Short and Suite, which Norman McLaren made in 1959. The document briefly introduces the film, the...
Cameraless Animation: A technique developed at the National Film Board of Canada by Norman McLaren. / by Norman McLaren and the Information and Publicity Department of the National Film Board. - 1959. - 12 pages : 21.5 x 14 cm
Booklet on the cameraless animation techniques perfected at the National Film Board of Canada. The text is in two parts:...
Opening Speech : McLaren. - 1961. - One-sheet : 1 page : 28 x 21.5 cm
One-sheet for the film Opening Speech: McLaren/Discours de bienvenue de Norman McLaren, which Norman McLaren made in 1961. The document...
Mosaic - Rhythm Chart. - 1964. - Score : 6 sheets : 24 x 30 cm
Document presenting the rhythmic sequence that Norman McLaren developed for his film Mosaic/Mosaïque (1965), produced in collaboration with Evelyn Lambart....
Canon. - 1964. - One-sheet : 2 pages (with flap) : 28 x 21.5 cm
One-sheet for the film Canon, made in 1964 by Norman McLaren and Grant Munro. The document briefly introduces the film,...
Mosaic. - 1965. - One-sheet : 1 page : 28 x 21.5 cm
One-sheet for the film Mosaic/Mosaïque, which Norman McLaren and Evelyn Lambart made in 1965. The document briefly introduces the film,...
Spheres. - 1969. - One-sheet : 1 page : 28 x 21.5 cm
One-sheet for the film Spheres/Sphères, which Norman McLaren and René Jodoin made in 1969. The document briefly introduces the film,...
Ballet Adagio. - 1971. - One-sheet : 2 pages : 28 x 21.5 cm
One-sheet for the film Ballet Adagio, which Norman McLaren made in 1971. The document briefly introduces the film, the themes...
Letter from François Truffaut. - 1973. - 2 handwritten pages.
Reproduction of a letter dated October 18, 1973 from filmmaker François Truffaut addressed to Norman McLaren. The document is evidence...
Statement on my own work. / by Norman McLaren. - 1974. - 1 page : 33 x 21.5 cm
Text written by Norman McLaren in which he touches on the key themes in his work. The writer mentions his...
Free Dance 3-Part Canon. - 1978. - Technical document : 14 pages : 35.5 x 21.5 cm
Reproduction of a working document giving directions for shooting tests for various scenes in the film Narcissus/Narcisse directed by Norman...
Part VII : Methods and materials of moving & changing. - ca1978. - 12 sheets : 35 x 21 cm
Document prepared by Norman McLaren explaining different ways of animating an object frame by frame, i.e. building a sequence of...
Narcisse. - 1983. - One-sheet : 2 pages : 28 x 21.5 cm
One-sheet for the film Narcisse/Narcissus, which Norman McLaren made in 1983. The document briefly introduces the film, the themes it...
Technical Notes / by Norman McLaren. - 1933-1984. - 98 pages : 28 x 21,5 cm.
Throughout his career, McLaren fielded many inquiries about his films and techniques, so he got into the habit of writing...
Cubes of 0 to 6 dimensions. - N.d. - Drawing : pen and ink : 26 x 20 cm
A Norman McLaren drawing representing cubes of zero to six dimensions. McLaren drew inspiration from the tesseract (four-dimensional cube) to...
Prizes and awards. - 1950-1982. - 25 documents
A selection of prizes and honours awarded to Norman McLaren - evidence of his international acclaim. The documents are in different...
Board for Drawing on Film. - 1944. - Wood, metal, flat polished glass : 65 x 32 x 85 cm
A drawing board designed and built by Norman McLaren for the making of cameraless animated films. The board has a...
Cut-Out Numbers. - 1955. - Box : cardboard : 20 x 13 x 26 cm. - 97 envelopes : 17 x 11.5 cm. - Numbers : white paper
Box containing 97 envelopes, each holding several white paper cut-outs used in the unfinished film One, Two, Three. The envelopes...
1984 Genie Awards. - 1984. - Statuette : gold plate and marble : 36 x 7.5 x 7.5 cm
Prize awarded to Norman McLaren in 1984 by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to mark the filmmaker's career....
Chair. - ca1955. - Wood : 75 x 43 x 43 cm
One of the chairs used for the filming of A Chairy Tale, directed by Norman McLaren and Claude Jutra in...
Tesseract. - ca1965. - Metal : 70 x 42.5 x 94.5 cm
Hanging metal mobile representing a four-dimensional cube. "What exactly is a 4-D cube, or tesseract? What a point is to a...
Drawing Machine. - ca1960. - Steel, cork, flocked paper : 90 x 135 x 90 cm
Drawing machine used in the making of cameraless animation films. A prism and mirror are set up to reflect a...
Sound/Image Editor. - ca1955. - Metal : 142 x 64 x 80 cm
Moviola-brand editing machine used by Norman McLaren, in particular to coordinate sound and images. The machine is made of metal...
Box of Sound Cards. - ca1950. - Box: cardboard : 12 x 53 x 29 cm - 73 cards : card stock : 10 x 51 cm
Box containing 73 square wave cards used in the production of synthetic music on film stock. The cards were made...
Box of Sound Cards. - ca1945. - Box : cardboard : 17 x 37 x 31 cm - 36 cards : card stock : 15 x 36 cm
Box containing 36 cards used in the production of synthetic music on film stock. This was one of the first...
Slippers. - N.d. - Leather: size 10.
Slippers worn by Norman McLaren during the time he worked at the National Film Board of Canada....
Box of Sound Cards. - ca1945. - Box: cardboard: 13 x 39 x 31 cm. - 63 cards: card stock: 10 x 38 cm
Box containing 63 cards used in the production of synthetic music on film stock. The cards were made by hand:...
Drawing table. - ca1945. - Cast iron and wood : 90 x 150 x 120 cm
Norman McLaren's work table. The legs and frame are in cast iron; the crosspiece and working surface, in wood. Two...
Flower. - 1952. - Card stock, tissue paper : 18 cm
Paper flower used in the shooting of the film Neighbours/Voisins, made by Norman McLaren in 1952. The flower, a carnation,...
Stylets, brushes and ink pots. - N.d. - 3 bottles of ink, 2 stylets, 2 brushes, 1 ink pot
Some tools of Norman McLaren's trade. He used stylets to make animation films where, instead of drawing directly on film...
Pen and ink. - N.d. - Pen: wood, metal: 19.5 cm. - Inkwell: glass: 7 cm x 4.5 cm
Pen used by Norman McLaren to draw directly on the film stock or sound track during the making of his...
Film Conference
Meeting to discuss a project for a film on economic stabilization. NFB animators René Jodoin, George Dunning and Jim MacKay...
Our Northern Neighbour (1944)
Directed by Tom Daly
Produced by Stuart Legg
Norman McLaren did some of the animation on this film by Tom Daly, in particular, the drawing of a map...
Begone Dull Care/Caprice en couleurs (1949)
Directed by Evelyn Lambart, Norman McLaren
Produced by Norman McLaren
Norman McLaren moistens the film on which the India ink drawings have been done, while Evelyn Lambart uses a roller...
Begone Dull Care/Caprice en couleurs (1949)
Directed by Evelyn Lambart, Norman McLaren
Produced by Norman McLaren
Norman McLaren and Evelyn Lambart work on the editing of Begone Dull Care/Caprice en couleurs....
Drawing on Film
Norman McLaren draws in pen directly on 35 mm film using a drawing board he designed and used specifically for...
Begone Dull Care/Caprice en couleurs (1949)
Directed by Evelyn Lambart, Norman McLaren
Produced by Norman McLaren
Norman McLaren checks the final print of the film Begone Dull Care/Caprice en couleurs....
China trip
Norman McLaren shares a meal during his China trip with students of the local middle school orchestra, Pephei, Szechwan. An...
Return from China
Norman McLaren on his return from China in 1950, at UNESCO headquarters in Paris. An excellent teacher and politically engaged...
Two Bagatelles (1952)
Directed by Norman McLaren, Grant Munro
Produced by Norman McLaren
Norman McLaren instructs Grant Munro on the movements he is to make. The film technique for Two Bagatelles is pixillation,...
Neighbours/Voisins (1952)
Directed and produced by Norman McLaren
Makeup session for Grant Munro under the watchful eye of director Norman McLaren and cameraman Wolf Koenig during the shooting...
Making synthetic music
Maurice Blackburn worked closely with Norman McLaren, perfecting the technique of sound on film. Here, he demonstrates the production of...
Photo Shoot
Norman McLaren during a photo session with some of his ongoing projects spread out around him....
Le merle (1958)
Directed and produced by Norman McLaren
Norman McLaren paints different coloured backgrounds, which will then be photographed and on which the images of the blackbird will...
Photo Shoot
Yousuf Karsh, the famous Canadian portrait photographer, during a photo session at the NFB in Montreal in 1957, as he...
A Chairy Tale (1957)
Directed by Claude Jutra, Norman McLaren
Ravi Shankar, holding his sitar, and Norman McLaren study the visual outline of the film A Chairy Tale during the...
Le merle (1958)
Directed and produced by Norman McLaren
Norman McLaren and his assistant Evelyn Lambart work on the animation of the different parts of the "merle" or blackbird....
Animation studio team (ca1960)
Back row from left: Bernard Longpré, Doug Roberts, Eve Lambart, Neil Shakery, ????, René Jodoin, ????, Zena Heczko, Colin Low,...
Meeting with François Truffaut
Norman McLaren listens attentively to French filmmaker François Truffaut during the Montreal International Film Festival in 1962....
Canon (1964)
Directed by Norman McLaren, Grant Munro
Produced by Norman McLaren
Photograph of Norman McLaren and Grant Munro working on the opening sequence of the film Canon, made in 1964. ...
Spheres/Sphères (1969)
Directed and produced by René Jodoin, Norman McLaren
René Jodoin and Norman McLaren work on the animated circles for the film Spheres/Sphères. The circles were cut out of...
Narcissus/Narcisse (1983)
Directed by Norman McLaren
Produced by David Verrall
In front of a mirror, Norman McLaren sketches out the movements he wants his dancers to perform. ...
Narcissus/Narcisse (1983)
Directed by Norman McLaren
Produced by David Verrall
Norman McLaren behind the camera during the shooting of Narcissus/Narcisse....
Portait of Guy Glover. - ca1940. - Drawing (reproduction) : pastel : 24 x 17 cm
Reproduction of a portrait of Guy Glover, a long-time collaborator and very close friend of Norman McLaren, who drew this...
Drawing. - 1948. - Pastel on coloured paper : 22.5 x 30 cm
Drawing for the animated film project La Perdriole, an unfinished film by Norman McLaren....
Design for 4 dimensional house and surrounding gardens. - 1949. - Drawing : lead pencil, coloured pencil: 26 x 20 cm
A Norman McLaren drawing representing a four-dimensional house surrounded by gardens. He did this drawing during a visit to China...
Structure for playing 4 dimensional tic-tac-toe [knots & crosses]. - ca1953. - Drawing : lead pencil, coloured pencil : 26 x 20 cm
Drawing by Norman McLaren representing a game of tic-tac-toe or noughts and crosses in four dimensions. He was inspired by...
One, Two, Three: Music direction sheets. - 1954. - Technical documents : 7 pages : coloured pencil on board : 28 x 35.5 cm
Technical document for the unfinished film One, Two, Three. The drawings within set out guidelines for composing music for the...
Sketches. - ca1957. - 7 drawings : felt pen and coloured pencil on paper : 20.5 x 13 cm
Preliminary sketches by Norman McLaren in preparations for the film Le merle....
Example of jointed cut-outs using paper rivets as used in Le merle. - ca1958 - Paper and coloured pencil : 28 x 35.5 cm
Explanatory document put together by Evelyn Lambart in which she explains the steps in creating jointed movements using rivets, paper...
Labyrinth of Steps and Doors. - 1963. - Drawing (reproduction) : pen and ink : 120 x 100 cm
Enlarged reproduction of a Norman McLaren drawing of a labyrinth of doors and stairs with surprising tricks of perspective. The...
36-square working checkerboard. - ca1964. - Technical drawing: cardboard (structure), plastic film (surface), adhesive tape (edging), coloured pencil and lead pencil (drawings and notes) : 23 x 23 cm
Technical drawing used in the shooting of the film Canon, directed by Norman McLaren in 1964. The document is a...
Vive McLaren!. - 1965. - Montage : India ink : 39 x 30 cm
Sequence of 12 drawings by Jan Lenica in black ink on white paper illustrating each of the letters in the...
Mask Test #3. - 1970. - Dope sheets : felt pen, ink and lead pencil on graph paper : 4 pages : 28 x 21.5 cm
Excerpts from a technical document used in the planning of single and multiple colour use for the film Synchromy/Synchromie, directed...
Hommage to McLaren. - 1971. - Gouache print on paper : 28 x 21.5 cm
Composition in tribute to Norman McLaren by Bela Egyedi. The composition consists of a gouache print on a page of...
Norman McLaren's Portrait / by Moe Reinblatt. - 1975. - Drawing : Conté charcoal pencil on canvas : 98 x 70 cm
Norman McLaren's portrait realized by Moe Reinblatt. Donation from Mrs Lilian Reinblatt to the National Film Board of Canada in...
Background. - 1981. - Drawing : pastel on paper: 35 x 50 cm
Selection of drawings by Norman McLaren for the film Narcissus/Narcisse, which he made in 1983. The landscapes were to have...
Technical Sketches. - ca1981. - 11 drawings : lead pencil and felt pen on paper : 21 x 35 cm
Technical sketches by Norman McLaren used in the making of the film Narcissus/Narcisse (1983). The drawings give directions on the...
Technical Sketch. - 1982. - Lead pencil and coloured pencil on drawing paper : 37 x 43 cm
Technical sketch traced directly on the screen of an editing machine to facilitate the planning of special effects for the...
Hat. - 1964. - Fabric : 21 cm x 38 cm
Hat worn by Grant Munro in the film Canon, made by Norman McLaren and Grant Munro in 1964. The film...
Tennis Courts for Two-, Three-, Four-Dimensional Games. - N.d. - Drawing : lead pencil and pen : 20 x 26 cm
Drawing by Norman McLaren of three tennis courts for playing in two, three or four dimensions. Includes some explanations of...
Four-Dimensional House. - N.d. - Drawing : pen and ink : 26 x 20 cm
Drawing by Norman McLaren of a four-dimensional house. As the accompanying text explains, adding a fourth dimension can lead to...