Norman McLaren
Available films
6 of Norman McLaren films are available for viewing in this section.
Title: Canon
Year: 1964
Length: 09 min 13 s
Synopsis :
Norman
McLaren and Grant Munro use three different animation techniques to provide
visual representations of canons in a film designed to teach viewers about
this ancient musical form. The soundtrack combines both recorded classical
music and sounds produced by a synthesizer.
Title: Le merle
Year: 1958
Length: 04 min 39 s
Synopsis : It’s the story of a bird that loses first its neck, then its eye, back, wings and feet in turn before they return again, but this time doubled or tripled in number. The filmmaker used simple cardboard cut-outs in geometric shapes to illustrate this traditional folk song.
Title: A Chairy Tale
Year: 1957
Length: 09 min 53 s
Synopsis :
A man’s relationship with a chair
becomes a symbol of exploitation in this extraordinary absurdist fantasy
directed by Claude Jutra and Norman McLaren. What if the revolt by this
inanimate object led to a more egalitarian order of things?
Title: Blinkity Blank
Year: 1955
Length: 05 min 15 s
Synopsis :
With an explosion of abstract
images engraved directly on film, this well-known Norman McLaren film shows
bird-like creatures engaged in a strange dance of seduction.
Title: Neighbours/Voisins
Year: 1952
Length: 08 min 06 s
Synopsis :
Two
neighbours live side by side in harmony until a flower grows on the dividing
line between their properties. Who does it belong to? The argument that
follows ends up with both neighbours in their graves. The most famous of
Norman McLaren’s films popularized pixillation as an animation
technique.
Title: Hen Hop
Year: 1942
Length: 03 min 40 s
Synopsis : After a long sketching session spent capturing the movements of these odd creatures, McLaren made this film of a chicken’s dance by drawing directly on film stock. Hen Hop drew great praise from Pablo Picasso.