Norman McLaren

Norman McLaren
Norman McLaren drawing directly on film (1944)
Born	April 11, 1914(1914-04-11) Stirling, Scotland
Died	January 27, 1987(1987-01-27) (aged 72) Montreal, Canada
Occupation	Animator Film director Film producer
Years active	1933 - 1987
Partner	Guy Glover

Norman McLaren, CC, CQ (11 April 1914 – 27 January 1987) was a Scottish-born Canadian animator and film director known for his work for the National Film Board of Canada (NFB).^[1] He was a pioneer in a number of areas of animation and filmmaking, including drawn on film animation, visual music, abstract film, pixilation and graphical sound.^[2][3]

His awards included an Oscar for the Best Documentary in 1952 for Neighbours, a Silver Bear for best short documentary at the 1956 Berlin International Film Festival Rythmetic and a 1969 BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film for Pas de deux.^[4]

Early life

McLaren was born in Stirling, Scotland and studied set design at the Glasgow School of Art.^[1] His early experiments with film and animation included actually scratching and painting the film stock itself, as he did not have ready access to a camera. His earliest extant film, Seven Till Five (1933), a "day in the life of an art school" was influenced by Eisenstein and displays a strongly formalist attitude.

McLaren's next film, Camera Makes Whoopee (1935), was a more elaborate take on the themes explored in Seven Till Five, inspired by his acquisition of a Ciné-Kodak camera, which enabled him to execute a number of 'trick' shots. McLaren used pixilation effects, superimpositions and animation not only to display the staging of an art school ball, but also to tap into the aesthetic sensations supposedly produced by this event.

His two early films won prizes at the Scottish Amateur Film Festival, where fellow Scot and future NFB founder John Grierson was a judge.^[5]

Professional career

Grierson, who was at that time head of the General Post Office film unit, saw another of his movies at an amateur film festival and took interest.^[1] He hired Mclaren for the GPO as soon as he completed his studies.^[5]

After making four films for the GPO in London, including Love on the Wing, McLaren moved to New York City in 1939, just as World War II was about to begin in Europe. He worked as a freelancer until 1941.

At the invitation of Grierson, he moved to Canada in 1941 to work for the National Film Board, to open an animation studio and to train Canadian animators. During his work for the NFB, McLaren created his most famous film, Neighbours (1952), which has won various awards around the world, including the Canadian Film Award and the Academy Award. Besides the brilliant combination of visuals and sound, the film has a very strong social message against violence and war. In his early period in Canada, McLaren spent considerable time developing the animation department of the board. Among his pupils are numbered James McKay of Toronto and George Dunning who designed the animation for the Beatles' film Yellow Submarine.^[1]

In addition to film, McLaren worked with UNESCO in the 1950s and 1960s on programs to teach film and animation techniques in China and India.^[1] His five part "Animated Motion" shorts, produced in the late 1970s, are an excellent example of instruction on the basics of film animation.

Personal life

His longtime companion was NFB director Guy Glover, whom he met at the ballet in London in 1937. The two were together until McLaren’s death.^[6]

Awards and achievements

McLaren is remembered for his experiments with image and sound as he developed a number of groundbreaking techniques for combining and synchronizing animation with music.

The National Film Board honoured McLaren's genius by naming its Montreal head office building the Norman McLaren Building. The Montreal borough of Saint-Laurent, which is home to the NFB, has also honoured McLaren by naming a borough district after him.

Lifetime achievement awards

In 1968 he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada and promoted to Companion in 1973. In 1982, he was the first anglophone to receive the Prix Albert-Tessier, given to persons for an outstanding career in Québec cinema.

2006 retrospective

In 2006, the Film Board marked the 65th anniversary of NFB animation with an international retrospective of McLaren's restored classics and a new DVD box set of his complete works.

2009

In 2009, McLaren's works were added to UNESCO's Memory of the World Programme, listing the most significant documentary heritage collections in the world, joining such works as the Gutenberg Bible and The Wizard of Oz.^[7]

Awards for McLaren's films

Academy Awards (USA)

• (1953) Oscar - Best Documentary, Short Subjects for Neighbours (1952)

Annie Awards (USA)

• (1975) Annie Award: Winsor McCay Award

BAFTA Awards (England)

• (1969) BAFTA Film Award Best Animated Film for Pas de Deux (1968)^[8]

Berlin International Film Festival

• (1951) Silver Medal (Culture Films and Documentaries) award for Begone Dull Care^[9]
• (1956) Silver Bear (Short Film) award for Rythmetic^[10]

Canadian Film Awards (Canada)

• (1949) Special Award for Dots
• (1950) Special Award for Begone Dull Care
• (1952) Special Award for Around is Around
• (1952) Special Award for Now is the Time
• (1952) Special Award for After the Storm
• (1953) Special Award for A Phantasy
• (1953) Special Award for Neighbours
• (1958) Arts and Experimental for A Chairy Tale
  • Shared with Claude Jutra
• (1962) Arts and Experimental for Lines Horizontal
• (1965) Arts and Experimental for Canon
  • Shared with Grant Munro
• (1968) Special Award for Pas de Deux

Cannes Film Festival

• (1955) Short Film Palme d'Or for Blinkity Blank

Columbus International Film and Video Festival (USA)

• (1984) Honorable Mention for Narcissus

Dance on Camera Festival (USA)

• (1984) Gold Star Award for Narcissus

Festival international de cinéma de court métrage (France)

• (1985) Special Mention for Narcissus

Festival international du film romantique

• (1985) First Prize - Madame de Stael Prize, (France, May 1985) for Narcissus

Genie Awards (Canada)

• (1984) Special Achievement Genie

Golden Sheaf Awards / Short Film and Video Festival (Canada)

• (1984) Golden Sheaf Award - Best Experimental Film for Narcissus, Short Film and Video Festival (Canada, October–November 1984)

International Film Festival (India)

• (1984) Golden Peacock for the Best Short Film of the Festival for Narcissus

Itinerant - American Film and Video Festival (USA)

• (1984) Honorable Mention - Visual Essays for Narcissus

Award nominations

Academy Awards (USA)

• 1953 Academy Award Best Short Subject, One-reel for Neighbours (1952)
• 1958 Academy Award Best Short Subject, Live Action Subjects for A Chairy Tale (1957)
• 1964 Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for Christmas Cracker (1963) (as co-director)

BAFTA Awards (UK)

• 1960 BAFTA Film Award Best Animated Film for Short and Suite (Shared with Evelyn Lambart)

See also

• McLaren's Negatives
• René Jodoin
• Motion graphics

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} Rosenthal, Alan. The new documentary in action: a casebook in film making. Univ of California Pr, 1972. 267-8. Print.
2. ^ Schaffer, Bill (2005). "The Riddle of the Chicken: The Work of Norman McLaren". Senses of Cinema (35). http://www.sensesofcinema.com/2005/cteq/norman_mclaren/. Retrieved 16 March 2011. 
3. ^ Clark, Ken (Summer 1987). "Tribute to Norman McLaren". Animator (19): 2. http://www.animatormag.com/archive/issue-19/issue-19-page-21/. Retrieved 20 March 2011. 
4. ^ Kozlov, Vladimir (28 May 2009). "Movie of the week - Norman McLaren retrospective". Moscow News. 
5. ^ ^{a b} Animation Unlimited: Innovative Short Films Since 1940. Laurence King Publishing. pp. 1929. ISBN 1856693465. http://books.google.ca/books?id=p6zs-4Db-WUC&pg=RA1-PA1929&dq=%22Keep+Your+Mouth+Shut%22+McLaren&hl=en&ei=WHOqS_qpF8SBlAeItpjFBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CEUQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=%22Keep%20Your%20Mouth%20Shut%22%20McLaren&f=false. 
6. ^ McWilliams, Donald (1990). Creative Process: Norman McLaren. 
7. ^ Boswell, Randy (July 31, 2009). "Montreal filmmaker honoured by UN". Montreal Gazette (Canwest). http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/movie-guide/Montreal+filmmaker+honoured/1848841/story.html. Retrieved 2009-08-04. ^{[dead link]}
8. ^ "NFB - Collection - Pas de deux". http://www.nfb.ca/trouverunfilm/fichefilm.php?id=10470&v=h&lg=en&exp=11192. 
9. ^ "1st Berlin International Film Festival: Prize Winners". berlinale.de. http://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/1951/03_preistr_ger_1951/03_Preistraeger_1951.html. 
10. ^ "6th Berlin International Film Festival: Prize Winners". berlinale.de. http://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/1956/03_preistr_ger_1956/03_Preistraeger_1956.html. Retrieved 2009-12-26. 

Bibliography

• Raphaël Bassan, "Norman McLaren : le silence de Prométhée", in Les Cahiers de Paris expérimental, no 17 (in French) (2004)*
• Olivier Cotte (2007) Secrets of Oscar-winning animation: Behind the scenes of 13 classic short animations. (Making of '"Neighbours") Focal Press. ISBN 978-0240520704
• Alfio Bastiancich, "Norman McLaren: Précurseur des Nouvelles Images", Dreamland èditeur, Paris (1997) (in French) ISN 2-910027-07-4

External links

• Norman McLaren at the Internet Movie Database
• Watch the NFB Playlist, Norman McLaren: Hands-on Animation
• Profile of Norman McLaren at NFB.ca
• Canadian Film Encyclopedia
• Order of Canada Citation
• Official UK Myspace for 'Norman McLaren: The Master's Edition'
• Norman McLaren on screenonline

Persondata
Name	Maclaren, Norman
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1914-04-11
Place of birth	Stirling
Date of death	1987-01-27
Place of death	Montreal