William Norman McLaren, LL. D. (11 April 1914 – 27 January 1987) was a Scottish Canadian

animator An animator is an artist who creates multiple images, known as frames, which give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, and video gam ...

, director and producer known for his work for the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...

(NFB).Rosenthal, Alan. ''The new documentary in action: a casebook in film making''. University of California Press, 1972. 267-8. Print. He was a pioneer in a number of areas of animation and filmmaking, including

hand-drawn animation Traditional animation (or classical animation, cel animation, or hand-drawn animation) is an animation technique in which each frame is drawn by hand. The technique was the dominant form of animation in cinema until computer animation. Pro ...

drawn-on-film animation Drawn-on-film animation, also known as direct animation or animation without camera, is an animation technique where footage is produced by creating the images directly on film stock, as opposed to any other form of animation where the images o ...

visual music Visual music, sometimes called colour music, refers to the creation of a visual analogue to musical form by adapting musical structures for visual composition, which can also include silent films or silent Lumia work. It also refers to methods o ...

abstract film Abstract may refer to: * ''Abstract'' (album), 1962 album by Joe Harriott * Abstract of title a summary of the documents affecting title to parcel of land * Abstract (law), a summary of a legal document * Abstract (summary), in academic publishi ...

pixilation Pixilation is a stop motion technique in which live actors are used as a frame-by-frame subject in an animated film, by repeatedly posing while one or more frame is taken and changing pose slightly before the next frame or frames. The actor beco ...

and

graphical sound Graphical sound or drawn sound (Fr. ''son dessiné'', Ger. ''graphische Tonerzeugung'',; It. ''suono disegnato'') is a sound recording created from images drawn directly onto film or paper that were then played back using a sound system. There are ...

. McLaren was also an artist and printmaker, and explored his interest in dance in his films. His awards included an

Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject This is a list of films by year that have received an Academy Award together with the other nominations for best documentary short film. Following the Academy's practice, the year listed for each film is the year of release: the awards are annou ...

in 1952 for ''

Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera, which has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons an ...

'', a Silver Bear for best short documentary at the 1956

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...

for '' Rythmetic'' and a 1969

BAFTA Award The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cer ...

for Best Animated Film for ''

Pas de deux In ballet, a pas de deux (French language, French, literally "step of two") is a dance duet in which two dancers, typically a male and a female, perform ballet steps together. The pas de deux is characteristic of classical ballet and can be fo ...

''.

Early life

Norman McLaren was born in

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

, Scotland, on 11 April 1914. He had two older siblings, one brother, Jack and a sister, Sheena. At the age of 21, he travelled to Russia for a vacation which confirmed his

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

beliefs; his father had paid for the trip in hopes of curing McLaren of the communist belief he valued. When McLaren was 22, he left Stirling and studied set design at the

Glasgow School of Art The Glasgow School of Art (GSA; gd, Sgoil-ealain Ghlaschu) is a higher education art school based in Glasgow, Scotland, offering undergraduate degrees, post-graduate awards (both taught and research-led), and PhDs in architecture, fine art, and ...

. McLaren joined the Kinecraft Society at the Glasgow School of Art while he was studying there, it was within the society that he began to experiment with different styles and techniques of filmmaking. It was also at the Glasgow School of Art that McLaren met

Helen Biggar Helen Biggar (25 May 1909 – 28 March 1953) was a Scottish sculptor, filmmaker and theatre designer. She was politically active in the 1930s, she joined the Communist Party of Great Britain and was one of the filmmakers behind ''Hell UnLtd'', ...

, they produced films together outside the School and sought to have their productions released nationally. 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

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 Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English * Scottish national identity, the Scottish id ...

, where fellow Scot and future NFB founder

John Grierson John Grierson (26 April 1898 – 19 February 1972) was a pioneering Scottish documentary maker, often considered the father of British and Canadian documentary film. In 1926, Grierson coined the term "documentary" in a review of Robert J. Fla ...

was a judge.

Professional career

GPO Film Unit

Grierson, who was at that time head of the UK General Post Office film unit, saw another of his movies at an amateur film festival and took interest. He hired McLaren for the GPO after his studies, following a stint as cameraman on ''

Defence of Madrid The siege of Madrid was a two-and-a-half-year siege of the Republican-controlled Spanish capital city of Madrid by the Nationalist armies, under General Francisco Franco, during the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939). The city, besieged from Oct ...

'',

Ivor Montagu Ivor Goldsmid Samuel Montagu (23 April 1904, in Kensington, London – 5 November 1984, in Watford) was an English filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, film critic, writer, table tennis player, and Communist activist in the 1930s. He helped to de ...

's documentary on the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

. McLaren worked at the GPO from 1936 to 1939, making four films including: ''Book Bargain'' (1937), ''Mony a Pickle'' and ''Love on the Wing'' (1938), and ''News for the Navy'' (1938).

Solomon Guggenheim Foundation

McLaren then moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1939, just as

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

was about to begin in Europe. With a grant from the Solomon Guggenheim Foundation, he worked in New York until 1941, making four drawn-on-film animated works: '' Boogie-Doodle'' (1940), along with ''Dots'', ''Loops'' and ''Stars and Stripes''.

NFB

At the invitation of Grierson, he moved to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in 1941 to work for the National Film Board, to open an animation studio and to train Canadian animators. Upon McLaren's arrival in Canada, Grierson asked him to direct a promotional film reminding Canadians to mail their Christmas cards early, ''Mail Early'' (1941). He then worked on animated shorts as well as maps for Allied propaganda documentary films, followed by his

War Bonds War bonds (sometimes referred to as Victory bonds, particularly in propaganda) are debt securities issued by a government to finance military operations and other expenditure in times of war without raising taxes to an unpopular level. They are a ...

campaign films: ''V for Victory'' (1941), ''5 for 4'' (1942), ''

Hen Hop ''Hen Hop'' is a 1942 drawn-on-film animation short by Norman McLaren, in which a hen gradually breaks apart into an abstract movement of lines as it dances to a barn dance. One of a number of drawn-on-film animated works created by McLaren, '' ...

'' (1942) and ''Dollar Dance'' (1943). As of 1942, McLaren could no longer keep up with the demands for animation at the fast-growing NFB, and he was asked by Grierson to recruit art students and create a small animation team—a task made more difficult because many young students had gone off to fight in the war. McLaren found recruits for his fledgling animation unit at the

École des beaux-arts de Montréal École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

and the

Ontario College of Art Ontario College of Art & Design University, commonly known as OCAD University or OCAD, is a public art university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus is spread throughout several buildings and facilities within do ...

, including

René Jodoin René Jodoin (30 December 1920 – 22 January 2015) was an animation director and producer who founded the French-language animation studio of the National Film Board of Canada. Born in Hull, Quebec on December 30, 1920, Jodoin died in Montreal on ...

George Dunning George Garnett Dunning (November 17, 1920 – February 15, 1979) was a Canadian filmmaker and animator. He is known for animating and directing the 1968 film inspired by the Beatles, '' Yellow Submarine''. Biography Dunning was born in Toron ...

Jim McKay James Kenneth McManus (September 24, 1921 – June 7, 2008), better known professionally as Jim McKay, was an American television sports journalist. McKay was best known for hosting ABC's '' Wide World of Sports'' (1961–1998). His introdu ...

, Grant Munro and his future collaborator,

Evelyn Lambart Evelyn Lambart (23 July 1914 – 3 April 1999) was a Canadian animator and technical director with the National Film Board of Canada, known for her early collaborations with Norman McLaren as well as her later films, as sole director. In 19 ...

. McLaren trained these emerging animators, who would all work on cartoons, animated cards and propaganda documentaries before going on to make their own films. Studio A, the NFB's first animation studio, formally came into existence as of January 1943, with McLaren as its head. During his work for the NFB, McLaren created his most famous film, ''

'' (1952), which has won various awards around the world, including the

Canadian Film Award The Canadian Film Awards were the leading Canadian cinema awards from 1949 until 1978. These honours were conducted annually, except in 1974 when a number of Quebec directors withdrew their participation and prompted a cancellation. In the 1970s ...

and the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

. Besides the brilliant combination of visuals and sound, the film has a very strong social message against violence and war. In 1955, McLaren won the Cannes Film Festival prize for ''Blinkity Blank'' (1955), which he later selected as his diploma piece when he was inducted into the

Royal Canadian Academy of Arts The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA) is a Canadian arts-related organization that was founded in 1880. History 1880 to 1890 The title of Royal Canadian Academy of Arts was received from Queen Victoria on 16 July 1880. The Governor General ...

in 1974. In his early period in Canada, McLaren spent considerable time developing the animation department of the board.

UNESCO

In addition to film, McLaren worked with

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

in the 1950s and 1960s on programs to teach film and animation techniques in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. His five part "Animated Motion" shorts, produced in the late 1970s, are an excellent example of instruction on the basics of film animation. While travelling back from

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, McLaren travelled to

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

and by chance met

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...

Legacy

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 by naming its

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

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. In 1981, the new Film House opened in Edinburgh, it was to be the home of the

Edinburgh International Film Festival The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) is a film festival that runs for two weeks in June each year. Established in 1947, it is the world's oldest continually running film festival. EIFF presents both UK and international films (all ti ...

, inside there are two seats dedicated to McLaren and Grierson. In 2006, he was the subject of a short animated documentary '' McLaren's Negatives''. Also 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. In June 2013, the NFB released an iTunes app entitled "McLaren's Workshop," allowing users to create their own films using animation techniques utilized by McLaren and providing access to over fifty of his films. From 1 to 10 June 2018,

Robert Lepage Robert Lepage (born December 12, 1957) is a Canadian playwright, actor, film director, and stage director. Early life Lepage was raised in Quebec City. At age five, he was diagnosed with a rare form of alopecia, which caused complete hair lo ...

, principal dancer Guillaume Côté and the

National Ballet of Canada The National Ballet of Canada is a Canadian ballet company that was founded in 1951 in Toronto, Ontario, with Celia Franca as the first artistic director. A company of 70 dancers with its own orchestra, the National Ballet has been led since 2022 ...

staged a ballet entitled ''Frame by Frame'', based on McLaren's life and work.

Birth centenary events

The 100th anniversary of the birth of McLaren was marked by a project entitled "McLaren Wall-to-Wall" in Montreal's Quartier des Spectacles entertainment district, with short films inspired by McLaren works ''Neighbours'', ''Begone Dull Care'', ''Synchromy'' and ''Spheres'' projected onto local landmarks. McLaren's centenary was also celebrated in Scotland with the McLaren 2014 Programme of screenings, exhibitions, events and animation workshops. The Programme was conceived of and directed by animator Iain Gardner who also serves as the Animation Programmer for the Edinburgh International Film Festival. The programme was a key focus within the 68th Edinburgh International Film Festival in June, and ran through to the end of the XX Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in August. The McLaren 2014 Programme was managed by the Centre for the Moving Image, working in partnership with the National Film Board of Canada, and over 20 partners in Scotland and the UK. In April 2014 his only surviving nephew Douglas Biggar (younger son of Sheena) unveiled a blue heritage plaque on his childhood home marking the centenary of his birth.

Lifetime achievement awards

In 1968, he was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

and promoted to Companion in 1973. In 1977, he received an honorary doctorate from

Concordia University Concordia University ( French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...

. In 1982, he was the first

anglophone Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the ''Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest language ...

to receive the

Prix Albert-Tessier The Prix Albert-Tessier is an award by the Government of Quebec that is part of the Prix du Québec, given to individuals for an outstanding career in Quebec cinema. It is awarded to script-writing, acting, composing music, directing, producing a ...

, given to persons for an outstanding career in Québec cinema. In 1986, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the World Festival of Animated Film –

Animafest Zagreb World Festival of Animated Film Zagreb ( hr, Svjetski festival animiranog filma), also known as Animafest Zagreb, is a film festival entirely dedicated to animated film held annually in Zagreb, Croatia. Initiated by the International Animated Fil ...

. In 2009, McLaren's works were added to

Memory of the World Programme Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembered, ...

, listing the most significant documentary heritage collections in the world, joining such works as the

Gutenberg Bible The Gutenberg Bible (also known as the 42-line Bible, the Mazarin Bible or the B42) was the earliest major book printed using mass-produced movable metal type in Europe. It marked the start of the "Gutenberg Revolution" and the age of printed b ...

and '' The Wizard of Oz''.

Accolades

;Academy Awards (USA) *1953

for ''Neighbours'' – Won *1953 Academy Award for Best Short Subject, One-reel for ''Neighbours'' – Nominated *1958 Academy Award for Best Short Subject, Live Action Subjects for ''A Chairy Tale'' – Nominated *1964

Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film The Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film is an award given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) as part of the annual Academy Awards, or Oscars, since the 5th Academy Awards (with different names), covering the year 1 ...

for ''

Christmas Cracker Christmas crackers are festive table decorations that make a snapping sound when pulled open, and often contain a small gift, paper hat and a joke. They are part of Christmas celebrations in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Commonwealth countri ...

'' – Nominated *1968 Academy Award for Best Short Subject, Live Action Subjects for ''Duo'', the U.S. release title for ''

'' – Nominated ;Annie Awards (USA) *(1975)

Annie Award The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in cinema and television. Originally desi ...

: Winsor McCay Award—Won ;BAFTA Awards (UK) *(1969)

BAFTA Film Award The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cere ...

for Best Animated Film for ''

'' (1968) – Won ;Berlin International Film Festival *(

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

) Silver Medal (Culture Films and Documentaries) award for ''

Begone Dull Care ''Begone Dull Care'' is a 1949 visual music animated film directed by Norman McLaren and Evelyn Lambart. Summary Using drawn-on-film animation, McLaren and Lambart painted and scratched directly onto film stock to create a visual representa ...

'' – Won *( 1956)

Silver Bear The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...

(Short Film) Award for '' Rythmetic'' – Won ;Canadian Film Awards (Canada) *(1949) Special Award for ''Dots'' – Won *(1950) Special Award for ''

'' – Won *(1952) Special Award for ''Around is Around'' – Won *(1952) Special Award for ''Now is the Time'' – Won *(1952) Special Award for ''After the Storm'' – Won *(1953) Special Award for ''A Phantasy'' – Won *(1953) Special Award for ''Neighbours'' – Won *(1958) Arts and Experimental for ''

A Chairy Tale ''A Chairy Tale'' (french: Il était une chaise) is a 1957 Canadian stop-motion pixilation short film co-directed by Norman McLaren and Claude Jutra, starring Jutra with an uncooperative chair. The film humorously portrays Jutra's attempts to sit o ...

'' (shared with

Claude Jutra Claude Jutra (; March 11, 1930 – November 5, 1986) was a Canadian actor, film director, and screenwriter.

) – Won *(1962) Arts and Experimental for ''Lines Horizontal'' – Won *(1965) Arts and Experimental for ''

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

'' (shared with Grant Munro) – Won *(1968) Special Award for ''

'' – Won ;

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

*(1955) Short Film Palme d'Or for ''

Blinkity Blank ''Blinkity Blank'' is a 1955 animated short film by Norman McLaren, engraved directly onto black film leader, ''Blinkity Blank'' features a soundtrack combining improvisational jazz from composer Maurice Blackburn along with graphical sounds c ...

'' – Won ;Columbus International Film and Video Festival (USA) *(1984) '' Narcissus'' – Honorable Mention ;Dance on Camera Festival (USA) *(1984) Gold Star Award for ''Narcissus'' – Won ;Festival international de cinéma de court métrage (France) *(1985) ''Narcissus'' – Special Mention ;Festival international du film romantique *(1985) Madame de Stael Prize (First Prize) for ''Narcissus'' – Won ;Genie Awards (Canada) *(1984) Special Achievement Genie – Won ;Golden Sheaf Awards / Short Film and Video Festival (Canada) *(1984) Golden Sheaf Award – Best Experimental Film for ''Narcissus'' – Won ;International Film Festival (India) *(1984) Golden Peacock for the Best Short Film of the Festival for ''Narcissus'' – Won ;Itinerant – American Film and Video Festival (USA) *(1984) Visual Essays for ''Narcissus'' – Honorable Mention

Personal life

McLaren's longtime partner was fellow NFB director

Guy Glover Guy Glover (November 5, 1910 in London, U.K. – May 17, 1988 in Hudson, Canada) was a senior National Film Board of Canada (NFB) producer and administrator. Career Guy Glover's career as an NFB senior producer and administrator spanned more than ...

, whom he met at the ballet in London in 1937. The two men remained in a committed relationship until McLaren's death.

References

Bibliography

* Burant, Jim.
Ottawa Art & Artists: An Illustrated History.
' Toronto: Art Canada Institute, 2022. * Dominique Chateau, "Norman McLaren : pensée-cinéma et cinéplastique", ''Nouvelles Vues'', issue 17, winter-spring 2016 : https://web.archive.org/web/20160809181327/http://www.nouvellesvues.ulaval.ca/no-17-hiver-2016-cinema-et-philosophie-par-s-santini-et-p-a-fradet/articles/norman-mclaren-pensee-cinema-et-cineplastique-par-dominique-chateau/ *

Raphaël Bassan Raphaël Bassan (born 1948) is a French film critic and journalist, who has specialized in experimental film and the history of cinema. He has also made three short movies. Biography Bassan was born in Burgas, Bulgaria, of French nationality, ...

, "Norman McLaren : le silence de Prométhée", in Les Cahiers de Paris expérimental, no 17 (in French) (2004)* *

Olivier Cotte Olivier Cotte (born 20 June 1963) is a French writer, graphic novel scriptwriter, animation historian, illustrator, and a director. Biography Born into a family of artists, Olivier Cotte studied piano, classical dance and fine arts in paralle ...

(2007) ''Secrets of Oscar-winning animation: Behind the scenes of 13 classic short animations.'' (Making of ''

'') Focal Press. * Alfio Bastiancich, "Norman McLaren: Précurseur des Nouvelles Images", Dreamland èditeur, Paris (1997) (in French) * Rogers, Holly and Jeremy Barham: ''The Music and Sound of Experimental Film,'' New York: Oxford University Press, 2017. * Burant, Jim.
Ottawa Art & Artists: An Illustrated History.
' Toronto: Art Canada Institute, 2022. ISBN 978-1-4871-0289-0

External links

*
NFB YouTube official channel

Films of Norman McLaren
at the

website
''Norman McLaren: Hands-on Animation''
and
''Creative Process: Norman McLaren''
at the

website
Canadian Film Encyclopedia

Order of Canada Citation

Norman McLaren on screenonline
*
Norman McLaren Archive at the University of Stirling Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mclaren, Norman 1914 births 1987 deaths People educated at Stirling High School Alumni of the Glasgow School of Art Anglophone Quebec people BAFTA winners (people) British cinema pioneers Canadian animators Canadian experimental filmmakers Canadian cinema pioneers Companions of the Order of Canada Directors of Best Documentary Short Subject Academy Award winners Drawn-on-film animators Canadian Screen Award winners Graphical sound International Animated Film Association Knights of the National Order of Quebec LGBT artists from Canada LGBT film directors Film directors from Montreal People from Stirling Scottish communists Scottish emigrants to Canada Scottish film directors Stop motion animators Visual music artists LGBT artists from the United Kingdom LGBT people from Scotland National Film Board of Canada people Civil servants in the General Post Office LGBT animators Canadian people of British descent Prix Albert-Tessier winners Gay artists 20th-century LGBT people