Animation Theatre: Norman McLaren

11th April 1914- 27th January 1987

Fig. 1 Norman McLaren

Canadian animator Norman McLaren, originally from Scotland, was an innovator when it came to taking animation and filmmaking to new depths. He was an artist of many techniques and media including drawing on film stock and working through the stop-motion technique pixilation. He would jump from one technique to another which explains why his filmography is so diverse and explorative, but there was one thing that stayed with him his fascination with dance. From early on in his animation and film career he would paint directly onto the film stock to create the images he wanted due to the lack of availability of a camera for him. He was especially influenced by Sergei Eisenstein and his work which can be seen through McLarens montage like assembly of his animations where different shots from different angles and viewpoints would be assembled to tell the story. One of his most famous pieces Pas de Deux is reminiscent of Eisensteins influence of McLaren in that we are faced with the showing of this dancer making her way across the screen while past poses of her are left behind, this montaging educates us in her movement which similarly to Winsor McCay and his want to show the application of animation within his shorts, McLaren wanted to tell the story of the movement of the animation, something he said himself in an interview from Chuck Jones: Life of Animated Cartoonist Animation is not the art of drawings-that-move, but rather the art of movements-that-are-drawn. What happens between each frame is more important than what happens on each frame. (McLaren: 1990). Pas de Deux is also a clear example of McLarens love for dance in that it is this dance that helps him convey the movement of animation. The dance creates shapes and trails which allow the visual knowledge of movement to increase in our minds, it even reminds of later animated walk cycles so perhaps this simple yet expressive technique of McLarens is responsible for this.

Fig. 2 Pas de Deux http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4h1ipObKYB4

Another key example that looks at the art of the movements drawn is McLarens Lines Horizontal which is far more abstract than Pas de Deux yet the same principles apply. The lines act as if they have been choreographed in dance and rhythm and along with the music they tell a story. Slowing down, speeding up, this example of McLarens work is like an action sequence from film and thats just it McLaren didnt want animation to be restricted to being viewed as just a series of drawings put together, he wanted them to have a greater impact. Shapes and forms are created between each of the lines animated movements making it rather hypnotic and for that reason it does have more impact than a series of stills placed together something Marcel Jean from the National Film Board picks up on. His more abstract works are rooted in a choreographic concept that essentially defines animated film as a kinetic art form unrestricted by theatrical or novelistic influences. (Jean: 2006) McLarens works were effective not because of what he decided to animate such as lines but because of what was produced from these simplistic beginnings.

Fig. 3 Lines Horizontal http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kg67teGQgCo

Just look at his short animation Le Merle based on an old French-Canadian nonsense song. His design for the blackbird is simple and recognisable as a blackbird, this blackbird however doesnt stay as a normal blackbird and it is the rhythm emitted from McLarens inspiration of dance alongside the music which turns Le Merle into a stunning piece of film. We do not actually focus on the blackbird as the centre of the animation but how the music becomes the animation, seeing the lines of the song fly around the screen and put together in sync with the progression of the song. We are then rewarded with this unconventional blackbird which is rather magical and charming in how it came to be. The vivid colours and often unconventional imagery in many of McLarens films work

in sync with music; McLaren in a sense, makes the music visible in these films. (Pochodowicz: 1998)

Fig. 4 Le Merle http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mc1DlBU18Fw

McLaren took animation to an all new level showing that it wasnt just the character focus like McCay and his shorts that were all about watching the character move across the screen and without music, but that what made animation expressive was the combination of multiple techniques such as music, rhythm and movement, editing as well as the character.

Bibliography
Jean, Marcel, (2006) National Film Board of Canada http://www3.nfb.ca/animation/objanim/en/filmmakers/Norman-McLaren/overview.php (Accessed 11/03/2012) McLaren, Norman, (1990) Chuck Jones: Life of Animated Cartoonist. U.S.A. Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Accessed 11/03/2012) Pochodowicz, Laura. E, (1998) Norman McLaren Characteristics http://people.wcsu.edu/mccarneyh/fva/M/NMcLaren_Char.html (Accessed 11/03/2012)

List of Illustrations
Fig. 1. Norman McLaren. On National Film Board of Canada http://www3.nfb.ca/objan/med/Personnes/M/McLaren_Norman_43.jpg (Accessed 11/03/2012) Fig. 2. Pas de Deux. From: Pas de Deux Directed by: Norman McLaren. tumblr.com http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l9nol1F28R1qa4pypo1_500.gif (Accessed 11/03/2012) Fig. 3. Lines Horizontal. From: Lines Horizontal Directed by: Norman McLaren. youtube.com http://img.youtube.com/vi/qJwfeG3Mntk/0.jpg (Accessed 11/03/2012) Fig. 4. Le Merle. From: Le Merle Directed by: Norman McLaren. Walkerart.org http://blogs.walkerart.org/design/files/2011/09/lemerle_07-450x332.jpg (Accessed 11/03/2012)