Animation (59)

Animando

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Marcos Magalhães 1987 12 min
Un personnage prend vie sur une table d'animation. L'animateur le dessine et le manipule à l'aide de matériaux différents. Il se met alors à marcher, à sautiller, nous permettant d'apprécier au même moment différentes techniques d'animation. Film sans paroles.
Animation from Cape Dorset
1973 18 min
Released in 1973, this collection assembles the first animated films to be made by Inuit artists at the NFB. Featured is work by Solomonie Pootoogook, Timmun Alariaq, Mathew Joanasie, and Itee Pootoogook Pilaloosie—all participants in the Kinngait (formerly Cape Dorset) Film Animation Workshop on Baffin Island, established to teach animation skills to local artists. The soundtrack features performances by Aggeok and Peter Pitseolok. Commentary is provided in a blend of Inuktitut and English.
Alter Egos

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Laurence Green 2004 52 min
In this award-winning animation-documentary, we meet two unusual artists. Ryan Larkin was once a brilliant filmmaker who ended up on the streets in Montreal. Chris Landreth is a rising star in animation beginning to experience the kind of adulation Larkin received decades earlier.

With excerpts from both men's Oscar®-nominated works, this film delves into the tale of Larkin’s descent and the fascinating relationship that developed between the two men. It is a poignant study of artists, addiction and creativity.
Animated Motion: Part 1

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Norman McLaren & Grant Munro 1976 9 min
The first part of this series by Norman McLaren deals only with tempo. It starts by showing the disc travelling in one move (1/24 of a second) from A to B, and progressively demonstrates slower and slower tempos.
Animated Motion: Part 5
Norman McLaren & Grant Munro 1978 7 min
In this fifth part, Norman McLaren deals not with motion (if motion is defined as a change of location in two- or three-dimensional space) but with change--change in the amount and color of light within an otherwise static screen. Normally, the animator combines such change with motion, but here it is studied in isolation.
Animate Everything!

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Scott Kiborn 2010 15 min
Spaceships soar into space. Dots dance on a page. Rocks and twigs transform into expressive faces. Kids can easily create this kind of magic themselves, and all they require are a few simple tools. Divided into four short, easy-to-understand chapters, Animate Everything introduces basic concepts of animation to a young audience. Explaining visually with colourful images, siblings Lindsay and Will demonstrate how to bring everyday objects to life — and even how to animate people! Animate Everything encourages you to “make your own magic in whatever style you want.”
Animated Motion: Part 3

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Norman McLaren & Grant Munro 1977 9 min
The third in a series of five colour films that offer an introduction to the basic techniques of film animation. McLaren explains and demonstrates different aspects of movement that are essential to the animator’s art. In this case it is the pause and irregular movement.
Animated Motion: Part 4
Norman McLaren & Grant Munro 1977 7 min
In this fourth film, Norman McLaren explains and illustrates composite motion, where two of the categories of motion occur simultaneously in one action, such as the motions of jointed or pivoted parts (as occur in animal and human movements). Also shown is a human gesture with increasing amounts of emotion; and finally, the phenomenon of 'strobing' in animation is examined.
Animated Motion: Part 2

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Norman McLaren & Grant Munro 1976 8 min
In this short animation film, Norman McLaren presents the first 3 of the 5 categories of motion: constant, accelerated and decelerated. Various types of acceleration and deceleration are demonstrated, and examples are shown of how these types of motion may be applied in regard to gesture, gravity and perspective.
Creative Process: Norman McLaren
Donald McWilliams 1990 1 h 56 min
This feature length documentary is a journey into Norman McLaren’s process of artistic creation. A cinematic genius who made films without cameras and music without instruments, McLaren produced 60 films in a stunning range of styles and techniques, collecting over 200 international awards and world recognition. Drawing on McLaren's private film vaults, a gold mine of experimental footage and uncompleted films, this film explores McLaren's methods, including his celebrated "pixillation" technique.
Co Hoedeman, Animator
Nico Crama 1980 27 min
This short film paints a portrait of Oscar®-winning filmmaker Co Hoedeman (The Sand Castle, Ludovic). It focuses on 3 aspects of his life – family, farm, and studio. We see excerpts of his work and watch him create a new animation clip.
Crazy, Quilt
Donald McWilliams 1997 27 min
This film is part of a series of television programs including interviews with the directors of short animated films as well as the films themselves. This video includes 2 animated shorts: Quilt (by Gayle Thomas), an animated tribute to patchwork quilting and Scant Sanity (by John Weldon), an exploration into the nature of the mind and reality in which a person seeking job counseling receives psychiatric treatment instead, thereupon becoming convinced of the reality of his own internal world.
cNote
Christopher Hinton 2004 6 min
In this animated short, filmmaker Chris Hinton and composer Michael Oesterle leap back and forth between picture and sound. The dynamic movement of Hinton's visual art dances in syncopation with the bold musical strokes of an original modern classical composition. Without words.
Cordell Barker's Master Class in Animation (Part 1)
2009 15 min
Part 1 of a master class in animation led by Cordell Barker in which he talks about the making of The Cat Came Back. Filmed during the 2009 edition of Get Animated!.
Dreams Come True: A Sheldon Cohen Retrospective
Sheldon Cohen 2005 15 min
Author Roch Carrier hosts this documentary retrospective of the work of animation director Sheldon Cohen. Carrier offers anecdotes and insight about Cohen's movies, created over the past 30 years at the National Film Board of Canada. Lively animation sequences created by Greg Houston as well as Cohen's illustrations offer lively visual counterpoint. There is emphasis on the art of making animation from children's books as Cohen's films are based on the works of celebrated authors from across Canada including: Roch Carrier's The Sweater; Wilma Riley's Pies; Dayal Kaur Khalsa's Snow Cat (adapted by author Tim Wynne-Jones) and Khalsa's I Want a Dog. Excerpts of these films are included in the documentary.
Drawing from Life
Katerina Cizek 2008 30 min
This short documentary follows a group therapy workshop for people who have attempted to end their lives more than once. A hybrid of vérité and animation, the film is a candid portrayal of 12 people who together, for 20 weeks, take on their fears, their behaviours and their ghosts to move towards life and away from suicide.

Drawing from Life is a production of the National Film Board of Canada's Filmmaker-in-Residence project, produced with the creative participation of Seneca College of Applied Arts & Technology, Animation Arts Centre.
Evelyn Lambart
Éric Barbeau 2005 5 min
A profile of Norman McLaren’s main collaborator, animator Evelyn Lambart, who worked as his assistant for several years and co-directed six of his films, including the celebrated Begone Dull Care.
Eleven Moving Moments with Evelyn Lambart
Donald McWilliams 2017 1 h 3 min
This feature-length documentary shines a much-deserved spotlight on Evelyn Lambart, who stood side-by-side with Norman McLaren for 21 years. Dubbed The First Lady of Canadian Animation, Lambart was an accomplished animator in her own right. This compilation, playfully contextualized by filmmaker Donald McWilliams, aims to prove just that.
Forming Game
Malcolm Sutherland 2008 5 min
This animated short from Malcolm Sutherland is an engaging dance of shapes and sounds. The "game" is played by opening the box, unfolding the board and placing shapes on it that you manipulate with your hands. There are no winners or losers in this game; the fun is in the creative way the forms unfold. Features a score by Luigi Alleman and music by Ravi Shankar.
Flocons
Marie-Josée Saint-Pierre 2014 2 min
This short animation was created using tests created in the production of A Chairy Tale (1957) by master of animation Norman McLaren. Flocons is set to the music of Tchaikovsky and features none other than Canadian filmmaker Claude Jutra, who plays a character imprisoned in the celluloid on which McLaren paints directly. Flocons aims to celebrate the 100th anniversary, in 2014, of Norman McLaren’s birth.
Graphic Variations on Telidon by Pierre Moretti
Pierre Moretti 1980 7 min
The Telidon System is a telephone communication process which enables the exchange of visual information.
Hand-Crafted Cinema Animation Workshop with Caroline Leaf
Eric Roberts 1998 35 min
This short film brings together animation workshops led by award-winning independent animator Caroline Leaf. The film, which discusses and demonstrates Leaf’s artisan's approach to narrative filmmaking, explores 3 techniques she pioneered during her 20-year tenure at the NFB: sand, paint-on-glass and scratch animation.
Hothouse 9: Behind the Abstract Scenes
2013 7 min
Hothouse 9 successfully transformed our six emerging animators. Within 12 mere weeks they turned into flowering blossoms, producing one-minute animation shorts in full horticultural compliance with this edition's double parameter: abstract storytelling. Abstraction was omnipresent throughout the process: at critical reviews, music and foley recordings, and even when filmmakers attempted to articulate their story, artistic intent and technique. At the end of the experience, these six peculiar blooms revealed themselves as abstract representations of, of all things, daisies.
Hors-d'oeuvre

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Gerald Potterton , Robert Verrall , … 1960 7 min
This film is a collection of 1-minute cartoons produced by NFB animators for government sponsors. Showcasing a playful selection of animation techniques, the clips include reminders about television programs, traffic safety rules, and admonitions from the Department of Labour.
Inside the Hothouse 3
Jason Lee 2006 14 min
A look into the creative process and frenzy behind the third edition of the NFB Animation Hothouse. This zippy, mini-documentary reflects the youthful iconoclasm of the six emerging filmmakers and Jason Lee, the documentary director.

This film was produced as part of our Hothouse emerging filmmaker’s program
Imprints
Jacques Drouin 2004 6 min
In this short experimental film, animator Jacques Drouin explores and highlights both sides of Alexeïeff-Parker’s pinscreen. Led by the repeated harmonies of a rondo for harpsichord by François Couperin, the film shows the filmmaker hurling himself into a hand-to-hand tussle with his own favourite instrument. Positioning the camera and lighting to reveal the relief formed by the pins, Drouin continually pivots the screen so that the viewer can glimpse the images hidden behind this mysterious screen.
Inside the Hothouse 2
Martin Ciastko 2004 11 min
An informal look into the personalities and frenzy behind the second edition of the NFB Animation Hothouse. The six Hothouse filmmakers and their NFB collaborators comment on the nature of auteur animation, the place and role of the NFB in that world and the excitement and fear of making a first professional film.

This film was produced as part of our Hothouse emerging filmmaker’s program
Inside the Hothouse
Ben Addelman & Samir Mallal 2003 13 min
Inside the Hothouse takes an informal look at this NFB experiment, Animation Hothouse, at its halfway point. In a handheld, gritty style, Inside the Hothouse gives the viewer a glimpse into the project and the participants' perspectives.
Interview

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Caroline Leaf & Veronika Soul 1979 13 min
A freewheeling cinematic experience, this film is the work of two filmmakers who relate their perceptions of each other through their respective animation techniques. Images and words are paired in startling associations. Each does a visual portrait of the other, based on characteristic gestures and impressions. A combination of techniques and materials produces a film of rich visual texture shaped by the hands and heads of two very different people.
Inside the Hothouse 4
Jason Lee 2007 13 min
Inside Hothouse 4 takes an informal look into the personalities and frenzy behind the fourth iteration of the NFB Animation Hothouse. A hand-held-mini-doc, reflective of the youthful iconoclasm of the eight emerging filmmakers (6 Canadians and 2 Brazilians). The Hothouse filmmakers and their NFB collaborators offer candid and oftentimes pithy comments on the nature of auteur animation filmmaking, the place and role of the NFB in that world, and the excitement and fear of making a first professional film. This year's Inside Hothouse mini-doc includes the process of generating podcasts for the Hothouse 4 web site.
Lipsett Diaries
Theodore Ushev 2010 14 min
This animated short by Theodore Ushev depicts the maelstrom of anguish that tormented Arthur Lipsett, a famed Canadian experimental filmmaker who died at the age of 49. His descent into depression and madness is explored through a series of images as well as sounds taken from Lipsett's own work.
A Little Craving
Frances Adair Mckenzie 2014 1 min
In this surrealist stop-motion animation, two disembodied wigs give in to their desires and grow themselves into something a little more whole.

Produced as part of the 10th edition of the NFB’s Hothouse apprenticeship.
The Light Fantastick
Rupert Glover & Michel Patenaude 1974 57 min
A detailed retrospective of the animation film at the National Film Board of Canada, of the techniques employed, and of the men and women who used and sometimes invented them. Documentary footage explains the techniques, and clips from NFB films illustrate the often spectacular results. Topics include Norman McLaren, hand-drawn-on-film and pixillation techniques, the "sing-along" animated songs of the 1940s, Alexandre Alexeieff's pinscreen, and Evelyn Lambart's fairytale improvisations.
McLaren on McLaren

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Grant Munro 1983 7 min
An opening address, a tribute and highlights of a long and productive career--McLaren on McLaren is Norman McLaren on camera. The occasion is the opening of a prestigious festival in Arnhem, the Netherlands, in November, 1983, marking the tenth anniversary of Holland Animation. The renowned animator pays homage to those who merged their arts with his, and to the National Film Board, which gave him forty-two years of artistic freedom.
Making Movie History: Robert Verrall
Joanne Robertson 2012 5 min
Robert Verrall recalls coming to Ottawa to join the NFB and the early days in the animation studio including his work on the Oscar winning Romance of Transportation.
Making Movie History: Colin Low
Joanne Robertson 2012 5 min
Colin Low reflects on leaving art school in Calgary to join the NFB and his early days in the NFB's animation department.
Making Movie History: Grant Munro
Joanne Robertson 2012 5 min
In this short interview, Grant Munro, the celebrated animator, actor and director recalls being recruited by Norman McLaren to join the NFB's legendary animation studio.
Nunavut Animation Lab: The Bear Facts (Version Inuktitut)
2010 3 min
In this animated short, a self-important colonial explorer emerges from a sailing ship and plants a flag on the Arctic ice, as a bemused Inuit hunter looks on. Then the explorer plants another, and another, and another, while the hunter, clearly not impressed that his land has been “discovered,” quietly goes about his business. In this charming and humorous re-imagining of first contact between Inuit and European, Jonathan Wright brings us the story of a savvy hunter and the ill-equipped explorer he outwits.
Making Movie History: Gerald Potterton
Joanne Robertson 2014 5 min
Director and Animator Gerald Potterton recalls arriving at the NFBs celebrated Animation Studio and some of his forays into live action fiction.
Making Movie History: Pierre Hébert
Denys Desjardins 2014 5 min
Spontaneity and perseverance are intertwined in the inexhaustible art of Pierre Hébert, who has been exploring the limits of animated film for over 50 years. Arriving at the NFB in 1962, he was mentored by the great Norman McLaren. The avant-garde Hébert would push the boundaries of drawn-on-film animation, and with his anti-militarist film Memories of War (1982) he started performing alongside musicians in "live cinema" events, scratching directly onto projected film loops. These happenings inspired further film projects like La lettre d'amour (1988) and La plante humaine (1996), a masterful feature that traces his long creative path. Eternally innovative, Hébert appears around the world, collaborating in numerous projects, including Lieux et monuments.
Nunavut Animation Lab: I Am But a Little Woman
Gyu Oh 2010 4 min
Inspired by an Inuit poem first assigned to paper in 1927, this animated short evokes the beauty and power of nature, as well as the bond between mother and daughter. As her daughter looks on, an Inuit woman creates a wall hanging filled with images of the spectacular Arctic landscape and traditional Inuit objects and iconography. Soon the boundaries between art and reality begin to dissolve.
Nunavut Animation Lab: The Bear Facts
Jonathan Wright 2010 3 min
In this animated short, a self-important colonial explorer emerges from a sailing ship and plants a flag on the Arctic ice, as a bemused Inuit hunter looks on. Then the explorer plants another, and another, and another, while the hunter, clearly not impressed that his land has been “discovered,” quietly goes about his business.

In this charming and humorous re-imagining of first contact between Inuit and European, Jonathan Wright brings us the story of a savvy hunter and the ill-equipped explorer he outwits.
Nunavut Animation Lab Qalupalik (Inuktitut Version)
2010 5 min
This animated short tells the story of Qalupalik, a part-human sea monster that lives deep in the Arctic Ocean and preys on children who do not listen to their parents or elders. That is the fate of Angutii, a young boy who refuses to help out in his family's camp, opting instead to play by the shoreline. But one day, Qalupalik seizes him and drags him away. Angutii's father, a great hunter, must then embark on a lengthy kayak journey to try and bring his son home.
Nunavut Animation Lab: Qalupalik
Ame Papatsie 2010 5 min
This animated short tells the story of Qalupalik, a part-human sea monster that lives deep in the Arctic Ocean and preys on children who do not listen to their parents or elders. That is the fate of Angutii, a young boy who refuses to help out in his family's camp, opting instead to play by the shoreline. But one day, Qalupalik seizes him and drags him away. Angutii's father, a great hunter, must then embark on a lengthy kayak journey to try and bring his son home.
Nunavut Animation Lab: I Am But a Little Woman (Inuktitut Version)
2010 4 min
Inspired by an Inuit poem first assigned to paper in 1927, this animated short evokes the beauty and power of nature, as well as the bond between mother and daughter. As her daughter looks on, an Inuit woman creates a wall hanging filled with images of the spectacular Arctic landscape and traditional Inuit objects and iconography. Soon the boundaries between art and reality begin to dissolve.
O Canada
Evelyn Lambart 1952 1 min
This very short stereoscopic film by Evelyn Lambart uses drawings to suggest movement across Canada’s ever-changing countryside.
Op Hop - Hop Op
Pierre Hébert 1966 3 min
A hand-made, scratched-on film experiment in intermittent animation. The images are a group of twenty-four visuals, all non-representational, which arrange and rearrange on the screen in many combinations. The result is a changing pattern of sound and image that has its own rhythm for eye and ear.
Opening Speech: McLaren
Norman McLaren 1961 6 min
In this short film, Norman McLaren is literally caught by his own film tricks. As he attempts to welcome an audience, he is frustrated by an animated microphone with a will of its own.
Pinscreen
Norman McLaren 1973 38 min
This documentary shares a behind-the-scenes look as husband and wife Alexandre Alexeieff and Claire Parker demonstrate the pinboard technique of film animation they invented together. With a group of NFB artists and animators, they share and explore the techniques and astounding visual effects achieved by filming patterns and shadows created using 240,000 pins.
Pot-pourri
Jeff Hale , Austin Campbell , … 1962 7 min
A selection of publicity clips mounted together in one film to show the techniques of NFB animators. As in Hors-d'oeuvre, these "quickie" films were produced originally for government agencies, to carry messages to the public.
Ryan
Chris Landreth 2004 13 min
This animated short from Chris Landreth is based on the life of Ryan Larkin, a Canadian animator who produced some of the most influential animated films of his time. Ryan is living every artist's worst nightmare - succumbing to addiction, panhandling on the streets to make ends meet. Through computer-generated characters, Landreth interviews his friend to shed light on his downward spiral. Some strong language. Viewer discretion is advised.
Stars and Stripes
Norman McLaren 1940 2 min
An experiment in film animation in which 'stars' and 'stripes' perform acrobatics to a sprightly march tune. The film was made without a camera, by Norman McLaren drawing and colouring directly on film. The title is in eight languages. Rereleased with multilingual titles in 1949.
Siena
Lynn Smith 1999 2 min
Opening with dreamlike images of the city of Siena at night, this short sand animation evolves into a symphony of waving banners, distant voices and galloping horses. Created especially for Italy’s Siena International Short Film Festival.
Super Bus
1969 6 min
A Canadian animated film made specifically for viewing at Osaka 70.
StopMoStudio - Stop-Motion Animation Workshop
NFB/education 2011 18 min
Experience this workshop online and discover the exciting world of stop-motion animation from NFB workshop experts. After learning how to do everything from storyboarding to building your own modelling clay character, you’ll be able to animate your own stop-motion short. As well as teaching the basic production skills, this video tutorial introduces a selection of NFB stop-motion animated films. The StopMoStudio videos and learning activities are designed for educators to use in the classroom and for those learning for fun at home.
Spare Change
Ryan Larkin & Laurie Gordon 2008 7 min
This animation short by Ryan Larkin (Walking, Street Musique, etc.) recounts some “comical experiences” Larkin had during his many years as a panhandler in Montreal. It tells the story of Astral Pan, a street beggar (voiced by Larkin himself), who takes us on a wild journey from the sidewalks of a wintry Montreal day, to the gates of Heaven and Hell and back. The great filmmaker passed away before finishing his film. Spare Change was completed by a friend, producer and singer-songwriter Laurie Gordon, assisted by a team of young, devoted animators.
Six: Inside Hothouse 5
Carrie Haber 2008 22 min
Director Carrie Haber delves deep into the anxiety, thrill and uncertainty of six aspiring animation artists as they are plunged into the twelve-week trial-by-fire that is the NFB's Hothouse for animation filmmakers.
Sikusilarmiut
Peter Raymont 1975 28 min
Sikusilarmiut is made up of excerpts from animation films made at the Kinngait (formerly Cape Dorset) Film Animation Workshop, interspersed with live-action footage of modern-day Kinngait. The contrast is uncomfortably evident.
Scratches of Life: The Art of Pierre Hébert
Loïc Darses 2024 1 h 17 min
Employing an arresting black-and-white palette punctuated with animated flourishes, Scratches of Life: The Art of Pierre Hébert unwinds the thread of the scratch-on-film technique, guiding us through the inspiring labyrinth of the celebrated animator’s life and work. Loïc Darses captures the imprint of an extraordinary artist who continues to create to this day, striving to share his vision of new forms of life.

Animation (59)

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