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Animation (41)
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Around PerceptionPierre Hébert 1968 16 minWatch an early experiment using computers to animate film. The result is a dazzling vibration of geometric forms in vivid colour, an effect achieved by varying the speed at which alternate colours change, so producing optical illusions. In between these screen pyrotechnics there appears a simple line form gyrating in smooth rhythm. Sound effects are created by registering sound shapes directly on the soundtrack of the film. -
BatterySylvain Charbonneau 2000 1 minA clip in the Science Please! collection, Battery uses archival footage, animated illustrations and amusing narration to explain: Why do we get a charge out of batteries?
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Cosmic ZoomRobert Verrall 1968 8 minThis short animation transports us from the farthest conceivable point of the universe to the tiniest particle of existence, an atom of a living human cell. The art of animation and animation camera achieve this exhilarating journey with a freshness and clarity. Without words.
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DimensionsBernard Longpré 1966 12 minThis short film for kids offers a lesson in proportions in which simple actions achieve surprising results. A man wants a door in a wall. He draws a rectangle and, presto! There is an opening. In the same way, he conjures up furniture. If too high or too low, the raising or lowering of a finger puts everything right.
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The Dirt on SoapSylvain Charbonneau 2000 1 minHow soap cleans? Part of the Science Please! collection for children.
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Dance SquaredRené Jodoin 1961 3 minThis film is an encounter with geometrical shapes, which children can readily understand and enjoy. As the title suggests, Dance Squared employs movement, colour and music to explore the symmetries of the square. Every movement of the square and its components presents an opportunity to observe its geometrical properties in a way that is intriguing to young minds.
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Electromagnetic RadiationSylvain Charbonneau 2001 1 minWhat do X-rays, microwaves and light have in common? Part of the Science Please! collection for children.
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ExplosivesSylvain Charbonneau 2001 1 minAre cows a time bomb just waiting to explode? Part of the Science Please! collection for children.
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From the Big Bang to Tuesday MorningClaude Cloutier 2000 5 minPropelled by Claude Cloutier’s signature drawing style and absurdist humour, this animated short offers an overview of the evolution of life on Earth from rock to human, with some surprising twists in between.
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The Force of WaterClaude Cloutier 1998 1 minA clip in the Science Please! collection, The Force of Water uses archival footage, animated illustration and amusing narration to explain the Archimedes principle, of why some things float and others sink.
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FireSylvain Charbonneau 2001 1 minWhat lights your fire? Part of the Science Please! collection for children.
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GravitySylvain Charbonneau 2001 1 minWhat keeps us down to earth? This clip from Science Please! answers the question.
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Lift OffSylvain Charbonneau 2000 1 minA clip in the Science Please! collection, Lift Off uses archival footage, animated illustrations and amusing narration to explain what makes a rocket lift off.
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The Little Men of ChromagnonFrancine Desbiens 1971 8 minIn this short animated film, little elf-like creatures emerging from 3 circles painted red, yellow and blue discover the primary colours and their combinations. When they venture into a circle of another colour they find that they, too, change colour. So, how do we make green again?
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LightningSylvain Charbonneau 2000 1 minA clip in the Science Please! collection, Lightning uses archival footage, animated illustrations and amusing narration to explain: What causes the electrical discharge we see as lightning?
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M.C. Escher: Sky and Water 1Gayle Thomas 1998 3 minThis short animation mixes traditional and computer animation to explore one of M.C. Escher's most famous works, the woodcut Sky and Water I (1938). Accompanied by a stunning soundtrack, this mesmerizing film playfully explores and deconstructs the optical illusion within one of the Dutch artist's most recognizable pieces. This film has no dialogue.
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Mirrors of TimeJean-Jacques Leduc 1990 23 minThis short animated film delves into the mysteries of time: how calendars came to be; why the seasons change; why the year is divided into days, etc. From Babylon to 16th-century Europe, this film presents the history of the measurement of time.
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The Moon ChangesSylvain Charbonneau 2000 1 minA clip in the Science Please! collection, The Moon Changes uses archival footage, animated illustrations and amusing narration to explain what causes the different phases of the moon.
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MagnetsSylvain Charbonneau 2000 1 minA clip in the Science Please! collection, Magnets uses archival footage, animated illustrations and amusing narration to explain: North Pole, South Pole... what's the big attraction?
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Operation LeverSylvain Charbonneau 2000 1 minA clip in the Science Please! collection, Operation Lever uses archival footage, animated illustrations and amusing narration to explain how a lever increases force.
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The Origins of WeatherJoseph Koenig 1963 12 minThis short documentary illustrates the factors that produce the various climates on the Earth. A combination of live action footage and animation demonstrates the Earth's dynamic heat exchange—the effect of the sun's heat and the movement of air masses. The equilibrium of the Earth’s atmosphere and the fact that 75% of the planet’s surface is covered by water are factors in preventing the Earth from exhibiting the kinds of extreme climates that many other celestial bodies do.
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The RefrigeratorSylvain Charbonneau 2001 1 minWhat makes a fridge cool? A clip from the Science Please! collection.
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RythmeticNorman McLaren & Evelyn Lambart 1956 8 minAn animated film by Norman McLaren and Evelyn Lambart that endows arithmetic with lively humour. The screen becomes a numerical free-for-all as digits meet in playful encounter, add and subtract, jostle, attack and elude one another.
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Slippery Ice!Claude Cloutier 1999 1 minA clip in the Science Please! collection, Slippery Ice! uses archival footage, animated illustrations and amusing narration to explain why we slip on ice.
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Satellites of the SunSidney Goldsmith 1974 12 minFilm animation and a knowledge of outer space bring to the screen this spectacular, awe-inspiring view of our solar system. Staggering distances are eliminated through the art of film: before our eyes is displayed the wonder of the universe. Moon, Mercury, Mars, Saturn, Venus, Earth and all the other satellites and lesser matter in space are seen in amazing detail and perspective in their eternal orbits around the sun.
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Sound Is VibrationSylvain Charbonneau 2000 1 minA clip in the Science Please! collection, Sound Is Vibration uses archival footage, animated illustrations and amusing narration to explain what is the sound.
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Science Please! Part 12001 15 minThe Science Please! collection uses archival footage, animated illustrations and amusing narration to explain various scientific discoveries and phenomena.
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The State of the MatterSylvain Charbonneau 2000 1 minA clip in the Science Please collection, The State of the Matter uses archival footage, animated illustrations and amusing narration to explain how temperature affects the state of matter.
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Science Please! Part 22001 15 minThe Science Please! collection uses archival footage, animated illustrations and amusing narration to explain various scientific discoveries and phenomena.
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UniverseRoman Kroitor & Colin Low 1960 28 minA triumph of film art, creating on the screen a vast, awe-inspiring picture of the universe as it would appear to a voyager through space, this film was among the sources used by Stanley Kubrick in his 2001: A Space Odyssey. Realistic animation takes you into far regions of space, beyond the reach of the strongest telescope, past Moon, Sun, and Milky Way into galaxies yet unfathomed.
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The WindMartin Barry 1998 1 minIn the collection Science Please!, the first clip, entitled The Wind, explains the phenomenon of the wind with the help of archives, animation and narration.
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The Wonderful World of ColourClaude Cloutier 1999 1 minA clip in the Science Please! collection, The Wonderful World of Colour uses archival footage, animated illustrations and amusing narration to explain how the cones of the retina enable us to perceive the spectrum of colours.
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Wheel Meets FrictionClaude Cloutier 1998 1 minA clip in the Science Please! collection, Wheel Meets Friction uses archival footage, animated illustrations and amusing narration to explain how the invention of the ball bearing reinvented the wheel.
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WindRon Tunis 1972 9 minA child's first discovery of wind--the silent, invisible something that tickles his fancy, ruffles his hair, ripples the grass around him--portrayed here in winsome animated drawings. But the artist also shows the elemental force that carries all before it. Without words but with sound effects, this is a film of universal appeal.
