Rythmetic | |
---|---|
Directed by | Norman McLaren Evelyn Lambart |
Produced by | Norman McLaren |
Cinematography | Norman McLaren Evelyn Lambart |
Distributed by | NFBC |
Release date |
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Running time | 8 minutes, 25 seconds |
Country | Canada |
Languages | English, French |
Rythmetic is a 1956 Canadian short animated film directed by Norman McLaren and Evelyn Lambart for the National Film Board of Canada. [1]
It is a non-verbal lecture on the subject of mathematics and one of McLaren’s longest animated works.
McLaren wanted to make a truly international film about the inadequacies of communication between peoples of different cultures and languages. To this end, he used the most understood method of communication, Arabic numerals. [2]
Filmed without a camera or microphone and using McLaren’s scratch sound system, the film is a ‘crazy dance’ of mechanical actions and anthropomorphic gestures made by arithmetical figures and symbols; we hear rhythmic music with clicks or scratching sounds made by ink directly painted on the soundtrack. The filling of the background with bright figures against a dark background evoke a classroom blackboard and the teaching process. Classified as an educational film, it is also regarded as a visual and auditory work of art. [3]
William Norman McLaren, LL. D. was a Scottish Canadian animator, director and producer known for his work for the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). He was a pioneer in a number of areas of animation and filmmaking, including hand-drawn animation, drawn-on-film animation, visual music, abstract film, pixilation and graphical sound. McLaren was also an artist and printmaker, and explored his interest in dance in his films.
Roman Kroitor was a Canadian filmmaker who was known as a pioneer of Cinéma vérité, as the co-founder of IMAX, and as the creator of the Sandde hand-drawn stereoscopic 3D animation system. He was also the original inspiration for The Force. His prodigious output garnered numerous awards, including two BAFTA Awards, three Cannes Film Festival awards, and two Oscar nominations.
Ryan Larkin was a Canadian animator, artist, and sculptor who rose to fame with the psychedelic Oscar-nominated short Walking (1968) and the acclaimed Street Musique (1972). He was the subject of the Oscar-winning film Ryan.
Neighbours is a 1952 anti-war film by Scottish-Canadian filmmaker Norman McLaren for the National Film Board of Canada. In 1953, it won the Oscar for Best Documentary, Short Subject.
George Garnett Dunning was a Canadian filmmaker and animator. He is best known for producing and directing the 1968 film Yellow Submarine.
Colin Archibald Low was a Canadian animation and documentary filmmaker with the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). He was known as a pioneer, one of Canada's most important filmmakers, and was regularly referred to as "the gentleman genius". His numerous honors include five BAFTA awards, eight Cannes Film Festival awards, and six Academy Award nominations.
Begone Dull Care is a 1949 visual music animated film directed by Norman McLaren and Evelyn Lambart for the National Film Board of Canada (NFB).
Grant Munro LL. D. was a Canadian animator, filmmaker and actor. In 1952, he co-starred with Jean-Paul Ladouceur in Norman McLaren's Neighbours. His film, Christmas Cracker, was nominated for an Academy Award in 1965.
The Living Stone is a 1958 Canadian short documentary film directed by John Feeney and produced by the National Film Board of Canada. It shows the inspiration behind Inuit sculpture, where the aim of the artist is to release the image he or she sees imprisoned in the stone. Among its numerous honours was a nomination, at the 31st Academy Awards, for Best Documentary Short Film.
Gerald Potterton was a Canadian director, animator, producer and writer. He is best known for directing the cult classic Heavy Metal and for his animation work on Yellow Submarine.
Christmas Cracker is a 1963 animated short about Christmas, co-directed by Norman McLaren, Gerald Potterton, Grant Munro and Jeff Hale for the National Film Board of Canada. It was nominated for an Oscar in 1965.
Evelyn Lambart was a Canadian animator and film director with the National Film Board of Canada, known for her independent work, and for her collaborations with Norman McLaren.
Thomas Cullen Daly was a Canadian film producer, film editor and film director, who was the head of Studio B at the National Film Board of Canada (NFB).
Blinkity Blank is a 1955 animated short film created by Norman McLaren for the National Film Board of Canada. It won, among other awards, both the Short Film Palme d'Or at Cannes and the BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film.
Joseph (Joe) Koenig is a Canadian filmmaker and entrepreneur who was the founder and president of Electronics Workbench.
John Spotton C.S.C. was a Canadian filmmaker with the National Film Board of Canada.
Robert Verrall is a Canadian animator, director and film producer who worked for the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) from 1945 to 1987. Over the course of his career, his films garnered a BAFTA Award, prizes at the Cannes Film Festival and Venice Film Festival, and six Academy Award nominations.
Canon is a 1964 National Film Board of Canada animated short co-directed by Norman McLaren and Grant Munro that offers a visual representation of the canon musical form through three animated segments. The soundtrack combines both a recorded classical score by Eldon Rathburn and electronic sounds produced via synthesizer.
Julian Biggs (1920–1972) was a director and producer with the National Film Board of Canada and its first Director of English Production. Over the course of his 20-year career, he created 146 films, two of which were nominated for Academy Awards. His film 23 Skidoo (1964) received two BAFTA nominations, including the BAFTA United Nations award.
David Bairstow (1921-1985) was a Canadian producer and director and one of the most prolific filmmakers at the National Film Board of Canada.
Rythmetic in the NFB collection catalog