Jun 7, 2013

McLaren's Workshop, the NFB's free iPad app, is a must download

"McLaren's Workshop" is a free iPad app from the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) that provides access to over 50 films by experimental filmmaker Norman McLaren and allows users to create their own films using the animation techniques McLaren used The app is available for free to the public. When I previewed the app last fall at the NFB's Montreal headquarters, I was impressed. And now that I've had a chance to play with the app more extensively, I can assure anyone with even a passing interest in animation that it is a worthwhile download.

The 51 shorts in this app include such McLaren classics as "Begone Dull Care," "Blinkity Blank," "Le Merle," "Neighbours," and "Pas de Deux," as well as a number of rarer works dating back to the early 1930s. The film also includes a number of rare works that date back to the early 1930s. It takes you back to the 1990s, when you first saw McLaren's films on old stretched videotapes. I can only marvel at how easy it is to view such a wide variety of McLaren's work with this app. Color plays an important role in McLaren's films, and thanks to the film restoration done in 2006 for the DVD set "Norman McLaren: Masters Edition," the overall effect is rich and vibrant. In addition to the film, there are 11 documentaries by McLaren and his colleagues about the process, an illustrated biography, and an extensive essay by McLaren documentarian Donald McWilliams.

The app points to a new way of learning animation history in the 21st century: understanding a filmmaker's work by making the film yourself, rather than through passive activities such as reading books or watching films. McLaren's workshop includes three separate programs that allow students to create animations using digital tools that approximate the techniques of cut-out animation, scratch-on-film, and synthetic sound, the latter of which will particularly The latter will particularly appeal to those with a background in music.

The cutout workshop is free, while the other two workshops are in-app purchases of $2.99 each; pinching and zooming on the iPad does not provide the same intuitive and sensory experience as manipulating cutouts by hand or scratching them onto film, but the workshops are simple and elegantly designed for intuitive use. The workshop provides students and beginners with an excellent gateway to McLaren's animation techniques, but as discussed below, the tool is also robust enough for professional filmmakers to enjoy.

There are several other features worth mentioning. First, the app allows users to save McLaren's short films and watch them offline for up to 48 hours. Additionally, for the first two months after the app's release, users can upload their films directly from the program to their Vimeo account.

Start your weekend off right by going to the Apple Store and downloading McLaren's Workshop. And for a little inspiration on what you can do with McLaren's Workshop, check out these films created by top indie animators using the new app:

David OReilly's I Am Alone and My Head is On Fire" by David OReilly (scratch on film)

"Day Sleeper" by Don Hertzfeldt (scratch on film)

"Bon App" by Regina Pessoa (cut-out)

Five Fire Fish by Koji Yamamura (scratch-on-film)

Barcode Transmission by Renaud Hallée (synthetic sound)

Cyclop(e) by Patrick Doyon (scratch-on-film)

(Disclosure: NFB is a sponsor of Cartoon Brew. )