Le Merle (1958) – Norman McLaren

Le Merle (the Blackbird) is a cutout animation directed in 1958 by cinematic innovator Norman McLaren. Based on a French-Canadian folksong, the story tells of a bird who loses a beak, a neck, eyes, wings, legs, etc, and then finds them in duplicate and triplicate.

Streamschool (Patakiskola) – Peter Vacz

Streamschool (Patakiskola) by Péter Vácz: Inspired by a Hungarian poem, this beautifully-textured stop motion piece about growing up tells the story of a little girl who travels with a river to the sea. The version above is in Hungarian with English subtitles, but it’s also available in French: L’école des ruisseaux.Plus! Notes on how it was made. 

Ryan (Short) – Chris Landreth

Winner of the 2005 Oscar® for Best Short Animation This Oscar®-winning 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…… Continue reading Ryan (Short) – Chris Landreth

Sorry I’m Late Stop Motion Animation – Keith Henniff

Sorry I’m Late from Keith Kenniff | Helios, Goldmund on Vimeo.Shooting stop-motion straight down on the ground is such a great way to animate. In Sorry I’m Late (2009), written and directed by Tomas Mankovsky, a man tries to reach his destination by bus, bicycle, horse, hot air balloon, shark, and car.The life-sized stop-motion is all filmed from…… Continue reading Sorry I’m Late Stop Motion Animation – Keith Henniff