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The Kid Should See This

Pen Point Percussion and Dots: Norman McLaren

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Pen Point Percussion (1951), a behind-the-scenes introduction to the sound visualizations and drawn-on-film animation of film pioneer Norman McLaren, from the National Film Board of Canada. Their caption for the film:

With an oscilloscope he first demonstrates what familiar sounds look like on the screen; next, how sound shapes up on a film’s sound track; and then what synthetic sounds sound like when drawn directly on film. This technique is also demonstrated in Dots and Loops.

Norman McLaren
And below, another playful example of McLaren’s work, Dots (1940), which includes sounds that may be considered hilarious to young people:


In the TKSST video archives: What does sound look like? Plus, watch more visual thinking videos, and more animation work by Norman McLaren, including Boogie Doodle, a favorite.

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