The Clockmakers 

(2013) 

by Montreal-based designer Renaud Hallee plunges into a graphic, almost mathematical world where everything is symmetry and geometry.

Titled The Clockmakers, this experimental short produced by the NFB’s Marc Bertrand sweeps us into a vast and enthralling cogs and wheels mechanism where notions of right side up and upside down no longer hold. Dozens of trampolinists evolve in this orderly structure entirely made up of lines and triangles, triggering narrative and musical plots with each jump and rebound.

 

We were most pleased to produce this most recent animated film by Renaud Hallée, whom we believe exhibits a creative genius reminiscent of Norman McLaren’s. (...)

 

This first collaboration, The Clockmakers, plunges us into a graphic, almost mathematical world where everything is symmetry and geometry. Half-figurative and half-abstract, both experimental and powerful, this acrobatic number is a playful creation, a sort of methodical parade that sparks unusual emotions.

 

Source: National Film Board of Canada

 

 

The Clockmakers, partitur, mittig, design, Film

Reading

The Film Work of Norman McLaren (2007) by Terence Dobson approaches the puzzles that are set by the film work of Norman McLaren. It is divided into three parts, based on chronological divisions in McLaren's life. The first part deals with McLaren's formative years in Scotland and England and examines his early exposure to the social, artistic and institutional influences that were to shape his filmic output. The second part deals with McLaren's maturation in the USA and Canada. The third part examines specific issues in relation to McLaren and his work and as such is concerned principally with his mature output. (John Libbey Publishing)

Notations 21 (2009) by Theresa Sauer features illustrated musical scores from more than 100 international composers, all of whom are making amazing breakthroughs in the art of notation. Notations 21 is a celebration of innovations in musical notation, employing an appreciative aesthetic for both the aural and visual beauty of these creations. The musical scores in this edition were created by composers whose creativity could not be confined by the staff and clef of traditional western notation, but whose musical language can communicate with the contemporary audience in a uniquely powerful way. (Notations 21 Project)

Notation. Calculation and Form in the Arts (2008) is a comprehensive catalogue (in German) edited by Dieter Appelt, Hubertus von Amelunxen and Peter Weibel which accompanied an exhibition of the same name at the Academy of the Arts, Berlin and the ZKM | Karlsruhe. (ZKM)

 

SEE ALSO

audioreactive (2009) by Jorinna Scherle is based on the principles of minimal music and visualizes microtonal events such as frequency, duration, tone pitch and sound volume in 3-dimensional environments. (Kino Šiška)

Optical Poetry (2004) by Dr. William Moritz is the long-awaited, definitive biography of Oskar Fischinger. The result of over 30 years of research on this visionary abstract filmmaker and painter. In addition to Moritz's comprehensive biography, it includes numerous photographs in colour and black and white (many never before published), statements by Oskar Fischinger about his films, a newly created extensive filmography, and a selected bibliography. (John Libbey Publishing)

Carsten Nicolai (*1965) is part of an artist generation who works intensively in the transitional area between art and science. As a visual artist Carsten Nicolai seeks to overcome the separation of the sensual perceptions of man by making scientific phenomenons like sound and light frequencies perceivable for both eyes and ears. His installations have a minimalistic aesthetic that by its elegance and consistency is highly intriguing. (raster-noton)

No. 5: Circular Tensions (1950) - Homage to Oskar Fischinger by Harry Smith begins with a static red triangle, then a green square, and then a red circle. It is as though we are being introduced to the protagonists of the film: simple, static shapes out of which complexity and rhythmic interaction will be produced. The film also bombards the viewer with a number of alternating colour transitions used in conjunction with shapes that emerge from deep screen space. (Senses of Cinema)

Up And Down (2008) by David Muth visualises an electroacoustic composition by British sound artist Kaffe Matthews – specially developed algorithms generated the imagery. (David Muth)