Journal of Film Preservation - FIAF

The only man alive in the whole factory is Norman McLaren, the
King of Canada. (1)
In a hundred years…
I once asked McLaren how he would be remembered in 100 years:
Well, if it’s the history of cinema – that’s a huge field. The big part
of it is the feature film, then documentary films, and then you
come down to the smaller films, maybe the animated films. I
might be classed as an animated filmmaker, or maybe there is a
little subclass called the experimental filmmaker, in which I would
prefer to be classed and would like to see myself mentioned.
Let’s see…100 years from now? As an innovator of new
techniques, some of which led to a few distinguished or
interesting films. Let’s say, on the ground, as an innovator of new
techniques, that’s certain, I’m sure of that, but as to the
assessment of my films 100 years from now…Tastes change so
much. I know it’s avoiding your question altogether, but probably
100 years from now, not many of my films will exist. (2)
McLaren was not only suggesting that many of his films would not
exist because they had not withstood the judgement of film history,
but also because they would not physically exist. He was saying that
film, the medium, simply does not last indefinitely. And in this, he is
correct. The NFB is issuing all of McLaren’s completed and uncompleted
films and tests on seven DVDs in 2005. I have been supervising the
preparation of the digital Betacam masters, and have found that the
original negatives of several of his films are showing signs of
irretrievable deterioration.
It is, as one might expect, the older films which are in the poorest
condition. But this is not always the rule. Begone Dull Care (1949) is in
very good condition, but Lines Vertical (1960) is not. In some instances,
such as Hen Hop (1942), the red backgrounds added in the printing
process are now neither red nor even in density across the frame. In the
case of Hen Hop, we were able to find one good red frame, and have
applied that throughout the film. In four instances, we found good
printing materials outside the NFB. This is not a criticism of the NFB.
This is a story that is repeated in many filmmaking and television
institutions. Focused on the here-and-now of making films, they do not
concern themselves with the significance of the historical record they
are creating.
In 1986, Laser Disc Corporation in Japan released a video-disc of eleven
of McLaren’s films. Here is a portion of McLaren’s reaction:
The visual quality in terms of contrast, density, chroma, and hue is
very accurate. The purity and clarity of the colour appeared to be
better than that of many 35mm optical prints I have seen. For
example, in Blinkity Blank, where the colour distinction between
the two flashing creatures is critical for their identification, the
tone-value and saturation of the red and the cyan is perfect.
Of course, it is a great source of satisfaction for me to know that
you have put my work into a form that is permanent, and which
will withstand the ravages of time. (3)
30 Journal of Film Preservation / 69 / 2005