''Blinkity Blank'' is a 1955 animated short film by Norman McLaren, engraved directly onto black

film leader A film leader is a length of film attached to the head or tail of a film to assist in threading a projector or telecine. A leader attached to the beginning of a reel is sometimes known as a head leader, or simply head, and a leader attached to the ...

, ''Blinkity Blank'' features a soundtrack combining improvisational jazz from composer

Maurice Blackburn Maurice McCrae Blackburn (19 November 1880 – 31 March 1944) was an Australian politician and socialist lawyer, noted for his protection of the interests of workers and the establishment of the legal firm known as Maurice Blackburn Lawyers. ...

along with

graphical sound Graphical sound or drawn sound (Fr. ''son dessiné'', Ger. ''graphische Tonerzeugung'',; It. ''suono disegnato'') is a sound recording created from images drawn directly onto film or paper that were then played back using a sound system. There are ...

s created by McLaren scratching onto the film's

optical sound Optical sound is a means of storing sound recordings on transparent film. Originally developed for military purposes, the technology first saw widespread use in the 1920s as a sound-on-film format for motion pictures. Optical sound eventually ...

track. ''Blinkity Blank'' features lines, dots and other abstract forms, along with fruits, trees, planets and chickens—the latter featured at length in another McLaren hand-drawn film ''

Hen Hop ''Hen Hop'' is a 1942 drawn-on-film animation short by Norman McLaren, in which a hen gradually breaks apart into an abstract movement of lines as it dances to a barn dance. One of a number of drawn-on-film animated works created by McLaren, '' ...

''—which blink in and out of existence, or merge with or modulate other shapes. McLaren also left some frames blank, which he described as "sprinkling on the empty band of time". It received the Short Film ''Palme d'Or'' at the 1955 Cannes Film Festival, the first prize for Best Animated Film at the BAFTA Awards as well as a

Silver Bear The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the fes ...

at the

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the fest ...

. ''Blinkity Blank'' was produced by the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...

References

External links

Watch ''Blinkity Blank'' at NFB.ca
1955 films Films directed by Norman McLaren National Film Board of Canada animated short films Drawn-on-film animated films Animated films without speech Short Film Palme d'Or winners BAFTA winners (films) Jazz films Visual music Graphical sound 1950s animated short films 1955 animated films Animated musical films Canadian animated short films Quebec films 1950s Canadian films {{short-animation-film-stub