McLaren's Workshop app for iPad

Discover the amazing works of filmmaker Norman McLaren with this brilliant iPad app.

Our Verdict

A fitting tribute to one of the great innovative animators of our times. You’ll love it!

For

  • Includes three creative and engaging workshops
  • Tools for simulating McLaren-style animations quickly
  • Eaily export films to the iPad’s Camera Roll

Against

  • Not much!

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Norman McLaren app

Norman McLaren (1914-1987) was most famous for his animations created by etching directly onto celluloid. His films became cinema landmarks.

This wonderfully crafted tribute app functions as a repository of information about McLaren, including a biography and 51 classic animated films to view (free), plus three creative elements - a Paper Cut-Out workshop, a Synthetic Sound workshop and an Etching on Film workshop.

Norman McLaren app

This app gives you access to 51 classic animations to view for free

These are the most engaging parts of the app, because they give you the chance to ape McLaren’s style in your own projects. You get the Paper Cut-out workshop for free, but the others are $2.99 (£1.99).

Etching on Film is really fun to use - there are tools for simulating scratching images on film and colouring them, and it's easy to build up a simple McLaren-style animation quickly. You can then export your film to the iPad’s Camera Roll where you can use all the standard sharing options, or send it straight to Vimeo.

Norman McLaren app

The app includes plus three creative elements – a Paper Cut-Out workshop, a Synthetic Sound workshop and an Etching on Film workshop.

Review by: Graham Barlow

Key info

  • Works with: iPad
  • Price: Free
  • Developer: National Film Board
  • Version: 1.0.3
  • App size: 185MB
  • Age rating: 4+

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The Verdict
10

out of 10

McLaren's Workshop

A fitting tribute to one of the great innovative animators of our times. You’ll love it!

Craig Stewart

Craig Stewart is a writer, SEO strategist and content marketer, and is a former editor of Creative Bloq. Craig has written about design, typography, tech and football for publications including Creative Bloq, T3, FourFourTwo and DSG, and he has written a book on motoring for Haynes. When he's not writing, you'll usually find Craig under his old car learning about DIY repairs the hard way.