“A mode of filmmaking that rigorously re-evaluates cinematic conventions and explores non-narrative forms or alternatives to traditional narratives or methods of working.”

                – Maria Pramaggiore and Tom Wallis, Film: A Critical Introduction, Laurence King Publishing, London, 2005

Scroll down the page for a selection of the most well-known experimental films from throughout film history.

NORMAN MCLAREN

McLaren was a Scottish artist recruited to the National Film Board of Canada.  He worked as an animator but during his long career, pioneered many experimental techniques – including drawing or scratching directly on the film stock, using step-printing (a laboratory-created copying of frames) and mixing pixillation and other animation methods.  By drawing on the space reserved for the optical sound track, he even was able to create original sounds, and composed music this way – making him one of the first “electronic” musicians.