Dan McLaughlin

Dan McLaughlin

History

Dan McLaughlin was an animator best known for his work as head of the Animation Workshop at UCLA from 1970 until his retirement in 2007. He took over the program from Dumbo animator Bill Shull and in 1971, founded the school’s M.F.A. Animation Program. In 1968, McLaughlin’s student film from UCLA, "God Is Dog Spelled Backwards," which featured 3,000 years of art in three minutes, aired on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. The experimental film was set to the instrumental piece “Classical Gas,” penned by Mason Williams, a staff writer for the CBS variety series. The guitarist asked McLaughlin to adjust his film, previously set to Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, to the newly Top Ten hit. McLaughlin also did animation for Sesame Street, and contributed to the series Cartoon Sushi. Additionally, his 1963 film Claude was honored at the Chicago International Film Festival.

Profile

Dan McLaughlin

Movies

Red/Green
Red/Green
Director
"A minimal experimental film. A moving painting that demonstrates the principles of fugitive sensations. Not for everyone"
God Is Dog Spelled Backwards
God Is Dog Spelled Backwards
Director
In a joyous tour de force, the world's greatest paintings -- all schools, all periods -- flash by at the rate of eight per second; yet we are able to recognize and retain most.
Microsecond
Microsecond
Director
The film artist's concept of a microsecond, produced under an IBM grant, utilizing both live action and animation techniques, including an exciting split image sequence in which the period of one day and twenty-eight centuries are shown as equal time through fast motion photographic techniques. [Source: Creative Film Society Catalogue, 1975]