Tom Daly (filmmaker)
Encyclopedia
Tom Daly was a Canadian film director and producer, who was the head of Studio B at the National Film Board of Canada
(NFB) in the 1950s and '60s. He produced and executive produced more than 300 films over a 44-year career at the NFB.
and documentary pioneer and NFB founder John Grierson
, who had hired Daly in 1940 directly following his graduation from the University of Toronto
. Daly was passionate about assisting in the NFB's war effort. Grierson was apparently taken with Daly’s intellect and bookish manner and brought him aboard as a production assistant, joking calling him “the best butler in the business,” an expression which would serve as the title for film scholar D.B. Jones’s book on Daly, The Best Butler in the Business: Tom Daly of the National Film Board of Canada, decades later.
and Direct Cinema
productions, as well as the multi-projector cinematic presentation In the Labyrinth
, which eventually led to the development of IMAX
. Daly was persuaded to put aside his studio responsibilities for a year and a half to edit In the Labyrinth.
He also produced such classic works as Colin Low’s Corral
, Wolf Koenig
and Roman Kroitor
’s Lonely Boy
, Koenig and Low’s City of Gold, Kroitor and Low’s Universe
, Arthur Lipsett
’s Very Nice, Very Nice
, and Gerald Potterton
’s animated short My Financial Career
. Daly also served as executive producer on Candid Eye
, a 14-part cinema-vérité series made between 1958 and 1961.
Daly ran a mixed-discipline studio that included many of the most talented Canadian film-makers of the time, including an animation group with luminaries such as Norman McLaren
, Don Arioli, and Robert Verrall; a documentary team including Roman Kroitor and Terrence McCartney Filgate, and with both Colin Low and Wolf Koenig working at various times in both areas.
.
National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...
(NFB) in the 1950s and '60s. He produced and executive produced more than 300 films over a 44-year career at the NFB.
Early years
Daly learned the art of film editing from filmmaker Stuart LeggStuart Legg
Stuart Legg was a documentary film-maker.As part of the British Documentary Film Movement, he worked with the General Post Office film unit from 1933, before replacing Paul Rotha as head of Strand Films in 1937...
and documentary pioneer and NFB founder John Grierson
John Grierson
John Grierson was a pioneering Scottish documentary maker, often considered the father of British and Canadian documentary film. According to popular myth, in 1926, Grierson coined the term "documentary" to describe a non-fiction film.-Early life:Grierson was born in Deanston, near Doune, Scotland...
, who had hired Daly in 1940 directly following his graduation from the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
. Daly was passionate about assisting in the NFB's war effort. Grierson was apparently taken with Daly’s intellect and bookish manner and brought him aboard as a production assistant, joking calling him “the best butler in the business,” an expression which would serve as the title for film scholar D.B. Jones’s book on Daly, The Best Butler in the Business: Tom Daly of the National Film Board of Canada, decades later.
Studio B
As head of the NFB's Studio B unit, Daly was involved in, or responsible for, numerous milestones and achievements in both documentary and animation film art, including Cinéma véritéCinéma vérité
Cinéma vérité is a style of documentary filmmaking, combining naturalistic techniques with stylized cinematic devices of editing and camerawork, staged set-ups, and the use of the camera to provoke subjects. It is also known for taking a provocative stance toward its topics.There are subtle yet...
and Direct Cinema
Direct Cinema
Direct Cinema is a documentary genre that originated between 1958 and 1962 in North America, principally in the Canadian province of Quebec and the United States...
productions, as well as the multi-projector cinematic presentation In the Labyrinth
In the Labyrinth
In the Labyrinth was a groundbreaking multi-screen presentation at Expo 67 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It used 35mm and 70mm film projected simultaneously on multiple screens and was the precursor of today's IMAX format.The film split elements across the five screens and also combined them for a...
, which eventually led to the development of IMAX
IMAX
IMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...
. Daly was persuaded to put aside his studio responsibilities for a year and a half to edit In the Labyrinth.
He also produced such classic works as Colin Low’s Corral
Corral (film)
Corral is a 1954 National Film Board of Canada documentary by Colin Low, partly shot in the Cochrane Ranch in what is now Cochrane, Alberta....
, Wolf Koenig
Wolf Koenig
Wolf Koenig is a Canadian film director, producer, animator, cinematographer, and a pioneer in Direct Cinema at the NFB.-Early life:...
and Roman Kroitor
Roman Kroitor
Roman Kroitor is a Canadian filmmaker who is known as an early practitioner of Cinéma vérité, as co-founder of IMAX, and as creator of the Sandde hand-drawn stereoscopic animation system...
’s Lonely Boy
Lonely Boy (film)
Lonely Boy is a 1962 cinema verite documentary about former teen sensation Paul Anka. The film takes its name from Anka's hit song, Lonely Boy, which he performs to screaming fans in the film...
, Koenig and Low’s City of Gold, Kroitor and Low’s Universe
Universe
The Universe is commonly defined as the totality of everything that exists, including all matter and energy, the planets, stars, galaxies, and the contents of intergalactic space. Definitions and usage vary and similar terms include the cosmos, the world and nature...
, Arthur Lipsett
Arthur Lipsett
Arthur Lipsett was a Canadian avant-garde director of short experimental films.In the 1960s he was employed as an animator by the National Film Board of Canada . Lipsett's particular passion was sound. He collected pieces of sound from a variety of sources and fit them together to create an...
’s Very Nice, Very Nice
Very Nice, Very Nice
Very Nice, Very Nice is a 7 minute long avant-garde film made by Arthur Lipsett in 1961, and produced by the National Film Board of Canada....
, and Gerald Potterton
Gerald Potterton
Gerald Potterton is a British/Canadian director, producer and animator. He is best known for directing the cult classic Heavy Metal and his animation work on Yellow Submarine....
’s animated short My Financial Career
My Financial Career
My Financial Career is a 1962 animated short directed by Gerald Potterton, based on a story of the same name from Stephen Leacock's Literary Lapses collection of short fiction. The six and a half minute film takes a humorous look at a young man's attempt to open a bank account...
. Daly also served as executive producer on Candid Eye
Candid Eye
Candid Eye is a Canadian documentary television series which aired on CBC Television in 1958.-Production:This series aired various National Film Board of Canada documentaries such as Blood and Fire , The Back-Breaking Leaf , The Days Before Christmas and Police Candid Eye is a Canadian...
, a 14-part cinema-vérité series made between 1958 and 1961.
Daly ran a mixed-discipline studio that included many of the most talented Canadian film-makers of the time, including an animation group with luminaries such as Norman McLaren
Norman McLaren
Norman McLaren, CC, CQ was a Scottish-born Canadian animator and film director known for his work for the National Film Board of Canada...
, Don Arioli, and Robert Verrall; a documentary team including Roman Kroitor and Terrence McCartney Filgate, and with both Colin Low and Wolf Koenig working at various times in both areas.
Retirement and death
He died on September 18 after a lengthy illness, at the Chateau Westmount residence in Westmount, QuebecWestmount, Quebec
Westmount is a city on the Island of Montreal, an enclave of the city of Montreal, in southwestern Quebec, Canada; pop. 20,494; area 4.02 km²; population density of 5,092.56 inhabitants/km²....
.
External links
- Tom Daly biography, National Film Board of CanadaNational Film Board of CanadaThe National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...
- "Final farewell to prolific NFB filmmaker and producer Tom Daly", National Film Board of Canada