Hi,

I'm part of a community of video artists called Kino (www.kino00.com). Kino was founded in Montreal in 1998. The objective was to encourage video artists to make movies by giving them a venue to screen them, and inspire them to do more with less. The motto is: "do well with nothing, do better with little, and do it right now!"

Each month, Kino-Montreal organises screenings of short movies produced by members. Each screening attracts an audience of about 400 people.

The Kino concept has been exported elsewhere, and there are now more than 50 other kino cells all over the globe, mostly in Canada and Europe, but a few have also appeared in Africa, Australia, and the US (check www.wis-kino.com). All cells are independent, but all have the same objectives.

The group also organises special events called Kino-Kabaret, which are often associated with film festivals. A Kino-Kabaret is basically a video production marathon, with a screening every 48 hours. They are not competitions and there are no prizes to win. The biggest one, the Montreal Fall Kino-Kabaret, goes on for 10 days (that's 5 screenings) and welcomes over 50 directors. Kino-Kabarets are often used in order to provoke the birth of new Kino cells.

Last August, I took part in a 6-day Kabaret in Matane (QC, Canada). That was my 4th Kabaret in 4 months. I directed/shot/edited 3 movies, and was camera operator on 2 others (and that is low participation according to my standards). None of these movies were planned before-hand, and the crew and cast were assembled on the same day as the shooting (which is usually how movies are made in these events). There were about 50 movies shot over the course of these 6 days.

Most of the movies are up at http://www.kinomatane.org/kabaret/films.php

My own 3 movies are:
"Sans-Titre", (5th from the top, no dialogue)
"Au pays de l'ours noir" (if you understand French...)
"Salut les amoureux!" (it's a French song, but the lyrics aren't really important)

Click on "détails du film" to open the movie page, then "voir le film" to see it!

I'm wondering if anyone had the time to check out my movies...? I guess I should have provided direct links (Try Right-click and save-as on links):

www.kinomatane.org/kabaret/vid/salut-les-amoureux-jf16-9.mov
(music video [kind of] with teddy bears. It's a French song, but you might know the melody as The City Of New Orleans. This one is a love song though)

www.kinomatane.org/kabaret/vid/robichaud_photographe.mov
(thriller, no dialog)

www.kinomatane.org/kabaret/vid/ours_noir.mov
(comedy, in French)

I would especially like to have comments on the second one (photographe). Note that these movies were shot and edited done in less than 48 hours (actually, I shot the last two back-to-back and I edited them in parallel for the same screening)

jean-francois, your work is great. i really liked the first one (looks like it could have been a contender in DV Challenge #3) but couldn't understand the second too well (my high school french betrays me). still, they both looked great. i liked the mobile camera in the first one, worked well to portray the fear and vertigo of being pursued by the soul-stealing camera guy. the third one with the teddy bears was sort of sad, though funny in places. seeing stuffed animals having human heartbreaks is always kind of poignant and weird.

nice-looking camerawork, and a very eclectic batch of films.

the links did not work for me. i went straight to the site to access them. which may help explain why you're not getting much feedback. oddly, after i accessed them directly through the site, then the links seemed to function properly. can't explain why, thought you might like to know.

Thanks for your comments Meryem.

The teddy bear one is even sadder in a re-edited version, but that version is not online yet. The original version that is shown here was edited in about 60 minutes, because another guy was using my computer up till the last hour before the screening. I actually had my movie render during the first half of the screening. Wheeeww!

As for the photographer one, I'm very happy with how it came out, considering there was no preparation at all for it. I have been working on a smoother edit, but it's not available online yet either. It's true that it had the right theme for the DV challenge...

I don't understand why the links didn't work at first. Maybe if right-clicking and choosing save-as...

what significant gear did you use to make your videos? i always like to get the lowdown on the technical back story....

I shot all 3 with my Canon GL2, and edited on Premiere Pro, all over the course of 6 days.

The teddy bear movie was something I had wanted to do for a little while. On the first day of the Kabaret I did the camera for another director, then I went on a shopping spree for my teddies. It was shot in the morning of the next day. I used a reflector on a few of the exterior shots. As for interiors shots, most were lit by sunlight, with some reflection. I then had to wait for somebody else to finish editing his own movie on my computer. One hour before the screening, I started editing. I saw the movie in its entirety for the first time when it was projected for the audience. I used Magic Bullet Looks on some of the shots.

On the 3rd day, I did the camera for another movie. On the 4th day, I shot the comedy with the 4 actors (with the French dialog). I had a small Lowel lighting kit (4 lights, including 2 soft sources) to use for the main interior scene. To save some time, I tried to shoot everything with a single lighting setup, with only minor tweaks for reverse angles. Most of the dialogue was improvised (and there was a lot of it!).

The next morning, I shot the Photographer movie, with no special gear. I shot it with the ND filter on, and as wide open as possible, in order to make the DOF smaller. Then I got back to the lab and started editing both movies. The music for the photographer was something a friend had composed for a previous short movie, but it just felt like the perfect fit for this one too. The music for the other movie was written on the spot by a musician who happened to be there :)

And I used my loyal Rode Videomic for all that needed sound...

The next morning, I shot the Photographer movie, with no special gear. I shot it with the ND filter on, and as wide open as possible, in order to make the DOF smaller.

sounds like an action-packed week. it must have been a bit nerve-wracking to see something for the first time with an audience playing along. you squeezed some very nice stuff from your GL2, especially liked the look of the Photographer movie and will have to try this technique you've described. i'm assuming this is all shot in 60i not frame mode, since you were applying magic bullet?

Everything was shot in 60i. I've only had the GL2 for a few months and I was worried that frame mode would hurt the resolution (it does to a noticeable degree, as my recent tests have shown, but I will probably shoot my next movie in frame mode anyway). I didn't deinterlace; for some shots in the teddy bear movie, I used the Magic Bullet Looks presets, which adds a little diffusion, glow and tint easily.

It was indeed nerve-wracking to see the movie with the audience for the first time, especially as my movie played last.

Next week should be even more intense. A 10-day Kino-Kabaret starts in Montreal on October 13. I do hope to have a movie for each of the 5 screenings.