Guide
A GUIDE FOR THE KINOKABARET
What is a kino kabaret?
Making short films within 2 or 3 days is the premise for a kinokabaret. The concept of quickly organized independent semi-professional or amateur filmmaking was spawned in Canada and has quickly spread around the world. The brevity of available production time necessitates cooperation, imagination, and a talent for improvisation among all dedicated participants. Kinokabarets are makeshift and chaotic, but they offer a unique experience to try out the medium, to learn a lot, and to meet enthusiastic film people.
The usual crowd consists of young directors and actors, autodidacts and film students, semi-professional camera operators and editors as well as musicians and make-up artists. Anyone who wants to join the cabaret is welcome, as we adhere to a non-competitive approach. Originality is as important as craftsmanship. Many film genres are allowed; we do not censor your work.
To learn more about our philosophy, please visit the following websites:
kino00.com (Montreal) • kino5.net(Vienna)
Technical Issues
With the rapid development of digital technology and affordable film equipment, low budget independent filmmaking has become more accessible. Video footage is shot on digital miniDV or HDV cameras and edited on computers (with programs such as Final Cut Pro, AVID, or Adobe Premiere). Film music and sound effects can be either recorded or composed directly on laptops (using software such as Qbase, Logic, Wavelab, Fruity Loops, and Reason). Finished projects are then exported back onto miniDV tapes or transcoded and compressed into mpg files to be burned onto DVDs for the screenings via projector. We will try and assemble a DVD with selected films from the kabaret.
Note that we use the PAL video system in Europe with a frame rate of 25p. The individual running time of a film must not exceed 10 minutes. Please consider to make your films as short as possible! The attention span of any given audience is limited!
Admission / Code of Conduct
Upon entering the kinolab for the first time you will be asked to register at our office desk. Please bring a mobile phone! Make a list of all the serial numbers of your equipment!
After paying the participation fee for one round or more, you will receive an ID badge. You are now entitled to eat, drink, borrow equipment, cast a crew, and find a space for your luggage. The lab serves as a base and nexus. Please wear your badge at all time to promtly identify yourself! At least one staff member should always be present at the kinolab. Ask anyone, if you need help! All guests are accommodated privately with Kinoberlino members and local participants. You may edit your films at home or in the kinolab, whichever way you feel most comfortable. Sharing knowledge and skills is highly recommended. We welcome everyone to experience a friendly and team-spirited environment. Please avoid sleeping in the lab!
Entering the kinolab is ONLY possible with a valid BADGE. Security is our priority. Please keep the room safe and clean at all times. Protect the lab, because your gear is at stake here, too! Please respect the ban on smoking, drugs, and pollution!
Producing your filmsA new kabaret round usually starts with drawing a theme out of a hat. Simple ideas are then developed over night. At the production meeting in the morning the directors / script writers will briefly announce their film project at the kinolab. They say whom and what they require in order to form a new film crew. Present actors, editors, camera operators, sound engineers, and musicians will then decide to join their favorite film project. After the meeting / breakfast each crew plans their project and leaves for their film sets. Please note that we are not responsible for the shooting locations you choose or for obtaining a legal permit (Drehgenehmigung). As long as you do not obstruct traffic or make noise late at night, filming some outdoor scenes should be permitted. We have no film studios, so ask kabaret participants for cars or permission to shoot in their private homes! Keep in mind to finish your films on time for the screenings! If you don’t make it to the deadline, forget to add film credits or to rewind the tape, you might be asked to make a “penalty quickie” in the next round.
EquipmentBefore you start sharing your expensive gear, label ALL your equipment. Place nametags on cameras, microphones, lights, laptops, cables, hard drives, tripods, etc… If you possess a Kensington lock for your laptop, use it to prevent theft.
You will be responsible for any damage or loss of equipment you borrow. ALWAYS ASK BEFORE YOU TAKE SOMETHING! Always report your problems a.s.a.p., so we can try and solve them!
Costumes & Make-UpWe will provide a small room for costumes and make-up sets. You may bring some funny costumes or any clothes / accessories which might be useful for the kabaret, but you don’t need to bring your whole closet. Make a list of your belongings! :-)
Music / SoundMusicians are advised to bring samples of their work and style on mp3 sticks or CDs, so that the filmmakers may get a first impression and choose accordingly. Additionally, musicians should be prepared to quickly record their own performance or compose digitally. Keep in mind that you only have a few hours to make the music!
The best and safest method to acquire music and sound effects for a film is to directly compose the score while the editor polishes the rough cut on the last day of the production. This way, you will know how long the scenes are and how many themes you need.
The second best way to include music in a film is to use material from people you know personally and who give you written permission.
The third legal possibility to do obtain music is to download material that is not copyrighted or has a Creative Commons license for free non-commercial use and broadcast.
Sadly, there are often hectic circumstances that prevent all legal possibilities. Although we do strongly advise you to stay on the safe side — because you might want to present your work at other festivals or online — we cannot keep you from obtaining music through other shady sources. The KINO head office in Montreal recently issued a request not to send them any films with pirated music or footage.
Data Security (Virus blocker and Firewall)We strongly recommend you to have a firewall and virus scanner running on your computers. We have previously experienced problems with malware entering via USB as well as w-LAN networks or any other data carrier. Place the list of our sponsors’ logos in your film credits!
Broadcast and Distribution
KinoBerlino is the producer of all the films made during a kabaret. We will screen them in cinemas, distribute them on DVDs and broadcast them on TV. By participating in a kabaret you agree to this. Place the list of our and all our sponsors’ logos in your film credits! Ask for it! You retain your own rights to the films, but you have to make them under the Creative Commons license BY-ND-NC. The logo will be among the sponsor logos. We consider films given to us for screenings final versions!
Expectations and Advice
We veteran kinoites who have made many films and mistakes, participated in dozens of kabarets, and organized many of our own would like to share some advice. Use condoms!
FILMMAKERS (directors, authors, producers) should plan ahead of time. Apart maybe from experimental or animation shorts, kabaret films are team endeavors. Please formulate scripts or ask authors to do that! Most trained actors and crew are used to working with screenplays. If you have complicated shots or scenes in difficult locations, make sure you arrange for the required gear and have permission from the host. Keep an eye on the production time! Respect the expertise of the team! If you intend to tell a story, make sure it is worth the effort. Be clear and wise. Think angles.
ACTORS should be prepared to improvise on the set. There is little time for rehearsal. Many kabaret directors are inexperienced and need guidance. Whichever method you have acquired to get into character, use it to take the pressure off the director. Once you have agreed to act in a film, make sure you are fully committed and will stick to the project until the end. Never torpedo a film because of your ego! Trash might be inevitable in many cases, thus the spontaneity of the kabaret requires the lowering of expectations. Only very few of our films are ever accepted at festivals, but some of them might be useful for demo material. Kabarets are testing grounds, we learn by making mistakes. But the group spirit and absence of competition make this experience truly unique.
CAMERA and SOUND OPERATORS will encounter hasty conditions, amateur directors and actors, makeshift sets or must record without preparing lights. Many locations will require windshield for the boom mics or extreme camera-iris settings for night shots. Try to finish a film instead of losing too much time for “nice pictures”. Always take b-shots when you find a moment. Be economic and swift.
EDITORS will encounter as much time pressure as the rest of the team, maybe more. Together with the musicians they are the ones closest to the deadlines. Sacrificing sleep might be necessary, but don’t complain, because we advise you to recharge you batteries regularly. Don’t party too hard!
Contact KinoLab:
KinoBerlino@gmail.com
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production meetings & KINOLAB ELOK - Jugendclub
S-Ostkreuz Laskerstr. 6-8
[MAP]
Arrival day / registration: Fri. 3 Sept. 3 - 8 p.m.
Round I: Sat. 4 Sept. at 10 a.m.
Round II: Mon. 6 Sept. at 9 a.m.
Round III: Thu. 9 Sept. at 9 a.m. |
p u b l i c s c r e e n i n g s KINO MOVIEMENTOKottbusser Damm 22
Sun. 5 Sept. at 10 p.m.
Wed. 8 Sept. at 10 p.m.
Sat. 11 Sept. at 10 p.m. |
Public Transport Fares (Zones A+B):
Available at train stations and ticket vending machines.
Single Ticket: € 2,10 (short trip: € 1,20)
Day Ticket: € 6,10 / 7-Day Pass: € 25,40
Group Day Ticket (up to 5 persons) valid till 3 a.m.: € 15,40
Penalty for fare dodgers: € 60,-