Topic: Video!! For those who werent at the Ottawa Film Fest yesterday!

[JohnCyr]

Not looking to stir shit up again but when I asked Mike, before the film fest, if the Airborn guys and Ben fraser were considered amateurs or sponsored he told me they didnt fall under the amateur category as they have their videos with Epic TV online from whom they receive funding from. Therefore, they are sponsored. Quebec connection also do receive funding from Epic TV for a while now and guess what the Quebec Connection film is this week? Yep. L-P's video under a different name..?

http://www.epictv.com/media/podcast/freestyle-kayaking-the-valin-river-a-journey-%7C-quebec-connection-ep-6/265531

On top of it, In LP's newest video application for the WWGP ( https://vimeo.com/81409560 ), he takes the time to thank his sponsors at the end (La vie Sportive & Voir groupe vision)..so i am left a bit confused once again...

Like I said in my previous post," LP worked hard as hell and deserves nothing but the best and All in all, I dont think were trying to be sore losers but rather just voicing out opinions and concerns regarding "rules" or "guidelines" on the submissions which is just a small portion of the event! Id say this event was a major step up from the previous years and the attendance and videos submitted probably blew Mikes expectations! The beer sold out, the food was awesome, and the prizes were the bomb!! Its safe to say everyone had a blast and the event was a success!", but a few of the real amateurs arent quite impressed and arent really looking forward to work hard again to submit real amateur films next year if its going to be like that...

[JohnCyr]

I have to agree with Luc once again and Joanne as well.

Alot of effort has been put into this event by Joanne, Mike and all the volunteers. It was a great event... alot better than the one I attended a few years back at Beau's! Alot of great videos have been submitted and alot of effort has been put into the videos, especially LP's.
Perhaps my point on submitters not physically being at the event or the winners being chosen in advance dont really make sense in the end hahaha, I still think, just like Luc though, that the rules should be inforced next year. We all spent a significant amount of time reducing the edit and cutting out good clips in order to fit the transitions and be sure to fit within the 5 minutes as asked. Not to mention the clips from US rivers or 2012 footage we had on our hard drive that was AMAZING! (2012 was a better paddling year I must say haha)
As for the sponsorhips, well then again..perhaps he did get a favor from skip armstrong and the helicopter buddy... and maybe LP directly doesnt not get funding for his gear, videos and such... But I still feel that to a certain point it could be argued what is considered amateur and what is not when it comes to this... Like Luc said, perhaps rules should be inforced..or removed, next year. There is always room for improvement.

All in all.. I still do believe that LP's video was the best video shown that evening, period. Alot of work went into it. Probably alot more than the Sup board was even worth...So good for him! Really. He diserves it!

All in all, I dont think were trying to be sore losers but rather just voicing out opinions and concerns regarding small improvements which is just a small portion of the event! Id say this event was a major step up from the previous years and the attendance and videos submitted probably blew Mikes expectations! The beer sold out, the food was awesome, and the prizes were the bomb!! Its safe to say everyone had a blast and the event was a success!!!

What would be cool is to combine promo for the race that wook place WITH the film fest event next year!! Participation for the race was low IMO and its a great cause and great fun!! Matt also took alot of time to put it all together and I would be glad to volunteer a giood amount of my time next year in order to up the attendance for the race!!


Again, thanks to All who attended and all the volunteers that helped in any way shape or form!!

Cheers,

JN

[lafreniere.luc]

Thanks for the comments Joanne.

It's really cool to have such an event right here in Ottawa and I think everyone that got their video shown loved the idea (including myself).

Personally if we want this to be from paddlers across Canada, then I don't think we can realistically expect them to come to Ottawa.

But yeah, I really do think the rules have to be strict. Otherwise it discourages people from submitting. I'm pretty sure we all want as many great videos as possible.

The fact that both JN and I felt similarly (we didn't talk about this until now) means that probably others did as well. I can't speak to how he got access to a helicopter but this is beyond the average resources of most paddlers (haha we all know how many paddlers are rich!). Not so sure that should be allowed next year but then again, I don't have good suggestions to control that and any other ideas (maybe someone will use a blimp next year!). All I can say is add a rule? "No helicopter shots" wow, I can just see baffled looks next year with that one.

I can only speak for myself, I spent a considerable amount of effort keeping it to 5 min (down to the second) and excluded all footage from the USA and I had some great stuff down there.

Now, Joanne and Mike, besides passing that feedback, please do mention the fantastic stuff too including:

- I'm sure plenty of time was put into this event and it's great that this even exists
- nice touch on the local beer
- pretty darn good list of prizes, and if we want more, we need as much participation as possible
- I suspect Mike spent a lot of hours putting those videos on DVDs so the bar could play them,thank you
- promotion was also pretty darn good!

So even with the grumbling, I'm pretty sure all of us had a blast!

So thanks to Mike for all this work, and although Joanne wasn't in the spotlight, I suspect she played a significant role as well including morally for Mike

Sorry for the long post.

Luc

[Joanne]

Hi,
First, awesome videos by all... I thought I'd provide a little clarity on the judging. The winners were indeed selected in advance by a set of judges, essentially a rep from each company contributing prizes or promotion of the contest. I am pretty sure 5. Each judge selected their top 3. In this case, the votes created no ties but if there were, it would go back to voting for a deal breaker. So, while the videos were premiered at the event, the contest was not limited to those who were there. In fact, a girl from Calgary submitted one of the videos.

I'll feed back the comment to stick to any published rules (the length) and to publish further info next year. LP did indeed find out that day and scramble with shoddy internet to get a message back for the event. From personal knowledge, I do know that he does indeed paddle with Emrick of Quebec Connection but does not receive any sponsorship. Some entrants did indeed obtain footage from others with better equipment/ more experience but the line was simply drawn at any sort of support, or not.

Anyhow, I hope everyone can be excited about the opportunity to have everyone's videos shown and celebrated. As well, I hope everyone can recognize this is a volunteer event, which can sometimes lead to not being perfect in all respects. Finally, I think the sheer number and quality of the videos came as a surprise. That in and of itself will certainly lead to a repeat next year, which of course leaves the door open to learn and improve on this first year of execution.

Thanks,
Joanne

[JohnCyr]

Great event!! Glad to see so many paddlers from the club leave with prizes!!

I agree with Luc. Although the video was amazing...https://vimeo.com/80220684  .I feel as if LP's video was pre chosen already as a winner days before the event. And when I saw he was showing his Valin video at the event...I thought he fit in the same "Pro" category as Ben Fraser and the Airbon crew...

Here are a few things as Luc said, that I find, wasnt fair to the "real amateurs" out at the event:

1- He was not present at the event nor did he ever plan to attend.
2- The video was nearly 6 minutes long.
3- Not all shots were taken in Canada.
4- His thank you video from mexico had to be filmed in advance at some point.
5- And he is a big part of Quebec Connection, whos members, I believe,  receive compensation for their videos and receive sponsorship from local shops such as la vie sportive and other companies such as level six and select paddles to mention a few..
6- When you have skip armstrong helping you with certain shots and you have someone with a helicopter following you around....i wouldnt call this amateur....

All in all..I am not bitter... LP worked really hard to get where he is and his video was kick ass...I just feel as if most of us never stood a chance in the first place... You be the judge!

Although seeing many awesome videos that night want to make me work harder or my shooting and editing skills...I am not sure I want to work as hard and follow "rules or guidelines" in order to present a film next year and end up not standing a chance at the winning prize!

Cheers,

JN

[lafreniere.luc]

Here's mine.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DG76fQ8_4xQ

Also,  if I may give my opinion, although the winning video was indeed awesome,  I don't think it should have won.

It was nearly 6 min long and not all filmed in Canada (the rules were set at 5 min and within Canada by a Canadian). It also had shots from a freaking helicopter. Not so sure I'd consider that amateur. I'll know for next year that the rules are apparently only guidelines.

And I'm not bitter at all ;-)

[JohnCyr]

Here is the edit Martin and I put together for the event!

https://vimeo.com/79200722