"Jello Again is an entertaining film, produced entirely by animation, that stands by itself even when the special work necessary to produce it is discounted. This Kodachrome subject, filmed by Carl Anderson, is made entirely in stop motion with puppet actors, an exceedingly difficult job. The excellence of the handling of the puppets and accessory properties, together with the imaginative quality of the settings, makes the subject an outstanding one. Here and there throughout the film, there are certain indications of unevenness in exposure on the "over" side, but, because of the real achievement embodied in the film as a whole, this very slight flaw may well be overlooked. The models used in the action were most cleverly constructed and colored, and the variety of camera angles employed was especially appropriate to the subject from the point of view of presenting the material advantageously." Movie Makers, Dec. 1939, 634.
"Renowned Hungarian violinist Jelly D'Aranyi steals the scene, and brings a swirl of glamour to a cold Manchester day, as she entertains young Ruth Behrens in the family's garden. Jelly always stayed at Holly Royde, the Behrens' family home, when she performed with the Halle Orchestra. Look out for Ruth's sister Mary, confined to the house with a cold, and watching the fun through opera glasses." (BFI Player)
"This film is dedicated to all lousy golfers who give up the game daily..." Fully narrated film of a round of golf at the [Cape Neddick?] Country Club in Ogunquit, Maine. Foldfilm.org
"Kaleidoscopio, by Dr. Roberto Machado, is a brilliant and provocative study in abstractions, filmed in its entirety through a kaleidoscope. Dr. Machado's cinematic extension tube, however, is quite obviously not the familiar small toy of one's childhood: in one sequence, delicate human fingers are deployed before the device, while in another a set of colored, kitchen measuring spoons do a gay dance in multiple. The lighting — which traditionally was transmitted only through the base — ranges from that type (through gleaming balls of crushed cellophane) to reflected illumination on an assortment of children's marbles. Billed by its producer as a "film musical," Kaleidoscopio is indeed instinct with strong rhythmic patterns and pulsations. The picture is an exciting and imaginative advance along the ever widening frontiers of personal motion pictures." Movie Makers, Dec. 1946, 471.
C’est à l’automne 1937, au retour de l’exposition universelle de Paris, qu’Omer Parent entreprend la réalisation de l’œuvre expérimentale La vie d’Émile Lazo. En réaction directe à la « loi du cadenas » émise par le gouvernement Duplessis, le titre de ce court-métrage réfère au tout premier film visé par cette nouvelle motion censurogène, imposée aux médias : The life of Emile Zola de William Dieterle (1937).
S’il s’agit là du premier film expérimental achevé par Parent, l’œuvre est également issue d’une collaboration amicale au sein de professeurs de l’École des beaux-arts de Québec qui se prêtent au jeu de l’acteur : la sculptrice Sylvia d’Aoust (1902-2004), la dessinatrice Arline Généreux (1897-1987), la graveuse Simone Hudon (1905-1984), le couple Madeleine Des Rosiers (1904-1994) et son mari Jean Paul Lemieux (1904-1990), tous les deux peintres. À cette petite bande — qui fréquente l’éphémère atelier du « Nordet » où le tournage a lieu —, s’ajoute Robert Lapalme (1908-1997), caricaturiste et illustrateur de talent au style immédiatement reconnaissable, seule figure à ne pas occuper alors un poste de professeur. Sorte d’électron libre, Lapalme, en plus de rédiger le scénario du film en écho à sa propre existence, y incarne le rôle d’Émile Lazo. Terminé au printemps 1938, ce film « amateur » porte sur la condition de l’artiste « moderne » vis-à-vis de l’académisme dont il cherche à se libérer.
Peu après sa création, La vie d’Émile Lazo a été projetée à quelques reprises lors de présentations publiques et particulières dont une visait, en 1941, à célébrer l’installation d’Alfred Pellan — meilleur ami de Parent — dans son nouvel atelier. Depuis cette époque, ce film, dont il n’existe que deux copies sur pellicule, est demeuré pour ainsi dire inédit, connu seulement par quelques amateurs et spécialistes. Zoom-out est fier de présenter cette satire, rare et burlesque.
In the autumn of 1937, upon his return from the Paris Universal Exhibition, Omer Parent undertakes the creation of the experimental work "The Life of Emile Lazo". In direct reaction to the "Padlock Law" issued by the Duplessis government, the title of this short movie refers to the very first film targeted by this new censorship motion imposed on the media: William Dieterle's "The Life of Emile Zola" (1937). Completed in the spring of 1938, this "amateur" movie deals with the condition of the "modern" artist in relation to academicism from which he seeks to free himself.
While this is Parent's first experimental work, it is also the result of a friendly collaboration among professors at the École des beaux-arts de Québec who lend themselves to the role of actors: sculptor Sylvia d'Aoust (1902-2004), draughtswoman Arline Généreux (1897-1987), engraver Simone Hudon (1905-1984), the couple Madeleine Des Rosiers (1904-1994) and her husband Jean Paul Lemieux (1904-1990), both painters. A little appart in this small group of artists and professors — who frequents the ephemeral "Nordet" studio where filming takes place— Robert Lapalme (1908-1997), a talented caricaturist and illustrator with a immediately recognizable style, is added. Lapalme, in addition to writing the film's screenplay in echo with his own existence, also plays the role of Émile Lazo.
Shortly after its creation, "The Life of Émile Lazo" was screened a few times during public and private presentations, one of which aimed, in 1941, to celebrate the installation of Alfred Pellan—Parent's best friend—in his new studio. Since then, this rare and burlesque satire, of which only two copies on film exist, has remained virtually unpublished, known only to a few enthusiasts and specialists until fall of 2022 where it was realeased online.
"In Lake Superior Landscape, the artist, Dewey Albinson, demonstrates his technique of landscape painting from the bare canvas stage to the climactic moment when the glowingly finished product is first exhibited. Shot by Elmer Albinson, the film is marked by vivid closeups and many changing angles, which help immeasurably to achieve a comprehensive sense of growth as the painting progresses. Producer Albinson understands the relationship that exists between the object, the artist and the painting; he has used his camera with accuracy and sensitivity to pass this understanding on to those who see his film." Movie Makers, Dec. 1947, 538.
‘Record of the building of a house. On screen title states "A specification for building a modern house in Dorset". The films proceeds through the following processes - Site inspection by architect and surveyor, clearing the site, laying trenches and adding concrete, bricklaying, placement of joists and lintels, installing outside staircase, building flat asphalted roof, foreman keeping an eye on works, adding steel balustrades, architect regularly inspecting, installing interior partition walls, installing internal staircase, electrically polishing downstairs wooden floors, painting, viewing the finished house’ (EAFA Database).
"Among the ten best, The Last Entry, running seven reels 16mm., is one of the most ambitious amateur photoplays ever undertaken and completed. The plot, requiring many elaborate interior sets, is based on a mystery story that opens with a house party. While a room is darkened for the projection of amateur films, one of the guests is murdered and all present may be suspected equally. The detective handling the case uncovers the fact that the murdered man, an author, has lived on blackmail effected by threats of exposure through publication, which throws suspicion on several of the guests of the house party who were discovered to be his victims. However, in the end, the murder is solved by screening the same pictures that were on the projector when it was committed. Although this plot offered great difficulties in the direction of large group scenes, the creation of the necessary lighting effects and the interpretation of the actors' roles, it is beautifully and suavely handled. In the film are several lighting treatments that may be listed as among the most effective ever achieved by amateurs. One chase sequence staged through long corridors, a large, dimly lighted attic and on the roof of the mansion at night in the rain, can be likened only to the effects secured in the best professional mystery photoplays. James F. Bell, jr., ACL, was director with Charles H. Bell, ACL, and Benjamin Bull, jr., ACL, cameramen and Lyman Howe, ACL, in charge of lighting." Movie Makers, Dec. 1932, 537-538.
"An edited home movie by Arthur H. Smith of Smith's later years, living with his wife Blanche in Big Bear Lake, California, including a description of his filmmaking process." Archive.org
"Made by Mr. And Mrs. Chambers to advertise tea and to stimulate tea-drinking across Canada, and accompanied by a narrative by Mrs. Chambers, in English for English-speaking audiences and in French for French-speaking audiences. The equipment to make the film was loaned by the Dunne and Rundle camera shop in Vancouver, where the film was made.
"The puppet story is about a Princess who mysteriously falls asleep with an unknown disease, and her father, the King, who sends far and wide to discover a cure. Finally the Princess is revived with tea and the young man who brings it to her is rewarded with her hand in marriage. The sponsor of the film was the old Empire Tea Bureau, for whom the Chambers' worked during the 1930s." (Colin Browne, Motion Picture Production in British Columbia, 1898-1940 (1979), entry #0872.)
The film is listed in Browne's filmography as "Tea Bureau Puppet Show."
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Amateur Cinema