01 Feb Analog cinema: shooting on film
1
Feb
19
Mar
Analog cinema: shooting on film
- Formation longue durée
Sunday February 1, 2026 - Thursday March 19, 2026
All day
Main Film
2025 Rue Parthenais #301, Montréal, Quebec, H2K 3T2, Québec
With Myriam Charles (Cette Maison) et Marianne Ploska (Prière pour une mitaine perdue)
Application deadline : January 9th 2026 at 11:59pm
Cost : $450
Total duration: 41h
In person at Main Film’s office
With the financial support of the Quebec government, Main Film, dedicated to independent filmmaking, pursues its mission of supporting emerging filmmakers.
GENERAL INFORMATION
This comprehensive and affordable training program focuses on analog cinema, cinematography, and filmmaking practices. It is designed for filmmakers who want to open up new professional opportunities by adding essential skills to further their careers and help them grow.
Experienced director Miryam Charles and cinematographer Marianne Ploska will help participants master the following key elements :
- Cinematic language through the choice of emulsions and film sensitivity according to different artistic directions, for example:
- Indoor/outdoor
- Lighting and exposure techniques
- Color/black and white
- Dynamic ranges
- Negative or positive
- The different analog cameras and the specificities of each format
- 16mm/S16/35mm
- Framing, ratios, and focal lengths
- Bolex/Aaton/Arriflex
- Operation and handling
- Viewing and commenting on excerpts from works shot on film
- Development, its artistic impact, and post-production
- How to adapt your pre-production practice to an analog context and budget your shoot.
- Practical exercises in 16mm
- Directory of relevant resources and a viewing list.
CONDITIONS OF ELIGIBILITY
The course is open to 8 people only.
It is addressed to self-employed media arts workers living in Quebec.
DETAILED SCHEDULE
Module 1 | Types of emulsion, exposure, and sensitometry
- Sunday, February 1st from 10am to 5pm (6h + 1h break)
Module 2.1 | Formats and Framing, Ratios and Focal Lengths
- Sunday, February 8th from 10am to 5pm (5h + 1h break)
Module 2.2 | Types of cameras, operation, and handling
- Sunday, February 15th from 10am to 5pm (6h + 1h break)
Module 3 | Viewing and commentary evening
- Tuesday, February 17th from 6pm to 9pm (3h)
Module 4 | Development, its artistic impact, and post-production
- Wednesday, February 18th from 6pm to 9pm (3h)
Module 5 | Preproduction and budget
-
- Sunday, February 22nd from 10am to 5pm 6h + 1h break)
Module 6.1 | Practical exercises in 16mm
- Saturday, February 28th from 10am to 5pm (5h + 1h break)
- and Sunday, March 1st from 10am to 5pm (5h + 1h break)
Module 6.2 | Feedback on the footage
- Thursday, March 19th from 6pm to 9pm (3h)
APPLICATION
Your application must be sent via this form before January 9th, 2026 at 11:59pm :
ABOUT
Marianne Ploska is a filmmaker, director of photography, and camera assistant originally from France, now based in Montreal.
With a background in experimental film collectives and collaborations with cinematographers from a variety of backgrounds, she has gained solid experience with both analog and digital cameras, exploring their uses in a wide range of filming contexts.
She was the director of photography for Jean François Lesage’s Un amour d’été and Prière pour une mitaine perdue (Canadian Screen Award for Best Cinematography in 2022), and for Les 12 travaux d’Imelda alongside Benoit Beaulieu and Richard Duquette.
An active member of Main Film, Miryam Charles is a Haitian-born director, producer, and cinematographer living in Montreal. She has produced several short and feature-length fiction films. Her films have been screened at various festivals in Quebec and internationally. Her first feature film, Cette maison, was screened at the Berlinale and the AFI Film Festival, and was also included in the TIFF Top 10 in 2022. She also launched the short film Au crépuscule at the Locarno Film Festival. As a producer, she is currently working on the post-production of the series Après le déluge.
