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Kvadrat (film)
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Wikipedia article
'Kvadrat' is a 2013 documentary feature film written, co-produced, and directed by Anatoly Ivanov. The film explores the realities of techno DJing,[http://www.filmstarts.de/kritiken/228091.html FilmStarts.de] Kvadrat using the example of Russian DJ Andrey Pushkarev. Filmed as a hybrid between a road-movie and a music video, 'Kvadrat' not only illustrates the festive atmosphere of techno night clubs, but also reveals the lesser known side of this profession.[http://pulseradio.net/articles/2014/01/watch-kvadrat-documentary-shows-the-realities-of-techno-djing Pulse Radio] Kvadrat Documentary Shows The Realities Of Techno DJing, January 31, 2014 Shot in Switzerland, France, Hungary, Romania and Russia, the film omits the typical documentary elements: no interviews, no explanatory voice-over, no facts, no figures. It gives priority to abundantly sounding techno music, leaving the detailed interpretation to the viewer.[http://www.anatolyivanov.com/prose/en/AI.7.00166/ Kvadrat original synopsis from February 2011] June 23, 2014
Synopsis
DJ Andrey Pushkarev wakes up in his Moscow apartment, packs his vinyl records into a rolling bag and leaves for Domodedovo airport, to fly to Zurich. Upon arriving, he is greeted by the promoter of the Supermarket club. After falling asleep in the hotel, he is rudely awaken by the alarm, dresses up and leaves for the job in the middle of the night. After finishing his DJ set, he leaves the club to take the train to Geneva. While en route, instead of admiring the Alpine scenery, he sleeps.
After a short visit to a friend in Geneva (whether male or female is not shown), he takes the plane back to Moscow. He thus completes the first "story loop", repeated with slight variations throughout the entire film, a metaphor on techno music loops.
In his flat in Moscow, after quickly replying to booking requests on Skype, he goes through his huge collection of vinyl techno records to prepare his next performances. A quick shave and he leaves to take a taxi for the railway station, where he boards a train for Saint Petersburg.
Once in Saint Petersburg, he waits at a friends flat, while listening to tracks on Beatport. After nightfall, he is driven to Barakobamabar, where he plays a set. At dawn, his friends accompany him to the metro, one of them barely walking from too much drink. Pushkarev then takes the metro back to the train station, using a short-cut through Saint Petersburg down-town.
Back in Moscow, and back to the beginning of the story loop, he visits his friends and while drinking tea, debates his dream of playing techno during the day and bringing the techno club industry more in line with a healthy lifestyle.
After a short metro trip, he plays in a Moscow club Mir, after which he flies out to Geneva, again. There, he takes the same train as previously, looping in the other direction, to Olten via Bern. Greeted by the club promoter, he goes directly to the local club Terminus, where technical problems hamper his performance. The Technics SL-1210 turntable refuses to switch the playback speed from 45 rpm to 33 rpm. Later, a club technician bumps his elbow into the tonearm. Tired, Pushkarev takes a cab to the hotel, where he checks his in-coming booking requests on the notebook computer.
In the morning, he takes the train to Lausanne where he changes for a TGV to Paris. After a performance at the 4 lments bar, he continues his trip to the SWISS hub in Zurich, where he boards a flight to Budapest.
The local crew transport him from Budapest to Kecel, where he plays at the club Korona to a massive audience. Asleep in the car back to Budapest, he misses the decorated down-town and gets only a couple of hours to repack at the hotel, before leaving again for the airport, restarting the loop.
He flies back to the Zurich hub, where he changes for a flight to Bucharest.
Picked-up at the airport, he is driven to Craiova, where he plays at club Krypton without any rest.
The next day, he sleeps in the car during a huge snowstorm of 2012, one of the deadliest in Romanias history, to arrive in Cluj-Napocas club Midi. He plays to an ecstatic crowd, only to wake up in the same battered BMW driving again through winter.
Finally, he arrives at the seaside, stares at the waves and the sunset and silently walks away, leaving his bag of vinyls on the beach.
Production
Because of budget restrictions, Anatoly Ivanov acted as writer, co-producer, director, cinematographer, editor, and sound engineer.[http://www.anatolyivanov.com/prose/en/AI.7.00167/ Kvadrat directors thoughts about his film] 8 July 2014
Development
Anatoly Ivanov formed an idea for 'Kvadrat' after completing an impromptu 30-minute short in Cantonese in February 2011 about a private Hong Kong martial arts event. He suggested to shoot a realistic DJing documentary to Andrey Pushkarev,[http://paris.blog.lemonde.fr/2014/10/15/anatoly-ivanov-artiste-et-homme-daction/ Le Monde Blogs] Un Interview dAnatoly IVANOV | Artiste Autodidacte et Radical, par Peter Gabor, October 15, 2014 when the two met in the directors Paris flat shortly afterwards.[http://bekurov.tumblr.com/post/65513895504 ] , October 30, 2013
Anatoly Ivanov teamed up with Yury Rysev to privately finance the project, initially mis-calculating the total required by a factor of 5. A drastic cost-cutting approach to production allowed to film the feature in 5 countries, despite the tiny budget, thanks in part for everyone on the project volunteering without any financial compensation.[http://www.meoko.net/interviews/exclusive-interview-with-andrey-pushkarev-silence-in-music-the-kvadrat-movie MEOKO Press] Exclusive Interview with Andrey Pushkarev and Anatoly Ivanov - Silence in Music & the Kvadrat Movie, November 6, 2014
Locations
'Kvadrat' was filmed exclusively on location[http://vimeo.com/70724357 Kvadrat (en)] - end-titles in:
* Switzerland
** Zurich
** Geneva
** Olten
* France
** Paris
** Marseille
* Hungary
** Budapest
** Kecel
* Romania
** Bucharest
** Craiova
** Cluj-Napoca
* Russia
** Moscow
** Saint Petersburg
** Izhevsk, Udmurtia
** Votkinsk, Udmurtia
** Stepanovo, Udmurtia
And during regular flights by SWISS and Izhavia, train journeys by SBB CFF FFS, RZD, and on public transport in Genevas TPG, Saint Petersburg Metro and Moscow Metro.
Cinematography
Principal photography began on August 27, 2011, ended on July 16, 2012 and lasted 55 days (if counting the days when the camera was rolling).
The film was shot in the spherical 1080p HD format using a pair of Canon 1D mark IV cameras[http://shotonwhat.com/kvadrat-2013.html Shot on What?] Kvadrat (2013) and just two Canon still-photography lenses.[http://www.visualimagingnews.com/issues/2014/01/vin_1401_spread.pdf Visual Imaging News] Issue 2014-01, page 16
Anatoly Ivanov was the only crew to shoot video and record sound for the film, carrying all the cinema equipment on himself.[http://www.digitalmedia-world.com/Features/the-dj-s-journey.html The DJs Journey] Digital Media World, March 13, 2014 He eschewed the use of dollies, cranes, jibs, steadicams, tripods, sliders and car mounts and shot 'Kvadrat' exclusively with a handheld rig.[http://vimeo.com/108347135 Kvadrat Gear] a feature documentary about the filming of Kvadrat, by Anatoly Ivanov No additional lighting was used either.
Editing and post-production
Editing in Final Cut Pro X, post-production started immediately after the wrap of principal photography. It took 1 year in Geneva and was plagued by technical problems, such as removal of hot pixels on the footage from the cameras and inadequate computer hardware (a 2011 MacBook Pro and a pair of Sony MDR7506 headphones).
Music
The film features 35 tracks[http://kvadratmovie.com/music/ Kvadrat official track list] played by DJ Pushkarev, representing various subgenres of techno music, ranging from deep house to dub techno through minimal techno and electro:
# "Abyss" by Manoo Deeply Rooted House, 2008
# "Direct" by Kris Wadsworth NRK Sound Division, 2009
# "La Grippe (Helly Larson Remix)" by George Soliis Wasabi, 2011
# "Air" by Havantepe Styrax Leaves, 2007
# "Mauna Loa" by Mick Rubin Musik Gewinnt Freunde, 2009
# "Soul Sounds (Freestyle Man Original Dope Remix)" by Sasse Moodmusic, 2005
# "Tammer (David Duriez Remix From Da Vault)" by Phonogenic 20:20 Vision, 2000
# "Track B1" by Slowhouse Two Slowhouse Recordings, 2008
# "Post" by Claro Intelecto Modern Love, 2011
# "Acid Face" by Scott Findley Iron Box Music, 2003
# "Warriors" by Two Armadillos Secretsundaze Music, 2007
# "Grand Theft Vinyl (JV Mix)" by Green Thumb vs JV So Sound Recordings, 2004
# "Tobacco (Alveol Mix)" by Kiano Below Bangkok Only Good Shit Records, 2011
# "When The Dark Calls" by Pop Out and Play Alola, 2001
# "Circular Motion (Vivid)" by Christian Linder Phono Elements, 2002
# "Blacktro (Demo 1)" by Jerome Sydenham and Joe Claussell UK Promotions, 2007
# "Green Man" by Mr. Bizz Deepindub.org, 2008
# "Tahiti" by Ben Rourke Stuga Musik, 2011
# "Willpower" by Joshua Collins Prolekult, 2002
# "Lullaby For Rastko (Herb LF Remix)" by Petkovski Farside, 2011
# "Agape Dub" by Luke Hess Modelisme Records, 2009
# "Glacial Valley" by Makam Pariter, 2011
# "The Time" by Vizar Jato Unit Analog, 2011
# "Libido" by Sean Palm and Charlie Mo Railyard Recordings, 2008
# "Ahck (Jichael Mackson Remix)" by Minilogue Wir, 2007
# "Altered State (Artificial Remix)" by Jason Vasilas Tangent Beats, 2004
# "Modern Times (Dub Mix)" by Hatikvah Baalsaal, 2009
# "That Day (Loudeast Black Label Remix)" by DJ Grobas Thrasher Home Recordings, 2004
# "The Hills (John Selway Dub)" by Filippo Mancinelli and Allen May Darkroom Dubs, 2011
# "Running Man" by Petar Dundov Music Man Records, 2007
# "Ice" by Monolake Imbalance Computer Music, 2000
# "Lucky Punch" by Peter Dildo Trackdown Records, 2006
# "Live Jam 1" by Rhauder Polymorph, 2011
# "Can U Hear Shapes?" by Pop Out and Play Alola, 2001
# "Be No-One" by Charles Webster Statra Recordings, 2001
Themes
Besides the obvious facade of DJ work seen in a night club, 'Kvadrat' explores the lesser-known themes[http://www.berlin-mitte-institut.de/kvadrat-film-uber-das-jetsetting-von-techno-djs/ Berlin Mitte Institut] Kvadrat Film ber das Jetsetting von Techno-DJs, April 8, 2014 of DJ travel, fatigue, sleep deprivation, self-destruction, absurdity, loneliness,[http://mixing.dj/2013/livesets/kvadrat-russian-road-movie-by-the-side-of-andrey-pushkarev/ Mixing.dj] Kvadrat: Russian road-movie by the side of Andrey Pushkarev, October 29, 2013 purpose of art and stereotypes of the artist.
Genre
Anatoly Ivanov combined the genres of a road movie and a music video, creating a modern-day techno musical without much dialogue.[http://diffusmag.de/2014/05/reingeschaut/ Diffus Mag] Reingeschaut, May 12, 2014 He deliberately applied the aesthetics of fiction films to non-fiction footage and removed documentary 'clichs' in order to achieve a third category, a result between fiction and documentary genres. In other words, a documentary using fiction techniques such as exhibition, metaphors and symbolism to express ideas, provoke emotions and ask questions 'implicitly', instead of exposition, staged interviews and explanatory voice-over to communicate the answers 'explicitly'.
Release
The film was quietly[https://twitter.com/anatolyivanov/status/390719900076896256 Kvadrat director tweet about the film] October 17, 2013 released in 720p quality on Vimeo on October 17, 2013, with English,[http://vimeo.com/70724357 Kvadrat (en)] on Vimeo French[http://vimeo.com/70939716 Kvadrat (fr)] on Vimeo and Russian[http://vimeo.com/71690572 Kvadrat (ru)] on Vimeo subtitles, accumulating 53 000 plays (as of September 2014, not to be confused with loads). It premiered in cinema as 2K DCP during the Kommt Zusammen festival[http://www.kommtzusammen-festival.de/18-04/ Kommt Zusammen festival program][http://www.liwu.de/filme/kommt-zusammen-festival.html Lichtspieltheater Wundervoll cinema programming] [http://www.stepcamera.de/mixes/kvadrat-documentary-film-about-realities-of-techno-djing-andrey-pushkarev:::2014-06-19.html StepCamera.de] Die Dokumentation Kvadrat wurde zum Kommt Zusammen-Festival in Rostock gezeigt, June 19, 2014[http://www.0381-magazin.de/rostock/termine/78493/rostock/mitternachtskino-kvadrat-frieda-23-rostock-18-04-2014.html 0381 Magazin] Mitternachtskino - Kvadrat[http://www.kinoprogramm.com/kino/rostock/film/kvadrat-315576 kinoprogramm.com] Kinos aus Rostock in Rostock, Germany, on April 18, 2014.
Reception
The public and press were surprised by a stealthy release without any marketing campaign.[http://msk.nightparty.ru/news/one/vyshel-film-o-realiyah-tehno-didzheystva/ Nightparty.ru] - , October 17, 2013
The reviewers praised the aesthetic,[http://www.dasschoeneleben.com/2013/10/kavadrat-russisches-road-movie-musik.html Das Schne Leben] Kvadrat, russisches Road-Movie & Musik-Dokumentation ber den Alltag von DJs, October 20, 2013 atmospheric, musical[http://www.synthtopia.com/content/2014/04/30/new-documentary-looks-at-the-reality-of-techno-djing/ Synthtopia] New Documentary Looks At The Reality Of Techno DJing, April 30, 2014 and meditative qualities of the film, its realistic nature.[http://www.mixmag.info/?action=PageMaterial&News=1319770 Mixmag] . , October 22, 2013 As well as the decision to forego traditional interviews[http://alaafandkickin.com/hello-world-2/ ALAAF and KICKIN review] and adopt innovative editing.
See also
* Speaking in Code an American documentary film about techno artists Modeselektor, Wighnomy Brothers, Philip Sherburne, Monolake and David Day
* Berlin Calling a German fiction film about DJ and composer Ickarus (Paul Kalkbrenner) struggling with drug abuse
* Techno
* Dub techno
References
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