Of What Was the KMT a Prototype? - Text 2
After the success of this camera, which was used to shoot numerous films, including those of the French Nouvelle Vague, Coutant became strongly dedicated to perfecting lightweight tools for the 16 mm professional. Having left Éclair to found his own company, Kinotechnique, Coutant and Jacques Mathot, the CEO of Éclair, filed a joint patent in 1961 for the Éclair 16. An examination of the specifications of this new 16 mm camera and the KMT lets us rethink the prevailing view that the Éclair 16 was conceived as a direct extension of the KMT.
In 1962, the research department of RTF commissioned Mario Ruspoli to make a film. Intended to train television camera operators in the new shooting techniques associated with direct cinema, Méthode 1 (1963) shows a film crew working with a KMT. Ruspoli’s commentary, which examines in depth collective thinking about the importance of perfecting a new lightweight and easily handled tool, presents the KMT as the prototype of the Éclair 16.
