Jean-Sébastien Marier | Journalist(e) –30–

Christmas Lights Illumination Ceremony on Parliament Hill

Jean-Sébastien Marier — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 16:32:59 +0000

Thursday, I attended the Christmas Lights Illumination Ceremony on Parliament Hill with some friends. Here are a photo and a video of the event.

Hundreds of people attend the Christmas Lights Illumination Ceremony on Parliament Hill, Ottawa, on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011. Photo by Jean-Sébastien Marier. ISO 400 18mm f/10 6,0s

I lit the people in the forefront of this image by manually firing my SB-600 flash three or four times during the six-second exposure.

Christmas Lights Illumination Ceremony on Parliament Hill, Ottawa – Dec. 1, 2011 from Jean-Sebastien Marier on Vimeo.

Creating a personalized email signature

Jean-Sébastien Marier — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 04:34:37 +0000

I decided to change my email signature in order to make it more in line with my personal “brand.”

My old signature was in plain text and did not reflect my web presence. I therefore decided to create a new one which includes my logo and links to my various social media accounts.

The design of my new signature was inspired by Wess Daniels’ website, where he explains how to create your own HTML signature in Apple Mail.

Apple Mail normally only allows you to create plain text signatures. However, by following Daniels’ explanations, you can create your personalized one in a few minutes. Here is the coding of my signature (without my personal information):

Starting to blog again

Jean-Sébastien Marier — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 18:10:36 +0000

It has been almost six months since my last post. Internet in Burundi ended up being extremely slow and unreliable, which made it impossible for me to continue blogging while teaching at the same time.

I came back form Burundi at the end of May and started working for Radio-Canada the following day. Until two weeks ago, I worked as a radio reporter-editor and videojournalist for CBC/Radio-Canda’s French Services in Sudbury, Ontario.

I am now back in Ottawa and seeking a new job. I am in the process of revamping my website and hope to keep updating this blog frequently.

Stay tuned!

P.S. I will keep posting in a bilingual fashion. Donc chers lecteurs francophones, n’ayez crainte, certains articles seront disponibles dans la langue de Molière.

Burundi Dispatches – Day 2: Visiting l’Université Lumière de Bujumbura

Jean-Sébastien Marier — Tue, 03 May 2011 19:27:10 +0000

The Mutanga-Nord campus of l'Université Lumière de Bujumbura, Burundi, rests on the hillside of the city.

Today, René accompanied me to the Mutanga-Nord campus of l’Université Lumière de Bujumbura, where I will work in the coming weeks.

More to come about our visit soon. For now, I leave you with this nice photo.

Burundi Dispatches – Day 1: In Bujumbura, at last

Jean-Sébastien Marier — Mon, 02 May 2011 19:35:34 +0000

The Centre Communautaire Guest House, in Bujumbura, Burundi, is managed by an Anglican community. It will be my home away from home for at least a few days.

BUJUMBURA, BURUNDI – After 15 minutes waiting inside the terminal of Bujumbura International Airport, I started wondering if René forgot to pick me up.

Before I left Belgium, he asked for a picture of myself, saying it would help him find me.

But René was nowhere to be seen and the only thing I knew about him was that he would be carrying a sign with my name.

As I started wondering what I should do next, a tall young man finally approached me.

“Sébastien, Bienvenue au Burundi,” he said, adding that he was waiting outside the terminal and had to negotiate his way in with security.

René is the nephew of Athanase, a Burundian-French media consultant who’s also a friend of professor Allan Thompson, the coordinator of the Centre for Media and Transitional Societies. Since Athanase is not in Bujumbura yet, René and his friend Didier Yves were in charge of greeting me at the airport.

As I explained in my last post, I will spend the next five weeks in Burundi, teaching video editing at l’Université Lumière de Bujumbura. I am the first Carleton University intern sent here for this new project.

I was scheduled to arrive in Bujumbura last week, but missed my connection flight in Brussels. Clara, a friend of mine, is currently working there and I had planned to spend Tuesday in Belgium to visit her.

Unfortunately, because of train delays Wednesday morning, I showed up at the airport late and was unable to board the plane.

Since Brussels Airlines ensures the Brussels-Bujumbura connection only twice a week, I had to wait a few extra days for yesterday’s flight.

Thankfully, Clara offered to host me for my stay in Brussels and I got to do some unplanned sightseeing.

(I will post some photos of my week in Brussels in the coming days.)

On the way to my guest house, René, Yves and I stopped at Face@Face, an Internet cafe and currency exchange office downtown Bujumbura. My wallet quickly became heavier, as the teller changed the two crisp US$100 bills I gave him for 248,000 Burundian francs.

We then dropped my bags at the Centre Communautaire Guest House, a motel-style facility managed by an Anglican congregation, and went out for food.

After that, I was down for a good sleep.

* * *

Today, René and Yves brought me to Lake Tanganyika, a short drive away. With its 673 kilometers of length, Tanganyika is one of the world’s largest fresh water lakes.

Here are some photos of our day:

This morning, Didier Yves (left) and René took me to 673 km-long Lake Tanganyika, a short car ride from the guest house. Bujumbura sits on the shore of Tanganyika - the second largest fresh water lake in the world according to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Tanganyika).

René (right) and I have been communicating by email for about a month now. It was great to finally meet each other.

Landscape view of Bujumbura and Lake Tanganyika.

After the lake, we went for a typical Burundian lunch (or déjeuner as we say here). Beef, beans, fries, rice, tomato sauce and local vegetables.

My room at the Centre Communautaire Guest House.

On the road again

Jean-Sébastien Marier — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 21:29:36 +0000

I am about to board a plane for Bujumbura, Burundi, where I will spend the next six weeks.

There, I will be teaching video production at l’Université Lumière de Bujumbura with Carleton University’s Centre for Media and Transitional Societies.

While I was asked to teach this course based on my technical skills, I still have a lot to learn in journalism. It will therefore be a wonderful opportunity to share by experience with other young journalists and learn a lot from them in return.

Allan Thompson, a professor of mine and the director of the CMTS, hopes to expand the work he started in Rwanda five years ago with the Rwanda Initiative to other African countries, thus my trip to Burundi.

Some colleagues of mine are currently working for local media outlets in Rwanda, including fellow master of journalism student Carolyn Thompson. I hope to visit them very soon.

It’s been months since I last blogged. The school year has been very busy for me and I plan to revamp this website completely in the coming weeks.

Stay tuned for my dispatches form Burundi!

Rideau River

Jean-Sébastien Marier — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 04:13:01 +0000

Monday afternoon, I went for a bike ride along the Rideau River. Here are some photos I shot along the way.

It was about 3 p.m., so the sun was quite hard. I think I got nonetheless some good pics.

Perles du Bénin

Jean-Sébastien Marier — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 23:56:10 +0000

Cette semaine, j’ai fait un peu de classement dans mes archives et ai téléversé quelques anciens reportages sur Vimeo.

J’ai réalisé la vidéo suivante avec ma collègue Marie-Josée Samson en 2006. Nous avions alors effectué un séjour de trois mois à Cotonou, au Bénin, avec Jeunesse Canada Monde et Journalistes pour les Droits Humains.

Photos of Colombia’s Bicentennial

Jean-Sébastien Marier — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 15:41:13 +0000

These photos are long overdue.

I got quite busy since I left Bogotá on July 26 (including a short trip to Ecuador and a wedding near Toronto).

Here are some images I snapped during the celebrations of Colombia’s Bicentennial of Independence on July 20, 2010.

The Colombian flag flies on a building in Bogotá, Colombia, on Tuesday, July 20, 2010. Colombia celebrated the bicentennial of its Independence on this day. (Photo: Jean-Sebastien Marier)

Colombians take the streets to celebrate in Bogotá, Colombia, on Tuesday, July 20, 2010. Colombia celebrated the bicentennial of its Independence on this day. (Photo: Jean-Sebastien Marier)

Balloons are on display in Bogotá, Colombia, on Tuesday, July 20, 2010. Colombia celebrated the bicentennial of its Independence on this day. (Photo: Jean-Sebastien Marier)

Colombians wait outside the Plaza de Bolivar in Bogotá, Colombia, on Tuesday, July 20, 2010. Colombia celebrated the bicentennial of its Independence on this day. (Photo: Jean-Sebastien Marier)

A couple flies the Colombian flag in Bogotá, Colombia, on Tuesday, July 20, 2010. Colombia celebrated the bicentennial of its Independence on this day. (Photo: Jean-Sebastien Marier)

A man sports a Colombian flag on his cap in Bogotá, Colombia, on Tuesday, July 20, 2010. Colombia celebrated the bicentennial of its Independence on this day. (Photo: Jean-Sebastien Marier)

Shirts sporting the Colombian colours are on display in Bogotá, Colombia, on Tuesday, July 20, 2010. Colombia celebrated the bicentennial of its Independence on this day. (Photo: Jean-Sebastien Marier)

Célébrations des 200 ans d’indépendance de la Colombie

Jean-Sébastien Marier — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 14:26:35 +0000

La Colombie fêtait hier ses 200 ans d’indépendance de l’Espagne. Voici un court reportage que j’ai préparé sur les célébrations.

Le tout a été filmé et monté en environ trois heures — à l’exception de la séquence d’ouverture avec les avions, filmée hier matin.

Je voulais posté ce message hier soir, mais le serveur sur lequel est hébergé ce site était en cours de maintenance.