Meet the Kizoa Team!

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Yanaï

Nationality: French, British, Citizen of the World

Languages: French, English, Russian

I'm the CEO and Founder of Kizoa and I coordinate both the tech team and marketing team to create the best movie, video, and collage-making application there is! As a team we all get together to constantly come up with ideas for an innovative Kizoa.

My hobbies include photography, getting torn up playing rugby, putting myself back together the following days!

Nicolas

Nationality: French

Languages: French, Spanish

I was the first official Kizoa employee back in 2006, and as the CTO, I've created and developed the Kizoa platform to what we now use today. I continue to develop many new features along with the rest of my tech team so Kizoa can continue to be a leading photo and video creation platform!

I'm said to have a sharp eye that can pick up the smallest details on any screen, pixel by pixel, which may be why one of my favorite hobbies includes coding. Some other hobbies of mine include building and vacationing in Las Vegas!

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Thomas

Nationality: French

Languages: French, English, Javascript ;)

My main role is to transform Kizoa from Flash into HTML5 along with the rest of the tech team. Along with this project I also work on enhancing new features and options for a totally new and improved Kizoa!

My hobbies include creative coding, macro photography, cooking, and watching T;V. series!

Shane

Nationality: French

Languages: French, English, Creole, Gujarati, and beginner's Spanish

I work in partnership with Thomas to recode Kizoa into HTML5. I'm also in the process of developing our brand new Kizoa Gallery for everyone in the Kizoa community to come together and share their amazing creations!

My hobbies include watching movies, soccer, computer programming, and playing video games!

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François

Nationality: French

Languages: French, English, German

I am the Head of Marketing and oversee the lead on new projects such as the revolutionary Kizoa mobile app! I am also an important part of the creative process when it comes to thinking of new features and content for Kizoa.

My hobbies include cruising around on my motorcycle and filming my adventures on my GoPro, enjoying everything Paris has to offer, and getting informed about the latest innovations in the internet world!

Rebecca

Nationality: British

Languages: English, French, Hindi and Bengali

I am in charge of the English speaking market, making sure all our users are aware and up to date with our latest features! I also assist with any questions our users may have . Furthermore, I take care of PR in English, so you can catch the latest happenings of Kizoa!

My hobbies include photography, cinema, reading and writing, dancing (often swap styles). And finally my biggest passion of all, travelling and collecting post cards!

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Julie

Nationality: French

Languages: French, notions of English

Not only am am I in charge of customer support for our French-speaking users, I also oversee customer support training for new Kizoa team members. I also take care of various office administrative tasks as well as provide assistance to Yanaï.

My hobbies include keeping up with the latest beauty and fashion trends, watching rugby, and dancing!

Isotta

Nationality: Italian

Languages: Italian, French, English

I oversee the Italian market for Kizoa including sending out newsletters for any exciting updates on Kizoa, guiding users by email or on the phone, updating Kizoa in Italian, as well as handling press relations in Italian.

My hobbies include figure roller-skating, travelling, painting, and cycling!

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Julia

Nationality: German, Polish

Languages: German, Polish, English, French

I'm in charge of the German-speaking market for Kizoa which includes making sure that our users are always informed on our latest updates, as well as assisted with any questions they may have. I also oversee all press relations in German so that you always have the latest scoop of Kizoa in the news!

My hobbies include Rock and Metal music, concerts, books, cinema, and pole dancing...for exercise of course! ;)

Armine

Nationality: Armenian

Languages: Armenian, Russian, English, French

I take care of customer support for our English-speaking users by answering any questions you may have via email or over the phone. I'm also in charge of expanding our Russian-speaking markets.

My hobbies include reading, traveling, fashion, dancing and Instagram!

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Bráiam

Nationality: Brazilian

Languages: Portuguese, English, French and Spanish

I am responsible for the expansion and development of Kizoa in Portuguese-speaking markets. I work to keep all of our clients informed with new updates via newsletters, as well as provide customer support in Portuguese.

My hobbies include traveling, listening to music, cooking Brazilian and Portuguese dishes, and of course... eating them ;)

And to burn all those calories, I enjoy running.

Katia

Nationality: Spanish

Languages: Spanish, French

As the French-speaking customer support representative, I'm here to help you with anything you might need so you have all the necessary tools for making the most out of your Kizoa account!

My hobbies include listening to music, dancing, travelling, volleyball, and watching TV series!

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Paris here we come!


The history of Kizoa takes place in the beautiful city of lights, Paris. Not only is Paris the perfect backdrop for stunning photos, but a lesser known fact is that camera photography originated in the surrounding region of Paris.
Kizoa has evolved along the same pathway as photography has. We continue the legacy of all the greatest inventors and innovators of photography with the same passion they poured into their work so we can offer you the Kizoa you know today.

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1822: The first photograph


The beginning of photography goes quite a ways back to 1822. The very first photo was produced by French inventor, Joseph Nicéphore Niépce in his hometown of Chalon-sur-Saone which is only about 3 hours away from Paris. Although he did take the first photo of all time, unfortunately his first image was destroyed after many attempts had been made to duplicate it. However, he was able to later successfully take another photograph 4 years later of the view from his window. This piece of history can still be seen today at the Harry Ranson Center in Austin, Texas.

Photography: France's gift to the world!


A few years after Joseph's milestone discovery, his business partner, Louis Jacques-Mandé Daguerre further innovated photography by coming up with the first commercially successful photographic process using a camera obscura known as the daguerreotype. In 1838 while Daguerre was taking a photo of a Parisian street, a pedestrian stopped for a shoe shine thus becoming the first photograph of a person. This invention was so ground-breaking that France decided to pay Daguerre for his formula in exchange for him to announce his discovery to the world as a gift from France, which he did in 1839. Upper class and highly influential people around the world were requesting self-portraits of themselves using the daguerreotype. Some notable famous faces captures in time by this invention in include Abraham Lincoln, Edgar Allan Poe, Honoré de Balzac and more.

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The Lumière brothers: Innovators extraordinaire


The next big landmark in photography came with the introduction of the first commercial use of color photography known as the Lumière Autochrome thanks to French innovators, Louis et Auguste Lumière (aka the Lumière brothers). They introduced a patented color photography process which consists of a glass plate coated on both sides with microscopic grains of dyed potato starch which acted as color filters. This new type of photography became wildly popular for capturing landscapes as well as for photojournalistic images.

The Lumière brothers and cinematography


Not only were they the first to successfully commercialize color photography, but they also invented projected Cinematography. Although Thomas Edison had first captured a motion picture which could only be viewed one person at a time through a looking-hole, the Lumière brothers were the first to project a motion picture onto a big screen. They did so by perfecting the Cinématographe which would capture, print, and project motion pictures onto the big screen. They held their first film screening in 1895 in Paris at Salon Indien du Grand Café. This historic event introduced their first film, Sortie des Usines Lumière à Lyon (Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory). The success of their first 50 second short film became so popular that they produced several more short films the following months.

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Special effects by the one and only Cinemagician!


Interestingly, one audience member who was present at the first screening of the Lumière brother's first short film was none other than French illusionist and filmmaker, Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès who later on became the first to use various cinematographic techniques such as stop trick, time-lapse photography, and most notably special effects.

Méliès most well-known films are, "A Trip to the Moon" and "The Impossible Voyage" which were filmed in 1902 and 1904. These works are considered some of the earliest science fiction films and debuted special effects which had never been seen before. Because of these ground-breaking films, Méliès became known as a Cinemagician.

Photography & Kizoa Today


Photography and film has come a long way since Niepce captured history's first image from the view of his window in a small French town outside of Paris. Now, fast-forward to today and Kizoa has continued with the innovation and enhancement of photography directly from our office situated in the 20th arrondisment of Paris. We've created a one-stop website and platform that allows endless possibilities with photos, videos, and anything else you can capture with your lense and mold into an inspired creation with your imagination and of course... Kizoa!

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Need help? Check out our YouTube tutorials by clicking here.

Customer Service for PREMIUM members only:
E-mail: support@kizoa.com
Unfortunately, messages from 'Kizoa Basic' members will not be processed.

PARIS HEADQUARTERS:
Kizoa
24 rue de l'Est
75020 Paris, France