SA Quickies in world record attempt

"It's the first time anyone has tried to do something like this," explained Quickies' Athos Kyriakides. As many as 50 filmmakers, 72 crew members, 10 editors, four sound doctors, 10 production team members, 200 actors and 30 volunteers successfully raced against the clock to enter the Guinness Book of World Records.

Each Quickie film contains no more than one continuous shot, must tell a narrative story, and is filmed and completed within 24 hours. Hundreds of scripts were submitted to Quickies for this year's event, of which only the best 50 were selected. The filmmakers, called Shooters, divided time and resources to ensure they complied with both Quickies and Guinness regulations.

Quickies are designed to simulate real-life industry and put filmmakers' ability to the ultimate test. The overall goal of the event is to reverse negative trends in the local film industry, present opportunities for previously disadvantaged individuals and to promote South Africa's identity both locally and internationally.

Shooters produced films at a various sets during the course of the weekend. Footage shot on digital video cameras was edited on Apple computers at the Vega School of Brand Communications, an Apple Authorised Training Centre, in Sandton. "We are pleased to be involved with this initiative," said Vega's Kevin Collins. "The utilisation of quality video has long-been lacking in the communications environment. Ten years ago there was no internet or multimedia, but now video is becoming increasingly important as various new and traditional media begin a convergence process.

"With the introduction of Apple's FinalCut Pro, the production of professional video has been placed into the hands of creatives - giving them the ability to shoot, edit and produce broadcast-quality footage for a variety of applications," he said.

"We have set our sights on revolutionising the film and video industry in the same way we changed print and production markets around the world," says Apple Country Manager, Bruno Verolini. "In the past, high-quality feature sets like real-time cross fades and colour correction were only available on prohibitively expensive specialist systems. Now we have taken those features down to the sub R20 000 mark and as such, have made these applications highly affordable," he said.

"In it's growth from version 1 to 1.25 to 2 and now to version 3, FinalCut Pro has not only become a better software package, but it is revolutionary because it provides the kind of professional features and quality found only machines costing in excess of R500 000," he said. FinalCut Pro 3 allows up to 99 video tracks on a project, up to eight audio streams per video track, accepts MPEG audio, PCM audio and AC-3 streams, can encode the high-quality MPEG-2 format and supports both PAL and NTSC. In addition, the software fully supports the Dolby Digital AC-3 format and supports all channel formats from mono to 5.1 surround sound.

"Our solutions will empower a whole new generation of filmmakers," said Apple distributor, Core Group's RJ van Spaandonk. "For example, Apple now offers a mobile solution for under R55 0000 consisting of a lightening fast 1 GHz PowerBook, G4 with SuperDrive - which enables the user to burn DVDs - and the award-winning FinalCut Pro editing software. Complement this setup with one of Sony's DVCam cameras, and you can shoot, edit and burn professional digital video (DV) movies for under R100 000," he said.

The final Quickies movies will be exhibited at 15 cinemas around the country on December 2, and will feature on the Quickies television series on SABC during January next year. During this process, Shooters of the best 15 Quickies will be selected to progress to the next phase of the contest, Quick-flicks.

Quick-flicks will play out in stages over the next five episodes of the television series, where Shooters will compete against each other in the art and craft of intensive filmmaking. With each stage, tasks and challenges will become progressively more difficult. The Quick-flicks will be discussed and judged to decide one winner and a runner-up.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Apple is committed to bringing the best personal computing experience to students, educators, creative professionals and consumers around the world through its innovative hardware, software and Internet offerings.