AFDA brings top international technology to Durban
There’s great excitement brewing in Durban’s film and television industry over new developments at AFDA, the South African School of Motion Picture Medium and Live Performance in Durban. The school continually strives to keep up to date with the local film industry and at the cutting edge of film-making, and their latest advances are a testament to their efforts.
AFDA Cinematography students now have access to the ARRI Alexa Classic, the film industry’s leading name in digital cameras. ARRI film and digital cameras are used by the top directors and producers in the international industry. The films 12 Years a Slave and Gravity, which won three and seven Academy Awards respectively, were both filmed on this state of the art camera. AFDA Durban students will now be fortunate enough to have the opportunity to also work with the cameras used by these Oscar winners. Many top television series have also been shot on the Alexa, such as Downton Abbey, Vampire Diaries, Game of Thrones and more. “Having the ARRI Alexa available in Durban is a huge boost for the local industry,” says Richard Green, Producer and Head of the Film School at AFDA Durban. “Our Directors of Photography will now have the most up to date and professional cameras available to them. Our students at AFDA will be working with state-of-the-art equipment and will be well trained in the use of the ARRI Alexa when setting off on their careers.” In March 2015, AFDA Durban will be receiving a second ARRI Alexa which will then also be available for outside rental to the Durban film industry at large.
Also set to bolster AFDA’s equipment arsenal is an array of top quality, industry standard, lighting gear from Southern Lighting. Southern Lighting has been supplying lighting equipment and expertise to the Film and Television industry for the past 20 years from their branches in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Lagos, Nigeria. In a new arrangement with AFDA they will now have a local base at AFDA Durban, giving AFDA students and the Durban film industry easy access to a vast supply of world class lighting gear and technical expertise. “AFDA Durban is working to grow the industry with the industry, and in doing so boost our overall film scene in KwaZulu Natal. That is why we have invited the Southern Lighting gear rental company to join us in Durban”, says Franco Human, Campus Dean and COO of AFDA Durban.
Contact AFDA Durban on 031 569 2252 or log on to www.afda.co.za for more information. You can also follow AFDA and AFDA Durban on Facebook or Twitter, @AFDADURBAN and @AFDA_FilmSchool.
-ENDS