Alphalpha Media, in conjunction with sponsor Avid Australia, have announced the launch of an exciting collaborative scriptwriting and editing project, The Movie Maker SA.
Young scriptwriters and editors in South Australia have the opportunity to flaunt their talent in The Movie Maker SA, which gives them the chance to be part of the scriptwriting process for a full-length feature film. The film, entitled Alma Mater High, stars five actors making their film debut, with the red carpet premiere at Wallis Cinema in Adelaide on December 13th 2007.
‘By creating The Movie Maker, I aim to give young creative minds an opportunity to develop their writing talents,’ said Alex Alexander, director of Alphalpha Media and producer of The Movie Maker project. ‘I hope it inspires students to consider the creative fields of scriptwriting, editing and acting as a genuine career options.’
Participants submitted their script ideas by downloading instalments of the evolving script through the Adelaide Now website or by visiting http://www.themoviemaker.com.au/. Original ideas for following scenes to determine what happened next were submitted online, and the winning ideas were incorporated into the movie script by a professional writer. The updated script was then available within 72 hours ready for the submission process to start again. Once the script was complete, Alphalpha Media ran competitions amongst South Australian school students to name the movie and audition for roles.
Now in post production at The Media Resource Centre in Adelaide, six volunteer editors are cutting Alma Mater High on six Avid Media Composer editing suites. In order to give each editor the opportunity to express their individual editing style, the script was divided into six portions. To ensure continuity and cohesion in the film, scriptwriting and editing are overseen by producer Alex Alexander and supervising editor Antony Cirocco.
‘The Movie Maker is about accessibility to filmmaking for the emerging generation of artists,’ said Garrick Simeon, Avid Australia Marketing Manager. ‘Avid Australia is excited to be part of this innovative concept, and we congratulate the volunteer editors who demonstrated a natural skill and commitment to editing.’
‘The success of The Movie Maker project proves that collaborative filmmaking can succeed in creating a succinct, entertaining and marketable outcome,’ added Alexander. ‘Thanks to the success of The Movie Maker in South Australia, Alphalpha Media is currently in negotiation with other states and countries to replicate The Movie Maker model.’
[release from the The Movie Maker]