New Sci-Fi Short Film Made With A Mac

by , 3:00 PM EDT, June 29th, 2004

K2 Films has released a new sci-fi action movie on DVD that was created using various Apple products. The short film is called Radius, and was created using a variety of Apple applications and hardware including DVD Studio Pro and Final Cut Pro. The 2-disc DVD contains not only the feature itself, but a Mac aimed tutorial on how to make films from the guerilla school of thought. According to K2 Films:

K2 Films today announced the release of its sci-fi action film RADIUS.

The RADIUS 2-disk DVD is an epic of independent, guerrilla filmmaking. Despite being shot on 35mm film, in exotic locations such as California’s Death Valley, and featuring over 150 visual effects shots, RADIUS was made by a first-time director on a budget of under $60,000—less than the budget of most television commercials.

The low budget was achieved through classic guerrilla filmmaking frugality, but also by extensive use of the Macintosh. Editing, music, sound and visual effects were all done on inexpensive Macs using off-the-shelf software. Also, the director managed the whole production from a PowerBook G4, working mostly from various Starbucks cafes around Los Angeles.

The 2-disk RADIUS DVD features the RADIUS film itself, two commentary tracks by the filmmakers and actors, and over 4 hours of Making Of content, organized like a Guerrilla-Film-School-on-Disk.

Aimed at curious film fans and aspiring filmmakers, the Guerrilla-Film-School-on-Disk is organized into chapters, with each one narrated by director Helmut Kobler and dedicated to a specific filmmaking step. Topics include: casting, location scouting, storyboards, costume design, set design, props, cinematography, on-set production, film editing, sound, visual effects, music, marketing, and more. A 7 minute chapter is dedicated to explaining how Kobler’s PowerBook G4, running Final Cut Pro and DVD Studio Pro, was key in managing the film and creating the 2-disk DVD.

You can find more information about the Radius DVD at the Radius Web site. The Radius DVD is available for US$19.95.

Radius Movie