Apple IMC is in the Nature of Surprises

"It pleases me to announce that Apple IMC, along with several of the world's most reputable names, will be involved in this year's HCT student's DSS project." said Dr. Elias Abou-Rustom, General Manager of Arab Business Machine Ltd. (ABM), Apple's Independent Marketing Company in the Middle East. "Here we can display our support for a local community event; an experience that will provide our young with an opportunity to express themselves creatively, while learning a variety of skills that can eventually open more doors for them in the future, in the realm of film-making and team work."

In addition to sponsoring the event, Apple IMC will also be playing a crucial role in providing its editing facilities with the use of their Apple iMac machines and iMovie technology. iMovie created by Apple as part of the iLife suite of applications, allows users to edit their own home movies, by taking the raw footage from digital video cameras and loading it directly onto the Mac. From there, iMovie can edit, add titles, and music along with the use of the Final Cut Pro software, a non-linear editing system that allows users to edit video.

Final Cut Pro has also become hugely popular among film and TV professionals in the industry, as its high end editing software takes advantage of multiprocessor Macs. Time-consuming tasks, such as rendering transitions, motion-graphics sequences and basic editing jobs have become dramatically faster.

Participants will be taught how to use a single video camera to create a short television program and learn the basic principles of TV production, including the directing and writing skills to develop a visual story. The course will be practical in nature culminating in a major final project. Participants will work in groups to shoot and edit multiple projects during the week, while editing will be done by professional editors working under the direction of the students.

Abou-Rustom added: "Apple's IMC's involvement in this event is double edged. Not only does it continue to reassert the Apple platform as the ideal choice for use in fun and modern movie making, but more importantly it is an opportunity for us to give back to the community and be involved in projects that can benefit our children."

The main objective of the DSS project is to significantly occupy HCT students on a charitable basis during the summer by engaging them in a big social project for which they have total ownership. Activities will run daily from 5pm to 10pm, with daily broadcasts on HCT Channel from 10am to 10pm, from the 27th July to 2nd August 2006.