Thomson Grass Valley EDIUS Cuts The Ice On Unique Antarctic Documentary

Filmmakers Ivan Hexter and Jay Watson have created a haunting documentary, 'Antarctic Oasis', telling the story of the whaling history of South Georgia island in the sub-Antarctic.
Using the power of the Thomson Grass Valley EDIUS nonlinear editor from Thomson, a leading provider of video solutions.
The filmmakers traced the journey of four Australian artists as they travelled to South Georgia, seeking inspiration for their own group art exhibition.
One of the four artists, Jay Watson, is also a video editor as well as an acclaimed photographer, and worked with Hexter to edit the documentary. Watson said: "I was unfamiliar with the EDIUS software before cutting 'Antarctic Oasis' and was very impressed with its realtime capabilities and ease of use. Having been frustrated many time with other editing systems and their lack of technical support, I have now completely converted to EDIUS. We have recently added a notebook computer to our production gear to download, view and edit HD footage in the field, which has really streamlined our production workflow."
Apart from the EDIUS system's editing power and usability, Watson also noted that the ability to import any type of media file into a single timeline and the ease of exporting finished cuts to any required file type or streaming format using the Thomson Grass Valley ProCoder software are real, practical benefits for their workflow.
Jeff Rosica, Senior Vice President of Thomson's Broadcast & Professional Solutions within the Systems division, said: "EDIUS is proving popular with creative producers because it gives them the tools they really need. It is proven, reliable and allows virtually any content to be included on the timeline, making multiple outputs simple. In short, whether you are building a big networked production centre or looking for a standalone editor, it is the solution that delivers the right balance or creative power, technical reliability and cost."
The 30-minute 16:9 HD documentary 'Antarctic Oasis' was produced by With Direction Pty Ltd, a production company based near Melbourne in Australia. In the programme, four artists - Martin King, Mitchell McAuley, Mike Nichols and Jay Watson - sail to the remote sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia and are surprised to discover a number of decaying whaling stations. The documentary celebrates the islands' capacity to recover from the devastation of the past as prolific wildlife and dramatic weather play out across a majestic landscape. 'Antarctic Oasis' was broadcast on ABC 1 and 2 in Australia. The filmmakers are currently seeking international distribution.
Further information is available at: www.withdirection.com.au, www.thomson.net and www.thomsongrassvalley.com.
(KMcA/JM)