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Apple continues Mac anniversary celebrations with movie shot on iPhones, edited on Macs [Now live]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJahlKPCL9g]

Apple’s celebrations of the 30th anniversary of the Mac are continuing with a 90-second video added to the Apple.com homepage today. The video was filmed on the anniversary itself.

On January 24, 1984, Apple introduced the Macintosh. And with it a promise that the power of technology, put in the hands of everyone, could change the world. On January 24, 2014, we sent 15 camera crews all over the world to show how that promise has become a reality.

From sunrise in Melbourne to nightfall in Los Angeles, they documented people doing amazing things with Apple products. They shot over 70 hours of footage — all with the iPhone 5s. Then it was edited and scored with an original soundtrack. Thanks to the power of the Mac and the innovations it has inspired, an effort that normally takes months was accomplished in a matter of days.

It had been thought that Apple might run a celebration at at the Superbowl, with Lee Clow, chairman of Apple’s ad agency TBWA\Worldwide strongly hinting at this, but the company apparently decided that it didn’t need to spend the money: the video can be relied on to go viral. Clow again:

[tweet https://twitter.com/_clow/status/430173393279655936]

The video opens by highlighting the promise made at the launch of the Mac to “put technology in the hands of the people,” then shows examples of how today’s Macs are still living up to that aim.

The movie was directed by Jake Scott, son of Ridley Scott, who directed the original 1984 Macintosh ad. Scott used a team of 21 editors, working from a central location in LA.

In order to direct 15 separate locations filming in a single day, Jake Scott transformed a sound stage in Los Angeles into a command center. He equipped it with an arsenal of Apple products including iMac, Mac Pro, and iPad, along with large projection displays positioned around the room. From there he was able to watch every scene as it was shot, and direct all the action remotely via FaceTime. Many involved in the production believe this innovative approach to a multilocation shoot will be adopted by other filmmakers.

Apple has been running a special ‘Happy birthday, Mac‘ homepage since the actual anniversary on the 24th (if we’d known, we wouldn’t have done all that work on our own infographic!), put up special window displays in its retail stores and there were interviews with MacWorld and ABC.

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Comments

  1. Yair (@YairBai) - 10 years ago

    it’s already online!

    Yair

  2. The 2013, low-budget, classic movie “Curtis & Dave Are Dead” was filmed using an iPad and edited on a Mac. It’s like Napoleon Dynamite meets Paranormal Activity, reality TV style.

  3. Looks brilliant!

  4. Franco Grisafi - 10 years ago

    Is that Porter Robinson at 1:12?

  5. frostie4flakes - 10 years ago

    In video production material you are seeing more and more technique discussions about using iPhones along with other devices. It is an interest that is growing professionally.

  6. spnphoto - 10 years ago

    Excellent!

Author

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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