Aryan Kaganof, who only last year was "totally computer illiterate" has recently completed his second major film project with his Apple G4 and Final Cut Pro 3 - this time a documentary entitled Sharp Sharp! about the kwaito music phenomenon.
Kaganof, who a little over a year ago was a self-confessed technophobe who had refused to watch television for two years, is a seemingly unlikely digital creative evangelist. "I`ve been empowered by my G4 and FinalCut Pro 2," he explained at the completion of his first editing project, Western 4.33. "I used to be the guy who gets sand kicked in his face. Now look at me. Artistically, I`m like the Incredible Hulk. It`s been a life-changing experience," he said.
"Although I have years` of experience in the creative process of film, Western was really the first project I had undertaken to edit myself. I lost my nerve, literally went into a depression and refused to get out of bed at the time," he says. Eventually, Kaganof realised that if he was going to complete his movie, he was going to need to face his fear of technology and get on with the job.
"It was an incredible experience for me at the time - like being born again. As good as it was, the reality is that I was only just learning how to use the equipment. While travelling to various film shows with Western, I decided that a major priority was for me to come to grips with the technology in my house. In a few short weeks I had learnt to make basic cuts, fades and edits with FinalCut Pro, but I knew there was just so much more I could do.
"When I got back to South Africa I got to work on a number of small, personally-financed projects with the purpose of learning as much as I could about the technology. Pretty soon I realised that there are distinct advantages in using Final Cut Pro - especially with regard to non-linear editing. Cutting, editing and moving footage around within a project can be very effective.
"I`ve realised that there is no real way of learning how to edit without actually doing the work yourself. So I went out, shot footage and then created problems so that I could find editing solutions.
"Eventually, I got to the point where it was time to raise finance to shoot my next project, Sharp Sharp! The finance came in the form of a Dutch broadcaster and I was able to put my new editing skills into practice on this project. From an editing perspective, Sharp Sharp! is a more complex project, a more layered project. Despite this, it`s interesting to note that the whole editing process took much less time than Western. Sure, much of that has to do with practice, but upgrading to OS X and FinalCut Pro 3 has also increased rendering times.
Merging technology with the creative process is extremely rewarding. I now use effects on my projects simply because rendering times are so much shorter. If it was difficult to create effects, I doubt if I would use them so frequently.
"The Sharp Sharp! project was really about the love of kwaito music. What is interesting is that kwaito itself is a computer phenomenon - and in most cases - an Apple phenomenon. The music is driven by a guy with a studio at home - pretty much like the kind of set-up I have.
"Kwaito is vocal and computer music - it`s not driven by guitars or by live bands. It`s a guy with a Mac and a microphone. Essentially they record the artist in a sound booth and from there it`s all computer generated. This is interesting, because kwaito is not just a local music flavour, it`s a world music phenomenon. It`s huge all over Africa and it`s the sound of now.
"Guitar music was very popular in the 60s, 70s and 80s - but kwaito is the sound of a new African generation. Kids who are 15 now - they don`t want to listen to the same music, with the same textures we used to listen to. They want their own music textures, and computer textures are what excite young people today.
"Kwaito takes a lot from hip-hop and a lot from house, but it`s really it`s own kind of music. It`s a uniquely South African form that has taken the continent by storm. It`s so exciting meeting Kenyans or Ugandans now - they all listen to kwaito. The music has had a huge influence in Angola, Mozambique, Botswana and Zimbabwe. These people don`t listen primarily to western music anymore - they listen to kwaito.
"The result is that there is a tremendous technological spin going on in Africa right now. I have seen so many parallels with what is happening with kwaito, Africa and technology with my own growth in terms of getting involved with the medium. The result is that it was tremendously exciting to generate a portrait of the music form in Sharp Sharp!
"There are some really great musical talents coming out of Africa right now. When I was growing up there was always this sense that Americans or the British could produce quality music, but that we Africans would never be able to match their standard. The truth is that now with Apple solutions, the same technological standard is available to all - regardless of where they are in the world. Now it`s just about your talent - about your creativity," he says.
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