Advanced Media marked the occasion of its 20th anniversary by inaugurating a new edition of its biannual digital cinema community, Cine2022. The three-day event took place from March 17 to 19 in Advanced Media’s new premises on Shaikh Zayed Road offering eight workshops 90 minutes each with trainers from different areas of production covering a range of topics from how to do an 8K project, HDR, choosing the right lenses, colour grading, and using RGB lighting for production.
The workshops attracted an enthusiastic and curious crowd from across the UAE with some attendants from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and Qatar. The demand and interest in the workshops were so high from outside the region that Advanced Media live streamed all eight workshops on Facebook live to allow access to a wider range of audience. Kaveh Farnam, the CEO of Advanced Media, remarked on the quality of the workshops, “I have spoken to all the instructors, and we are all in agreement that the level of knowledge and expertise of our participants is very clearly higher than previous years and that is a great sign for the growth of media production in the region. It also means that as Advanced Media we have been able to fulfill our mission in training and equipping our community with the latest advancements.” Alaa Al Rantisi, the managing director, further commented, “It was absolutely great to see many familiar faces after two years of the pandemic, but I was thrilled to see a new crowd walking in through our showroom. There is no better way to celebrate 20 years in the business than to know that you have already welcomed the next generation. We are truly excited for what is yet to come.”
Despite the community event being vendor agnostic by nature, Advanced Media welcomed many representatives from renowned brands such as Sony, Manfrotto, RED, Zeiss, DJI, Astera and Sennheiser. The workshops were held in Advanced Media’s training spaces, but participants were given the chance to network and engage in dialogue with brand representatives and enjoy an interactive experience on two designated sets where a gamut of cinematography equipment, ranging from cameras and lenses to audio products were demonstrated showcasing the variety and capability of equipment. Most notable inclusion at Cine2022 was the introduction of Sony Venice 2, Sony’s latest high-end cinematography camera which is scheduled to be released later this year, but Advanced Media secured the opportunity for cinematographers to get an exclusive hands-on experience for the first time in the Middle East.
In keeping with the spirit of celebrating Advanced Media’s 20 years in the business, the sets were designed to include and reflect a sense of nostalgia for the evolution and history of entertainment and cinema. Noted amongst these touching surprises were two Mutoscopes dating back to 1900 that were loaned to Advanced Media by Akram Miknas, an avid collector and the founder of the History of Cinema Museum in Dubai. The two remarkable artefacts were a reminder of an exciting turning point in the evolution of storytelling and showcasing the very beginning of what we have come to know as cinema at Cine2022, an event dedicated to the latest developments in digital cinema.
