Centurion-based creative arts academy Open Window is partnering with Sony to work with the Korean company’s Burano cameras. The initiative is facilitated by digital broadcasting equipment provider Visual Impact and hopes to make a notable contribution to the South African film industry with better talent coming out of art and film schools.

Sony Opens Window of opportunity

Open Window was founded in 1993 as a basic art school but has since expanded into digital arts and technologies. The institution offers courses in film, design, photography, animation, and game development. It has partnered with Sony to train its students using its Cine Alta digital camera, the Burano.

CineAlta is the company’s range of professional digital cinema cameras, designed to replicate 35mm film. The Burano is a cinematic titan with an 8.6K full-frame sensor and advanced built-in stabilisation. It is seen on film sets all around the world (Sony makes films too, after all) and packs a high level of image quality and stabilisation into a compact size, making it ideal for filmmakers on the move or those shooting in remote locations.

“By partnering with Open Window and providing access to the Burano cameras,” says managing director for Sony Middle East and Africa Jobin Joejoe, “we’re investing in the future of South African storytelling.”

South Africa’s film industry has seen steady growth over the past decade, growing to an estimated value of R4.1 billion in 2023, with expectations for it to reach R7.9 billion in 2030. Exposure of young creatives to industry-grade tools stands to give the industry a boost with a sharper influx of talent.