By Chad Shore
AFI FEST Daily News

Ever want to know what it's like to be on the red carpet at AFI FEST presented by Audi? For those not fortunate enough to get past the velvet ropes, there's a chance to experience it virtually on the AFI FEST Digital Gateway powered by Moviefone.

As a Premium Sponsor of AFI FEST and a service of AOL, Moviefone gives film lovers a front-row seat at moviefone.com/afifest.

Red-carpet videos and photos, filmmaker interviews, and a few exclusive surprises will be available on Moviefone for millions of viewers.

Moviefone's video coverage of AFI FEST is led by Ryun Hovind, AFI FEST Digital Media Coordinator. Hovind has the monumental task of heading up production and post-production teams for the 12-day FEST. Using four crew leaders and employing one out of every four FEST volunteers, the Digital Media Department shoots and edits as many as 10 to 15 video segments per day.

"Production is intense," Hovind notes. "We will have a dozen crews and editors working hard around the clock. Almost 100 people."

The largest AFI FEST events are Opening, Centerpiece, and Closing Night Galas. Events such as the Opening Night BOBBY premiere require six camera crews to get the full behind-the-scenes experience. Hovind and crew have about 12 hours to edit and deliver video of major events to AOL Moviefone every day.

Almost $100,000 of sponsored equipment is being used to bring the AFI FEST experience to the online audience. DALSA Digital Cinema supplies top-of-the-line cameras including a Sony HDW-F500 HDCAM, a Sony HDW-F900 HDCAM, and 2 Sony HVR-Z1U HDV Camcorders. Shining Technologies, Inc. supplies CitiDISK HDV units to provide instant editing capability. Six Final Cut Pro editing stations, several HD decks, and an 8 TB Xsan Server have been donated by Runway and The Post Group.

AFI FEST Digital Gateway
Powered by Moviefone
Videos, photos, trailers, interviews and more
moviefone.com/afifest