Bryanston-based Guillotine Post Production runs two Avid Media composers and two
Final Cut Pro (FCP) suites for editing as well as grading. They are primarily an off-line
post house specialising in commercials, but also grade a number of television series and
feature films.
“Business has been a bit of a roller coaster ride,’ says Guillotine’s Karen MacDonald.
“We’ve been crazy busy and also bizarrely quiet. Being situated in the Blade building
helps us to keep perspective as often everyone is quiet or busy at the same time. We
pride ourselves on remaining flexible and excited about change but it’s challenging too.
“Guillotine has managed to secure new clients as well as service those clients that have
worked with us in the past. Some of the highlights from the past year have been
working on the Consol television commercial together with Velocity Films and the MTN ad
with Star Productions.’
MacDonald stresses that budgets are tiny. “We have to get very creative. Luckily the
budget problem is across the board so everyone pitches in, from animation companies
to finishing houses. It’s tough though as the work isn’t getting any easier and it’s not
like we were charging anything above the cost of the job initially. The post business has
become about quantity as there aren’t many big jobs around.’
