Catwalk models weren't the only ones doing pirouettes at Australian Fashion Week this month.

Simon Baker, creative director of Fashion TV Australia, did some remarkable turnarounds himself.

The former cameraman led a small film crew charged with producing footage of shows for Fashion TV - or FTV - a 24-hour satellite channel produced in Israel for a billion viewers in 202 countries.

Using a Canon XH A1 high-definition PAL video camera, an Apple MacBook, Final Cut Pro editing software and a high-speed broadband connection, his six-person team was able to cut 15-minute designer shows into three-minute packages within two hours of each show.

This was the first time FTV attempted the feat, having previously waited for the end of every international fashion week to edit and distribute footage.

"It's the only channel where the content can be globalised and be in 300 million homes within two hours," says the Australian, who was previously based in Paris with the channel.

Each of the 25 segments comprised footage of models in preparation backstage, an interview with the designer and the catwalk parade. Each was shot and edited in a style reflective of the designer's theme, demanding a new approach every time.

"Buyers are watching these shows on TV very closely and we are representing the designer, so (we must) be aligned with their philosophy," he says.

"In a FashionAssassin (show) the girls are strong, sporty, the music is quite punchy, so we use lots of cuts.

"In a Jayson Brunsdon (show) it's all calm and cool with lots of slow pans, up and down shots. Buyers won't buy if it's not right."

The only delay in editing the images was in transferring them from tape to digitised file. Recording directly to hard drive, which is possible in newer camera models, would allow immediate access to the video, but Mr Baker is not convinced of its merits.

"Unless you're in a studio situation, where you're more in control, you're fighting for camera space with up to 80 other crews and it's too risky. I wouldn't want to lose (the footage)."

All editing was done on site using Final Cut Pro, which Mr Baker loves except for its inability to multi-task.

"I'd love to change it so when you're uploading you could work on another project on the same machine."

The music was chosen from his own 20,000-track collection stored on a laptop.

The team worked 14-hour days to provide the footage, which was dispatched from the site using file transfer protocol in three different formats.

Edited broadcasting material was converted to analog at standard PAL definition at 6 Mbps bit rate (broadcast video quality), while identical digital footage for mobile platforms was dispatched at a compressed 1.049 Mbps bit rate.

The range was dispatched from the site in three different resolutions to accommodate TV broadcasting, online viewing through the New Woman magazine website, and mobile phones. FTV is seen in Australia on Foxtel and on Telstra mobiles via Foxtel.

Apple recently announced an update to its Final Cut software, due for release later this month. Final Cut Studio 2 has already been criticised for its inability to burn new Blu-ray high-definition video discs - although it does support the competing HD-DVD standard.

However, previewers have welcomed new work-flow tools such as colour grading.