Broadcast TECH
FEATURE “We simply cannot afford to stand
‘The fl ow of work to in-house facilities was hampered by the transition
to tapeless’ Rowan Bray, Prime Focus Broadcast
the issues that may arise, and the consequent cost implications.” However, to be in this position, the
facility has had to adapt. “Our staff have had to be trained for longer and to a much higher level across our technical support, creative and pro- duction teams,” says Bray. “We have successfully extended our in-house operational training scheme to com- pensate for the lack of technical expe- rience in the recruitment market. In addition, our operational managers and post-production producers have spent far more time advising clients in the pre-production and fi lming stage of each project.” Bray says the facility also has to
manage far greater quantities of media – with all the implications for budget and over-runs that brings – as there is a trend towards higher shooting ratios on mixed formats. “We have invested to meet this demand, bringing in increased media storage, faster network con- nectivity and more ingest stations.” Studio 66 hasn’t used any tape for six months. “We try to avoid it,” says Niklasson. “Tape is slowly becoming an outdated delivery system – we
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shoot digitally, deliver digitally and our workfl ow is digital. Overall, perhaps 90% of our work is digital – we generally only use tape when a project uses archive footage, or if a company provides footage or needs a tape format specifi cally.” Some facilities have also been
investing in kit in order to provide more high-end services – especially cinema-quality grading. For example, LipSync’s arsenal now includes North- light 35mm and 16mm fi lm scanners for capturing camera negatives and converting to data, Arri 35mm fi lm recorders, Quantel Pablo 4K and 3D-capable grading systems, and Filmlight colour calibration technol- ogy to ensure a perfect loop in the DI chain. Other investments include AMS Digital Film Consoles for sound mixing and Sony HDCam VTRs. “LipSync Post offers specialist
skills and equipment for high-end TV drama and feature fi lms,” says managing director Peter Hampden. “Producers will always need access to these skills, since it is unlikely it will ever be viable for them to invest in the high equipment cost and sala- ries of top talent.”
still,” agrees Bray. “Post houses com- pete by offering a full range of crea- tive and technical options from top- end to industry standard solutions. We are constantly upgrading our fi nishing suites; we recently installed the new Dolby-4200 Pro- fessional Reference Monitor into our Baselight suites and have invested in the latest Avid DS 10.5 system.” Molinare is another heavy user of such fi nishing systems. Wilding says Filmlight’s Baselight is the most powerful colour grading tool avail able, adding that the feature set and tight integration of Avid Media Composer, Symphony and DS fi nishing tools, together with Avid ProTools for audio fi nishing, give Molinare a comprehensive workfl ow.
Growing demand Envy has also seen an increase in demand for this type of work. “We are a fan of Avid Symphony as it’s a quick fi nishing tool and it ‘under- stands’ workfl ow,” says Cadle. “Our onlines are fed by multiple offl ines and workfl ow is key for this. Our Flame Premium systems are the ultimate VFX fi nishing tool. 3D is a ‘must have’ and we are currently expanding that department.” As for Baselight, Envy has just
ordered its third system. “It’s an amazing grading system and an important part of modern post-pro- duction, covering every genre and loved by clients,” says Cadle. Clients for high-end fi nishing
range from long-form programmes – docs, drama, comedy, light enter- tainment – to short-form and com- mercial clients, including the BBC, Channel 4 and The Mob Film Com- pany. “In addition, audio is a major part of our business,” says Cadle, adding that all Envy’s audio studios offer Pro Tools with 5.1 capability. “We have 11 studios now and we believe we need more.” BBC S&PP’s Sangan views the
provision of high-end services as vital to meeting customers’ creative needs across a whole range of
January/February 2012 | Broadcast TECH | 19
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