FEATURE
programming. “We need to keep ahead of the curve on delivering new technologies like 3D and have high- end kit like Autodesk Smoke to cre- ate polished content for clients,” she says. “There is an expectation of excellence. As programme-makers are becoming more savvy, we need to go the extra mile to offer some- thing that can deliver the ambitious finishing to which they aspire.” It’s a view shared by Bray, who
says clients continue to expect the best possible creative and technical post solutions for their programmes. “Their ambitions reflect the highly competitive market in which pro- duction companies operate, as they compete to win those elusive com- missions and secure good ratings,” she says. “It is imperative that we offer a
wide range of finishing solutions, with the appropriate staff, to meet their budget and ideas. The clients still want dedicated suites – online, grade and audio – and there is a reluctance to compromise by using one suite that offers a combination of facilities in one product. “They are still keen to secure the right talent for their programmes, and will wait for the opportunity to get the right colourist or mixer. In fact, this can often be a key part of the deal-making process.”
Attractive combination Prime Focus has provided such serv- ices recently for clients producing high-profile drama such as the latest series of Sherlock (Hartswood Films), Hustle and Spooks (Kudos). “They came to us because they
were attracted by the combination of our creative expertise and the new kit we could offer,” says Bray. “It was a similar story with glossy factual programmes such as Nazi Gospels [Nutopia], Paranormal Witness [Raw] and How To Cook Like Heston [Renegade], with clients seeking us out for our creative talent and top- end facilities. “Technically challenging pro- grammes like archive-heavy The
20 | Broadcast TECH | January/February 2012
City Beneath The Waves – Pavlopetri: needed a combination of specialist equipment and expertise from Prime Focus
Broadcast TECH
‘Producers will always need access to high-end skills and kit since they are unlikely to invest in
them’ Peter Hampden, LipSync
1951 Festival Of Great Britain: A Brave New World [The Proudfoot Company] and graphics-based programmes like City Beneath The Waves: Pavlopetri [BBC] all needed a combination of specialist equipment and expertise.” As well as this market for high- end picture and audio finishing, facilities must offer productions a range of new or revised services. Molinare says it is constantly
improving its service offering. “We customise our services for every pro- duction, whether that means loca- tion-based data wrangling services with high-speed data connection directly to the cutting room in Soho, web review services for work in progress or remote dailies colour grading, where our Soho-based Baselights are controlled on location at Pinewood Studios,” says Wilding. LipSync now offers investment and equity services for the film industry, helping to sustain its client base. “We have many plans in the pipeline, including new ways to help both TV and film producers with their finance,” says Hampden. Studio 66 has tried to move away from the concept of a traditional
post house, says Niklasson. “When a client comes to us with an idea, we can offer a number of creative options. For example, a certain ele- ment could be shot using our green screen/motion control studio capa- bilities, we could build and animate it as a CGI asset, or we could com- posite it in software such as Nuke, After Effects or Flame – all of which we can integrate into one solution. We can offer any as a standalone service, but ideally we’d aim to use all together.” “No longer do we have the old silos of ‘acquisition’ and ‘post’; post-production now has to be involved before a frame is shot,” says Sangan. “Extensive support of pro- duction teams and training them in all the new technologies is some- thing that commercial post-produc- tion houses accept, because we rec- ognise our USP has to be exceptional technical support. “Clients look to us to support
everything they do – and it really is in both our interests to work together to get things right before recording begins, so we can achieve the best possible results.”
www.broadcastnow.co.uk/technology
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