Since opening in 2008, telecine boutique New Hat has graded an impressive range of projects from commercials, music videos, webisodes, documentaries, and now – feature films. The company’s success can be credited to its small but powerful roster of colorists: Bob Festa, Beau Leon and most recent addition, DI feature colorist Michael Mintz.
This year New Hat has channeled its non-linear approach into the feature world with the completion of the facility’s Truelight Certified Digital Intermediate Theater. The theater promises a state-of-the-art experience for feature film’s unique color grading requirements with the Baselight 4 color grading system, 14′ Stewart Screen, Barco 2K projector and Blue Sky 5.1 audio. Heralded by DI colorist Michael Mintz, the theater has already been the source of color grading for several features, including Tim Cox’s independent black comedy, “Miss Nobody” and Gil Cates’ feature film, “Lucky.”
About New Hat
New Hat‘s esteemed talent works with the most advanced technology, including the facility’s two Spirit 4K film scanners. Throughout any stage of the post-production process, the client’s film material is transferred on the Spirit at 2K or 4K resolution. All digital camera elements are kept in their native formats on the facility’s 300 TB DDN SAN, where uniquely, the client’s material can forever be accessed and backed up.
The facility’s non-linear, random access workflow relies on the suite’s Baselight 4 color grading systems. With a workflow designed for maximum creative freedom, each Baselight 4 system houses 48tb of storage locally, and is equipped to handle projects of mixed media and mixed resolutions. Baselight’s capabilities support New Hat‘s ‘go native’ philosophy by allowing the material to stay in its raw file format, thereby retaining the highest quality and resolution.
In spite of the dismal economy and its effect on the industry, newcomer New Hat has thrived. The company attributes the expansion into feature film work to their purist approach. Co-founder and colorist Bob Festa summarizes the benefits of retaining native file formats, “Whereas other post houses forgo quality by transferring material to tape or dpx, we’re keeping the quality and resolution of the material as far upstream as possible. By working in native raw-image file formats, we’re not settling for the lowest common denominator. New Hat wants to protect the integrity of our client’s image.”
At New Hat, Bob Festa and Beau Leon are furthering their reputations as two of the most accomplished colorists in the industry. In Spring 2010, Bob Festa lent his talents to the Toronto International Film Festival feature, “Little Sister,” a telling of the original Cinderella story from Director/Cameraman Richard Bowen. Festa’s other recent projects include advertising campaigns for GMC, Kia and AT&T.
Recent credits for Beau Leon include spots for global brands such as Ford Mustang, Verizon and HP, and he continues to be the industry go-to for his work on music videos. In Summer 2010 alone, Beau stylized images for some of the biggest names in music including Kylie Minogue, Brandon Flowers and Usher, as well as Joseph Kahn’s fiery video for Eminem featuring Rihanna, “Love the Way You Lie.”
New Hat‘s formula for success is in part due to their unique role as the exciting, innovative newcomer…with the experience and wisdom to keep things pure. “In the past two years, we’ve seen the company evolve beyond expectation,” explains Festa. “We offer the highest level of service, the big-name talent and the most innovative technology. Our pure approach has resonated well with clients – they know that New Hat does it all with honesty and integrity.”
