PS Production Services provided lighting, power, dolly and grip equipment for Deadpool, the comic book thriller from 20th Century Fox opening internationally this month. PS supported the production during two & half months of shooting on location in Vancouver. The shoot included a spectacular crash sequence staged on the Georgia Viaduct, near the city’s downtown. Deadpool smashed records, garnering $260 million at the box office worldwide for its opening weekend.
Based upon the Marvel Comics anti-hero, Deadpool tells the origin story of former Special Forces operative turned mercenary Wade Wilson, played by Ryan Reynolds, a Vancouver native. The movie marks the feature debut of Director Tim Miller, an Academy Award-nominee for the animated short Gopher Broke.
Deadpool Production Manager Michael Williams said that despite a production schedule that included a two-week closure of one of Vancouver’s major arteries, the shoot came off without a hitch. “The production community and the city really got behind this movie…far beyond what you’d expect,” he says. “There were a lot of like-minded people who contributed to making the shoot a success.”
Among them was PS Production Services. “PS is terrifically supportive and a pleasure to deal with,” observes Williams, who had previously worked with PS on numerous film and television projects.
“It was an ambitious, logistically challenging production, run with skill and efficiency adds PS Production Services General Manager Jeff Ramsay. “They had some massive set ups on the viaduct. It was a pleasure to work with the production team of John Kelly (Executive Producer), Thane Watkins (Associate Producer) and Michael Williams (Production Manager).”
Other key members of the crew included Production Supervisor Thane Watkins, Gaffer Drew Davidson, Rigging Gaffer Keith Woods, Production Coordinator Bliss McDonald, Key Grip Finn King. The Cinematographer was Ken Seng.
A SIM Group company, PS Production Services is Canada’s largest source for lighting and grip equipment. The company has many recent film and television productions through its Vancouver office, including the upcoming summer blockbuster Star Trek Beyond and the Steven Spielberg feature The BFG, due for release next fall from Walt Disney Pictures.
About SIM Group
Backed by Toronto-based investment firm Granite Partners, the SIM Group is a leading supplier of production equipment, workflow and post-production solutions, with offices across the US, Canada and China. Our diverse services can be utilized on any production at any stage. In Canada, our offices in Toronto and Vancouver service grip and lighting from PS Production Services and can be complemented with SIM Digital cinematography and playback equipment for any production’s needs. Bling, Chainsaw, Pixel Underground, Tattersall Sound and Picture and Post Factory NY provide an array of services from dailies, to online and offline editing, to final color/DI and visual effects, to sound editorial and mixing. Bling’s services, which include a comprehensive workflow solution, are offered at all offices across the US and Canada, as well as off-site service through POD (Post on Demand). Chainsaw’s full-service facility in Hollywood provides creative editorial and extensive finishing services with some of the top colorists in the industry. Rounding out the family of companies are Pixel Underground, a Toronto-based post-production company, and its associated service, StationEX, which provides physical and file-based media fulfillment and encoding/distribution services, Tattersall Sound and Picture, a provider of sound editorial and mixing for motion pictures and television and Post Factory NY, one of the East Coast’s top independent post-production facilities. For more information, visit simgroup.com
