Like everywhere else in the country, postproduction facilities in the Midwest have slowly but surely emerged from the recent economic downturn. While last year had its ups and downs for many, early 2004 looks promising, as agencies and advertisers begin loosening their money belts. Additionally, from the handful of Midwest post houses canvassed by SHOOT, it can be ascertained that whatever the future brings, these full-service companies are far from standing still when it comes to upgrading their facilities and enhancing their creative service offerings. It should be no surprise that this is happening with the aid of advancing digital technology—despite the fact that high definition has yet to really take off in the commercial arena.
"It might not be original today, but adopting digital technology is how we have differentiated ourselves," offers Lisa Meyer, president of Minneapolis-based Hi-Wire, a post facility that specializes in high-definition and standard-definition post. "We service all the major Minneapolis agencies, all of which are doing national work." Hi-Wire does work on commercials, feature films and corporate videos; recent jobs include BMW’s "Angels," out of Fallon, Minneapolis, and campaigns for Target, McDonald’s and Budweiser.
Forming the backbone of its HD non-linear finishing is Discreet’s Fire, running on an SGI Onyx2 with real-time HD I/O Direct data input from a Spirit Edit Utility prep station. And for conversions between HDTV and 601, Hi-Wire was one of the first postproduction facilities to incorporate Panasonic’s Universal Format converter. "Our Fire suite sets itself apart because we can do exceptional, real-time high-definition work, while also being networked to our Inferno, Spirit and audio suites," Meyer says. "This means your files move in and out quickly, reducing edit time. Also, the Inferno suite is like no other—besides the power of our eight-processor SGI Onyx2 computer, you have the power of our digital effects designer."
While the tough economic climate has been felt by the facility, Meyer nevertheless has an optimistic attitude. "Hi-Wire has been affected by the economic downturn, and high definition has not taken off as quickly as people thought, but we have been able to ride it out," Meyer comments. "Our biggest assets have been our digital hardware and creative talent."
In addition to its post offering, Hi-Wire joined forces in 2002 with composer Ken Brahmstedt and sound designer Carl White to form the music and sound design shop Brahmstedt White Noise (BWN), which also offers mixing services. While BWN is an independent operation, Hi-Wire has a financial stake in the company, and BWN is based on Hi-Wire’s premises.
Mary Caddy Riegert, executive producer at Avenue Edit, Chicago and Santa Monica, notes that her shop has emerged relatively unscathed by the business downturn. "The industry slowed a bit with the recession, and then 9/11, but we have been fortunate in that it hasn’t really affected us," she says. Founded in ’80 by owner/editor Rick Ledyard, Avenue Edit offers a roster of editorial talent, as well as design and visual effects services. Over the last couple of years, the company has opened the aforementioned Santa Monica office to provide creative editorial services, and launched a visual effects company, also with offices in Chicago and Santa Monica, called SOMERsault.
Recent work from SOMERsault includes Miller Genuine Draft’s "Draft in Mirror," which EFX artist/ compositor John Montgomery worked on with director Kinka Usher from House of Usher, Santa Monica, to create effects; Avenue editor Tom Perschke cut the spot, done via Ogilvy & Mather, Chicago. Additionally, Avenue editor Terry Kaney cut "The Hunchback" for Cheez-Its, out of Leo Burnett USA, Chicago. Joe Pytka of PYTKA, Venice, Calif., directed the spot.
Despite her shops’ recent successes, Riegert notes that the road has not been without obstacles. "I would add that this past year has been unsure," she says. "For example, in the past, our business has been very consistent, but in the last year it has been spiky. We’d be very busy and then things would slow down. Things are less sure due to the economy and the cautiousness of clients. Their spending is less and so there is less work."
Technology UPSWING
Detroit-based GTN, a post house that services the automotive industry and its agencies, has also reaped the benefits of advances in digital technology. "Last year, our visual effects department [GTN’s Travelling Pictures] opened up in a new footprint, where all of our separate rooms were consolidated into one building," reports Steve Tocco, director of marketing and sales. "We also upgraded our audio suites with new Fairlights, and we’ve finished our expansion and have four new Avid suites, a new client services area, and Unity, a shared server that links to all of our Avids."
Moreover, according to Tocco, GTN, like Hi-Wire, has succeeded in differentiating itself by utilizing networking in its facility, in this case with the Avid Unity server. "We have a huge business running footage for all the local agencies," he explains. "We won four out of five of the projects this year, and part of the appeal is being able to go direct from film transfer into the Unity server, thereby eliminating the need to lay off to video and digitize. We digitize out of the transfer unit right into the Unity, use the Avid at compressed quality and then output uncompressed video. Our clients love it because it saves time and money, and maintains high quality."
The company has also seen growth in the digital vehicle realm, where instead of scanning cars into CGI, they actually get the data. "With Chrysler, we take their engineering data and create digital virtual vehicles," Tocco says. "We’ve done a number of projects for them—not only print, but also Web and motion animation pieces. That’s a growing area, and we have added resources and staffing in that part of our visual effects group."
In general, Tocco relates, business has improved, particularly in terms of the automotive agencies it serves, a list that includes BBDO Detroit, Troy, Mich.; Young & Rubicam, Dearborn, Mich.; Doner, Southfield, Mich.; McCann-Erickson Detroit, Troy; and J. Walter Thompson, Detroit. "We have seen a pretty good uptake in business in the last quarter," Tocco shares. "In 2003, we had a slight increase over last year, and there are a lot of projects on the docket right now, so in the first quarter 2004, there will be a lot of work. The automotives were definitely in a cost-containment mode over the last few years, and as a result, expenditures were less. But this year, there are a lot of new product launches with GM and Chrysler coming up, and we are anticipating involvement there. One is a multi-spot campaign for Chrysler Jeep out of BBDO. We are also involved in a multidivisional GM campaign called ‘Hot Button’ with McCann." (The latter involves a car-giveaway promotion from General Motors.)
GTN has been sheltered to some degree from the problem of runaway production. "We do a lot of automotive regional and dealer business, which is a tier of business that is well suited for us because of the way that we are structured," Tocco explains. "A lot of the work that has run to Canada and out West are the more national spots. Regional and dealer work tends to stay here in town."
