Procam, a leading cinematography and broadcast hire company in the UK, is continuing its expansion plans with the acquisition of Take 2, a supplier of professional digital and motion picture production equipment. The takeover of one of London’s best-known rental houses increases Procam’s footprint in supplying UK features and high-end episodic dramas, and is the next step in a long-term strategy to extend Procam’s reach into the US, following the company’s successful expansion into New York last year.
Procam has purchased the complete camera and grip inventory of Take 2’s business for an undisclosed amount, and is also taking on all of the company’s camera and grip staff, while maintaining and investing in the Take 2 brand. Take 2’s sister company, Take 2 Lighting, is not part of the acquisition and will be rebranded.
The acquisition of Take 2 by Procam ushers in a new phase of development for the West London company, beginning immediately with a recruitment drive to support several areas of Take 2’s business. Procam will also finance a substantial investment in new camera equipment for Take 2 and is spearheading plans to launch the Take 2 brand in Los Angeles. Additionally, Take 2 and Procam Group company True Lens Services (TLS) are collaborating on the development of a new lens family supporting 4K, 6K and 8K high-resolution sensors, due for release at the end of 2016.
Established in 1999, Take 2 provides top-tier digital and film camera equipment, advice and support to high-profile motion picture and episodic TV series, including US shows shot in the UK. Take 2’s movie credits encompass The King’s Speech (Weinstein Co/UK Film Council), The Imitation Game (Weinstein Co), Paddington (Weinstein Co/Canal+/Heyday Films) and Pride (Pathé/BBC Films/Canal+). Among Take 2’s TV credits are the multiple award-winning Wolf Hall (Company Pictures/BBC), plus the well-received productions of Undercover (Baby Cow), Stan Lee’s Lucky Man (Carnival Film & TV), River (Kudos/BBC), Humans (Kudos/Channel 4/AMC), You, Me And The Apocalypse (Working Title/Sky/NBC Universal), London Spy (Working Title/BBC America/NBC Universal), The Tunnel (Canal+/Kudos/Sky Atlantic) and the forthcoming third series of Peaky Blinders (Tiger Aspect/BBC).
Over the next six months Procam plans to considerably augment Take 2’s inventory, which already comprises a large portfolio of the latest ARRI, RED, Sony and high-speed Phantom digital cinematography cameras, ARRI and Aaton 35mm/16mm cameras, an extensive stock of vintage and bespoke anamorphic, spherical, macro, telephoto and specialist lenses, plus accessories. Take 2 also offers a grip, crane and remote head facility, providing cranes, jibs, remote heads, camera dollies, tripods and grip accessories, as well as a digital post production lab and grading suite.
The strategic purchase of Take 2 was led by Procam’s Group CEO, John Brennan, supported by Group CFO Helen Cardrick. Procam has promoted Cardrick to chief commercial officer and Nicholas Marsden from head of finance to group finance director.
Brennan said of Take 2, “It is a well-established brand and its highly-respected team now have the additional infrastructure and resources to move the company forward to the next stage, at home and abroad. Procam has successfully taken root in New York, and following the recent extension of tax credits enabling cost-efficient filming in California, we’re looking at taking the Take 2 brand to the US West Coast.”
Brennan added: “The addition of Take 2 also delivers many benefits for Procam’s existing customers, including impeccable production expertise, along with access to some of the rarest film lenses and the best camera and grip equipment in the industry – strengths and technical assets you won’t readily find elsewhere in the global market.”
Vince Wild, director of Take 2, said: “The acquisition by the Procam Group brings many advantages to Take 2 and our clients can rest assured it is very much business as usual. The combined knowledge of the two companies will benefit producers working in all genres of production. Across the group, they can access the widest range of cameras, lenses and production equipment in the rental market, as well as the latest and greatest technology as it is released. With features and TV dramas being shot in multiple locations throughout the UK, Procam’s regional presence is also of significant added value to Take 2’s clientele.”
Review: Writer-Director Coralie Fargeat’s “The Substance”
In its first two hours, "The Substance" is a well-made, entertaining movie. Writer-director Coralie Fargeat treats audiences to a heavy dose of biting social commentary on ageism and sexism in Hollywood, with a spoonful of sugar- and sparkle-doused body horror.
But the film's deliciously unhinged, blood-soaked and inevitably polarizing third act is what makes it unforgettable.
What begins as a dread-inducing but still relatively palatable sci-fi flick spirals deeper into absurdism and violence, eventually erupting — quite literally — into a full-blown monster movie. Let the viewer decide who the monster is.
Fargeat — who won best screenplay at this year's Cannes Film Festival — has been vocal about her reverence for "The Fly" director David Cronenberg, and fans of the godfather of body horror will see his unmistakable influence. But "The Substance" is also wholly unique and benefits from Fargeat's perspective, which, according to the French filmmaker, has involved extensive grappling with her own relationship to her body and society's scrutiny.
"The Substance" tells the story of Elisabeth Sparkle, a famed aerobics instructor with a televised show, played by a powerfully vulnerable Demi Moore. Sparkle is fired on her 50th birthday by a ruthless executive — a perfectly cast Dennis Quaid, who nails sleazy and gross.
Feeling rejected by a town that once loved her and despairing over her bygone star power, Sparkle learns from a handsome young nurse about a black-market drug that promises to create a "younger, more beautiful, more perfect" version of its user. Though she initially tosses the phone number in the trash, she soon fishes it out in a desperate panic and places an order.
The one rule to follow is that... Read More