Chesapeake Systems has acquired StorExcel, a systems integrator serving the Rocky Mountain region and U.S. federal government. The acquisition joins the mutual strengths of the media technology providers, extending their ability to offer turnkey asset management solutions and support. The combination of companies expands Chesapeake System’s services in the media and entertainment and government markets.
The union integrates StorExcel team members from bases in Colorado and Virginia with the existing Chesapeake teams (located in Baltimore, New York, Los Angeles, DC-metro), strengthening core competencies and service offerings. The two companies pride themselves on being consultative in nature and adding value to the highly complex decision-making process involved with asset management and media workflow design and implementation.
“Chesapeake Systems and StorExcel have substantial synergies that make this acquisition a win-win for both companies and, importantly, will drive value to our partners and customers,” said Jason Paquin, CEO of Chesapeake Systems. “StorExcel brings a strong regional market presence to the fold at Chesapeake and builds on our services to the government sector.”
StorExcel was founded in Denver, Colo., in 2013 by Lance Hukill, along with a core team of sales and technical experts. Embracing digital media technology from its inception, the company has grown to be an industry leader in media asset management and storage platform integration for postproduction, broadcast, sports, churches, and the U.S. government.
Hukill, who now serves as VP of sales for Chesapeake, notes that the combined entity extends and scales the reputable expertise of both organizations. “This acquisition provides a huge opportunity for us to access new vertical and geographic markets, new products, and new offices while maintaining our core brand culture that our customers know and love.”
Paquin added, “Together, we strengthen all cross functions of our teams from sales to solution architecture as well as support and delivery services. This is an exciting growth step for Chesapeake Systems, especially as we navigate the new future for our customers who are pivoting to accommodate a forever-changed business environment.”
Jennifer Kent On Why Her Feature Directing Debut, “The Babadook,” Continues To Haunt Us
"The Babadook," when it was released 10 years ago, didn't seem to portend a cultural sensation.
It was the first film by a little-known Australian filmmaker, Jennifer Kent. It had that strange name. On opening weekend, it played in two theaters.
But with time, the long shadows of "The Babadook" continued to envelop moviegoers. Its rerelease this weekend in theaters, a decade later, is less of a reminder of a sleeper 2014 indie hit than it is a chance to revisit a horror milestone that continues to cast a dark spell.
Not many small-budget, first-feature films can be fairly said to have shifted cinema but Kent's directorial debut may be one of them. It was at the nexus of that much-debated term "elevated horror." But regardless of that label, it helped kicked off a wave of challenging, filmmaker-driven genre movies like "It Follows," "Get Out" and "Hereditary."
Kent, 55, has watched all of this โ and those many "Babadook" memes โ unfold over the years with a mix of elation and confusion. Her film was inspired in part by the death of her father, and its horror elements likewise arise out of the suppression of emotions. A single mother (Essie Davis) is struggling with raising her young son (Noah Wiseman) years after the tragic death of her husband. A figure from a pop-up children's book begins to appear. As things grow more intense, his name is drawn out in three chilling syllables โ "Bah-Bah-Doooook" โ an incantation of unprocessed grief.
Kent recently spoke from her native Australia to reflect on the origins and continuing life of "The Babadook."
Q: Given that you didn't set out to in any way "change" horror, how have you regarded the unique afterlife of "The... Read More