Technicolor Creative Services, Montreal, has launched 4 Westmount Square (4WS), a unit dedicated to servicing commercial postproduction and visual effects.
“Commercial clients have been coming in for color grading; Technicolor saw the market and the opportunity,” explained director of commercials Patrice Cormier. There are a limited number of color correction suites available in Montreal and that has sometimes prompted local commercialmakers to go to Toronto to work, he related, explaining that with the color correction services, the hope is to keep more work both in house and in the city.
4WS opened with two Smoke/Flame suites, a 2D and 3D graphics unit, and color correction services using Autodesk (Discreet) Lustre in a theatrical, nonlinear environment.
Cormier explained that the new unit will operate in shared but separate space from TCS Montreal, which focuses on long-form work. The new venture was designed to cater to what agency clients expect in terms of facility design, comfortable suites, staff, project management and client services.
Cormier’s career has focused on advertising; he earlier worked as a spot editor at Montreal’s Buzz Image Group. From ’97-’02 he was interface specialist at Autodesk (then Discreet), during which time as a project head and senior trainer he visited more than 300 post houses around the world. He then returned to Buzz as VP business development; during that time he was the architect of Buzz’s HD unit.
At 4WS, Cormier designed the dedicated commercial Smoke/Flame rooms for client-attended sessions. He said the Smoke/Flame combo was an easy choice as “it’s the only thing, I think, for doing commercials. It can work in real time, and clients ask for it by name.” The graphics unit includes a variety of software including Mac graphics, Final Cut Pro and Maya.
Color correction is particularly unique, as 4WS is one of the first facilities in the world to offer to commercial clients a nonlinear Autodesk (Discreet) Lustre color grading theatre. This theatrical environment is equipped with a NEC digital projector; the workflow also incorporates Filmlight’s Northlight Film scanner and the Arrilaser film recorder. The Lustre combines Autodesk’s Incinerator for added power. Source materials may include HDCAM SR, HD D5 or 2k data. This theatre will be shared with TCS’ long-form business, while construction is planned for a second Lustre suite dedicated to commercial work.
“For commercials, I think the advantage to Lustre is to see the final project actually conformed [in shot order],” said Nico Ilies, chief commercial and feature colorist. “Typically you only see the final project at then end.”
HD capabilities, he added, are another plus. “In the next year we expect a demand for HD [commercials],” he predicted. “The footage can be scanned, and you can create multiple commercials, right away. You can create SD, HD, film and you are not restricted to the format.”
Also available for commercials is newly hired colorist Vickie-Lynn Roy. The 4WS team also includes creative director Louis-Martin Duval, executive producer Guyaine Dutil, editor/effects artist Jean-Marc Laurin, and art director Emmanuel “Maz” Mazeron.
Cormier reported that Technicolor also plans to take advantage of synergies with its other commercial businesses: 49 Ontario (formerly Toybox) in Toronto and The Moving Picture Company in London. He reported that the Montreal business has already been tapping into the larger 3D capabilities in Toronto for a commercial project, and plans also call for the launch of a new Web site for this complete group of commercial post businesses.
TCS/Montreal and 4WS are also connected to Technicolor’s private high-speed network that links with other Technicolor companies in cities including London, Los Angeles, New York and Toronto.
Trump Asks Supreme Court To Delay TikTok Ban
President-elect Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court on Friday to pause the potential TikTok ban from going into effect until his administration can pursue a "political resolution" to the issue.
The request came as TikTok and the Biden administration filed opposing briefs to the court, in which the company argued the court should strike down a law that could ban the platform by Jan. 19 while the government emphasized its position that the statute is needed to eliminate a national security risk.
"President Trump takes no position on the underlying merits of this dispute. Instead, he respectfully requests that the Court consider staying the Act's deadline for divestment of January 19, 2025, while it considers the merits of this case," said Trump's amicus brief, which supported neither party in the case and was written by D. John Sauer, Trump's choice for solicitor general.
The argument submitted to the court is the latest example of Trump inserting himself in national issues before he takes office. The Republican president-elect has already begun negotiating with other countries over his plans to impose tariffs, and he intervened earlier this month in a plan to fund the federal government, calling for a bipartisan plan to be rejected and sending Republicans back to the negotiating table.
He has been holding meetings with foreign leaders and business officials at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida while he assembles his administration, including a meeting last week with TikTok CEO Shou Chew.
Trump has reversed his position on the popular app, having tried to ban it during his first term in office over national security concerns. He joined the TikTok during his 2024 presidential campaign and his team used it to connect with younger... Read More