Our building is on schedule, says Dan Darling, senior VP of Turner Studios, Atlanta. We will be in and operational by January 2000. Darling is referring to Turner Studios new 127,000 square foot, $37 million production/postproduction facility (with $15 million earmarked for equipment, and additional funds expected for HDTV equipment). The project was announced in June of 98, with the groundbreaking in August. When the buildings plans were first made public, there
was tremendous anxiety in Atlantas post community that the new studio would absorb muchaif not allaof the postproduction work that was farmed out to local businesses. Over the years, Turner has outsourced anywhere from 40% to 60% of its business per annum, generating millions for both small and large production and post companies.
But now, as the dust begins to settle around Turner Studios new four-story complex, and as both the reality and the ramifications of the new state of the art facility begin to take shape, this impressive structure is both a physical and metaphorical reminder to those in the postproduction community that a new business landscape is beginning to emerge in this critical Southeastern hub. Change happens in any industry, says Darling, and the market needs to respond.
In 76 Ted Turner launched the TBS Superstation which was beamed to nearly 700,000 homes. At the time, the station had just over 100 employees and operated out of The Old White House, a 15,000 square foot structure built in 1910, located on West Peachtree Street in downtown Atlanta. Today, the Turner company has expanded to 18 television networks, which are viewed in hundreds of millions of homes around the world. It produces original programming for television broadcast and theatrical release, including 24-hour telecasts in multiple genres and languages around the planet and, as a subsidiary of Time Warner Inc., is one of the largest media and entertainment conglomerates in the world.
Yet, despite the magnitude of the companys growth and its worldwide reach, Turner Studios, the production broadcast division of the Turner Entertainment Group, with current Atlanta-based production and post personnel totaling over 200 employees, has operated out of 30,000 square feet of antiquated office space. From modest beginnings, Turner Studios has mushroomed into a multi-million dollar business unit with 12 internal creative and technical departments ranging from a fleet of mobile units to highly specialized 3-D animators.
Weve been operating in an older facility, where CNN Headline News originated, says Darling. Although the new 1020 Production Building will serve the Turner domestic and international entertainment networks, Darling indicates that they will do some third party production work, theyll fill in some holes and work off hours, although their first priority is the network.
Under construction on the southwest corner of Turners Techwood Campus in Atlantas midtown area, the new studio will connect with the existing campus buildings both functionally and architecturally. A centralized, four-story technical tower will incorporate over 64,000 cubic feet of racks, conduits and technical raceways providing accessibility and direct cabled communication between departments and the studios. Weve also made a commitment for 4000 Grass Valley switchers in the control room, says Darling. Other equipment in the tower will include a Philips Venus Router and four Studer 950 series audio boards, two for the control rooms and two for audio design rooms.
The studios, which occupy the first floor of the facility, contain three soundstages ranging in size from 50 x 75, 70 x 90 and 80 x 90, all of which have 36-high ceilings with a lighting grid that will be between 18 and 21 high. There will be two control rooms servicing the three studios and the largest studio, according to Darling, will be occupied by Turner Sports, for the NBA half-time shows. The first thing well bring into the studios, says Darling, will be the NBA Playoffs in the year 2000.
Change of Pace
In Atlanta, there are some postproduction companies that already are preparing to adapt to the new studios and the anticipated contraction of the Turner business. There are other companies, however, who plan to continue operating as they always have, with the expectation that the changes at Turner will have little effect on their business.
Todd-AO/Editworks, one of Atlantas prominent mid-sized post houses, recognizes the need to adapt. We cant ignore it, push it under the mat and think that everything will be as it was, says Britt de Bie, president of the company, which relied on Turner for 78% of the companys income three years ago when they were simply Editworks. Back then, Turner jobs included work for TNT, TBS and posting promotional spots for Turner Sports NBA, Major League Baseball and NFL franchises, among other projects.
Today, says de Bie, our Turner business is under 50% and we have experienced the most successful growth in years because of our diversification. In 96 Todd-AO acquired Editworks and aggressively pursued Atlantas advertising industry, the r&b and hip-hop music video industry, and corporations such as MCI and Coca-Cola. Consequently, the companys Atlanta-based advertising clients today include Fitzgerald & Co. (who recently merged with McCann-Erickson), WestWayne Advertising, J. Walter Thompson, and Lawler Ballard. Weve also gone into music composition and turnkey audio services, explains de Bie. These new services include providing creative writing, talent selection and negotiations, editing, mixing, sweetening and delivery to radio stations around the country. Todd-AO/Editworks employs 37 people; the facility contains nearly 13,000 square feet of space and because of its success in these areas, has recently added two non-linear edit suites with Smoke systems to meet the need of this new and expanded work.
Magick Lantern, a 10-year-old Atlanta-based boutique firm with 20 employees, is somewhat representative of the dozen or so post houses that have entered the market during the past decade and to some extent have had an excellent ride on the Turner gravy train. Located just 15 minutes from the new Turner Studios, Magick Lantern does editorial work for Turner and a good bit of animation design and compositing for the Cartoon Network, says Charlie Willis, president, who estimates that less than 25% of his companys revenue comes from Turner. Turners been very up-front about their intentions, says Willis, who periodically shoots for Turner in his 50 x 60 studio/ special effects stage. Theyve been talking about this for years. Willis believes that change is a good thing; we think it will create opportunities in other areas.
Magick Lantern is pursuing markets outside Atlanta. It plans to beef up design resources for cable and station packages throughout the country, says Willis. The company is also dabbling in a unique and highly technical procedure Willis calls the repurposing of film or altering reality in both film and video. According to Willis, this process, which the company recently employed for Norfolk Southern, involves the seamless fabrication of reality and integrating new scenes and/or elements into an existing scene.
In comparison, Andrew Satinoff, senior editor/director of operations at Post Modern, a 7,000 square foot Atlanta facility with eight employees, is taking a wait and see attitude about the new Turner Studios. Despite Satinoffs nonchalance concerning the news, he suggests that other companies in town would be worse off than us. Satinoff won a Cable Ace Award as online editor for Turner Classic Movies 70-minute special, Inside the Dream Factory. He believes that the competition is good for any market, but if Turner producers are forced in-house, there are some people who are going to have problems.
Satinoff estimates that 20% to 30% of Post Moderns business comes from Turner and includes a number of long-form programs for TNT and TCM, interstitial work as well as numerous spots and campaigns for TNT on-air promotions. Post Modern, which was founded in 95 by Matt and Darla Gore, both of whom are editors, recently acquired the new Avid Symphony. While Satinoff indicates that the companys position is that they are not going to worry about the Turner studio at this time, he has noticed that companies who have previously relied on Turner have begun to branch out and are bumping into one another in both the advertising community and corporate world.
Industry insiders believe that because of the Turner influence, the amount of work and business generated by the company, and post dollars spread throughout the Atlanta production community, the market is out of balance. For a city this size, theres way too many post houses, both large and small, says Dave Warner, president of Click 3X, Atlanta (Click also has offices in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles), whose company derives about 20 percent of its revenue from Turner Studios. Most of the companies in this market had between 50% and 70% of Turner business. That was way too much, and there was a heavy discount to boot, 10 to 20 percent off [the] rate card with block week bookings.
The new Turner Studio facility will invariably precipitate a market correction. That may mean some shops close, others scale back and others will attempt to diversify to make up for the Turner contraction. If you cant adapt and change, then you shouldnt be playing in the game, observes Todd-AO/Editworks de Bie. Dave Warner believes that the agency business in Atlanta is not big enough to sustain the existing post environment.
Flow & Overflow
Despite all the prognostications and hand wringing about the future of Atlantas post community in the light of the new facility, many believe that the overflow and the cyclical nature of the outsourcing of the Turner business will continue. Im glad to see them grow, says Glen Fisher, director of operations for Crawford Post Production, one of the largest post houses in the city. Turner helped put Atlanta on the map in the film and television business; they are good for us and the entire community. Many people share the same sentiment. This is a good thing, it brings more attention to the market, says Satinoff. They are doing it at the right time, the technology is up to speed, every other network and production facility has something like this; its time they did it. Willis at Magick Lantern believes that the new facility is going to be a very cool place. He adds: Turner has created a lot of jobs both internally and externally. I was glad to hear they were creating a facility here. We hope its possible they can draw some of the other Time Warner Divisions into Atlanta.
Although its never a good idea to put all your eggs in one basket, says Darling, we are going to continue to grow and we wont be able to handle all the work. Well invariably be outsourcing work.v
