Rhinoceros Editorial and Post (REP) has added veteran colorist John Binninger. He will staff the company’s new Sony Vialta film-to-tape transfer suite, which officially opened last month.
Binninger has been working as a freelance colorist for such New York companies as Post Perfect and PrinczCo Productions since 1996, when he returned to the U.S. after a 10-month stint at Australian postproduction house Omnicon, in Crows Nest, New South Wales.
During a 20-year career, Binninger has served as colorist on spots for such clients as Sprint, AT&T, Chrysler, Tyco, CVS Pharmacy, Olive Garden, The Wiz and ESPN. He has also worked on independent features, including Tom Gilroy’s debut film Spring Forward (2000) and Michael Rymer’s Perfume, which is currently seeking distribution stateside. Initially Binninger will be the lone colorist on staff at REP, which plans to expand its telecine talent base in the near future.
Binninger started his career at the now defunct post house JSL, where he stayed from 1979 to ’89. He became a colorist in ’83, working on commercials, music videos and broadcast projects. In ’90, he shifted over to VSC Post/Manhattan Transfer, later leaving to work at Australia’s Omnicon. (VSC Post, which was owned by Video Services Corp., merged during Binninger’s tenure into the Manhattan Transfer operations.)
Citing the investment in the new Sony Vialta as the prime reason for joining his new roost, Binninger said:
"Rhinoceros has made what amounts to a pretty big investment in some cutting-edge technology. … so I see it as a great opportunity for me. The position also reunites me with old friends whom I have worked with throughout the years." Binninger and REP executive VP/general manager Tim Timpanaro worked together at VSC Post/Manhattan Transfer from ’90-’96. Earlier at JSL, Binninger got to know that company’s principal, Walter Lefler, who is now creative director at REP.
Timpanaro said that Binninger arrives at an opportune juncture for REP. "We have recently installed the first Sony Vialta system in Manhattan—we were a beta test site for Sony and have ironed out the idiosyncrasies in the system over the past six months," noted Timpanaro. "It was the right time to hire John because the machine is tried and true at this point."
The Sony Vialta transfer system will run in concert with a DaVinci 2K color corrector, and its own dedicated HD SpiDDR disc recorder. Rhinoceros has also opened a full-service linear HD suite, equipped with Sony’s HDCAM, Panasonic’s HD D-5 and Philips’ Voodoo D-6.
Rhinoceros CEO and founding partner David Binstock said the company opted for the Sony Vialta for a number of reasons. "The prototype we saw offered an optical zoom, which provides a lot of flexibility. The unique registration is very accurate and does not degrade the film perforations like other systems do. The system retains the highest quality throughout the process."
REP is a Multi-Video Group-owned company. Other owned and associated companies include New York-based Rhinoceros Visual Effects and Design, Cool Beans Digital Audio, and Wax Music and Sound Design. Associated international companies are Gravity Effects, Tel Aviv, and Digital Renaissance in Oberhausen, Germany.
REP is handled nationally by in-house reps Annie Cotton, Jack Hubler, Barbara Lamon and Joan Miller.
