Ed Koenig has rejoined the global visual effects and postproduction studio MPC as an executive producer. Earlier in his career he was EP, color, in MPC’s Los Angeles office, and was one of the first hires the company made when it opened there in 2008. He brings a broad range of postproduction experience to his new position, where he’s tasked with continuing to grow the studio’s network of official partner facilities and expand its palette of remote services beyond color grading.
In addition to Koenig’s appointment, MPC announced two new additions to its official partner facility roster: 11 Dollar Bill in Chicago and Hero Post in Atlanta. They join charlieuniformtango in Austin and Dallas, The Work in Detroit and Ditch in Minneapolis as the studio’s list of partner facilities.
“Having Ed focused on finding new ways for clients to work with us beyond the confines of our New York and L.A. studio locations represents an incredibly exciting opportunity for MPC,” said Graham Bird, global managing director for MPC Advertising. “Ed’s knowledge of the industry, combined with the technology to remotely connect clients with our creative talent, is incredibly powerful”
Koenig’s first tour of duty at MPC lasted six years. During that initial tenure Koenig helped colorist Mark Gethin, now creative director for color in the U.S., set up the studio’s color department. Koenig left in 2014 to join Nice Shoes as an EP. He later was a founding partner and head of new business for Smith Design Office.
Koenig’s return to MPC reflects more than just picking up where he left off. “We’re not merely looking to connect with top performers in major markets around the country,” he explained, “but to redefine how these independent companies work with a studio as multifaceted as ours. I’ll also be functioning as a kind of roving advance scout for MPC, finding ways clients anywhere can take full advantage of what we have to offer in a way that works best for them.”
Koenig cited as an example the work they’ve done with Ditch since adding that shop to the partner roster last year. MPC has provided several of the boutique’s clients with not only high-end color grading, performed by colorists in both its L.A. and New York offices, but also compositing, finishing, Flame work and a range of other VFX services, all performed by artists based many miles from the Twin Cities. “In these instances, we just point our signal toward Minneapolis and we’re collaborating with Ditch owner and editor Brody Howard and his entire team,” Koenig noted.
“A big part of what I’m doing is bringing wide-ranging projects into MPC through our remote partners,” he continued. “While remote color has become an accepted part of the postproduction mix, our push to expand into a broader roster of visual effects capabilities puts us out in front.”
Del Feltz, EP at 11 Dollar Bill, said the studio, which recently opened an office in Boulder, met Koenig through its newly-named Boulder managing director, Lisa Effress, who’d worked with him when she was an executive producer at agency CP+B. “Everyone here is really excited about it, both in the areas of VFX and color,” said Feltz of their new relationship. “To have access to a resource like MPC opens up lots of opportunities for us in Chicago, and brings a lot of experience to our market.”
11 Dollar Bill sr. colorist Clark Jackson noted the efficiency this will provide typically time-challenged agency clients: “They can finish off a color session here, check in on their graphics and effects work and handle their edit – all of which is being done at a very high level.”
Hero Post partner and EP Molly Baroco in Atlanta also sees the value of offering MPC’s talent to her agency clients. “Having access to their colorists is a great option for our market,” she said, noting that Hero’s relationship with MPC will focus on grading. “They’re super talented, and we and our clients are excited to have this resource available here in Atlanta.”
Koenig sees his job as marshalling the studio’s capabilities in ways that make it easier and more efficient for clients to tap into them. To this end, he’s working closely with Meghan Lang, EP color in Los Angeles, and Dani Zeitlin, EP color in New York, as well as with other producers in both offices, to ensure that the studio is assembling the best teams to meet the needs of each project.
“A big part of our growth will come from truly working with our remote facilities as partners,” Koenig added. “Between my history with MPC, my work with color grading and effects and my time spent at other studios, I think I can serve as a valuable resource for clients.”
Steven Soderbergh Has A Multi-Faceted “Presence” In His Latest Film
Steven Soderbergh isn't just the director and cinematographer of his latest film. He's also, in a way, its central character.
"Presence" is filmed entirely from the POV of a ghost inside a home a family has just moved into. Soderbergh, who serves as his own cinematographer under the pseudonym Peter Andrews (his father's name), essentially performs as the presence, a floating point-of-view that watches as the violence that killed the mysterious ghost threatens to be repeated.
For even the prolific Soderbergh, the film, which opens Friday in theaters, was a unique challenge. He shot "Presence" with a small digital camera while wearing slippers to soften his steps.
The 62-year-old filmmaker recently met a reporter in a midtown Manhattan hotel in between finishing post-production on his other upcoming movie ("Black Bag," a thriller Focus Features will release March 14) and beginning production in a few weeks on his next project, a romantic comedy that he says "feels like a George Cukor movie."
Soderbergh, whose films include "Out of Sight," the "Ocean's 11" movies, "Magic Mike" and "Erin Brockovich," tends to do a lot in small windows of time. "Presence" took 11 days to film.
That dexterous proficiency has made the ever-experimenting Soderbergh one of Hollywood's most widely respected evaluators of the movie business. In a wide-ranging conversation, he discussed why he thinks streaming is the most destructive force the movies have ever faced and why he's "the cockroach of this industry."
Q: You use pseudonyms for yourself as a cinematographer and editor. Were you tempted to credit yourself as an actor for "Presence"?
SODERBERGH: No, but what I did is subtle. For the first and... Read More