Rainmaker Digital Pictures, a post/effects studio in Vancouver, B.C., has unveiled plans for what it bills as being Western Canada’s first HDTV postproduction facility. In phase one of an expansion into the HD services realm, Rainmaker will add HD telecine, HD conversion and dubbing and HD tape-to-tape color correction to its facility menu this month.
As HD implementation is underway in the U.S. and Canadian broadcasters are beginning to work with the new wide-screen, higher definition format, industry demand is starting to build for HD programming, which leads in turn to a developing market for HD production and post. "I think our timing is perfect. We’re currently bidding several HD jobs, and I expect we’ll have our first HD projects in-house very soon after opening the facility," says Rainmaker general manager Barry Chambers.
The cornerstone for Rainmaker’s transition to HD was laid in ’98, when the company installed Canada’s first C-Reality, an advanced Rank Cintel telecine designed to operate at higher resolutions required for both HD- and film-resolution work. With a few modifications and additional hardware, Rainmaker’s C-Reality will become fully HD capable, with the ability to scan film images and transfer them to digital video at the prevalent 24P HD standard. The C-Reality, which has been in full-time operation at Rainmaker since mid-’99, will still be able to run in standard definition (SD) television mode as well as in HD.
The HD-enhanced C-Reality will be complemented with a DaVinci 2K, the high-resolution version of the DaVinci Renaissance color correction system that is used in all of Rainmaker’s telecine suites. Other components of the hi-def expansion include a pair of Sony HD-Cam WF500 digital video recorders to handle the recording and playback functions, and a lengthy list of HD-capable peripherals such as sync generators, test sets, scopes, converters and other equipment needed to tie the elements together and properly interface them to Rainmaker’s current operations.
"The conversion to HD is not unlike the changeover to digital that our industry went through a decade or so ago," says Rainmaker president Bob Scarabelli. "It’s not a case of simply installing a machine or two—HD will involve rebuilding a whole new infrastructure for our facility, piece by piece, layer by layer."
Rainmaker intends to add more HD services in the coming months; online editing and visual effects solutions are currently being assessed. In the meantime, the facility will continue to offer its full menu of SD post services in addition to its new slate of HD offerings. "The market transition to HD will probably be a gradual one," Scarabelli says. "We expect to be operating in both SD and HD mode for the foreseeable future. But our clients know they need to start thinking about HD now, and we’re ready to lead them step by step through the process."
The introduction of hi-def services is only one aspect of a building program currently underway at the company’s site. Rainmaker recently acquired an additional 10,000 square feet of space on the main floor which is currently being renovated to house new production workspaces, an engineering shop and a new screening theater, which is due to be completed in February. In addition to 16 and 35mm film projection and Dolby surround sound, the theater will feature a state-of-the-art HD video projection system.
Headquartered in Vancouver, with an autonomous sister effects/ post facility in Burbank, Calif., Rainmaker’s Canadian operation offers services for film, TV and new media that include film processing, digital video post, digital visual effects and DVD authoring.V
