In the not-too-distant future, New York will be able to offer even more postproduction services than it already does. That’s because three companies—R!OT Santa Monica; The Whitehouse, London (which is on the brink of merging with The Lookinglass Company, Chicago and Santa Monica, to form a new entity to be called The Whitehouse Post Productions); and Company 3, Santa Monica—have begun the process of entering into the Big Apple.
R!OT Santa Monica, part of The Livewire Television Group (LTG), a division of Liberty Livewire, recently established a presence in New York when it hooked up with Livewire sister outfit Manhattan Transfer, which is now known as R!OT Manhattan. The Whitehouse/Lookinglass is currently negotiating for a space in the Big Apple. And Santa Monica-based Company 3, headed by colorist Stefan Sonnenfeld, has acquired a Midtown Manhattan space, and hopes to open shop by November.
Dan Rosen, managing director at R!OT Manhattan (which is already collaborating with R!OT Santa Monica, on an as-yet unnamed project), talks about why the two companies came together: "We’re part of the Livewire Television Group, which consists of a number of companies. Of all those companies, the two most similar, both in terms of the services supplied and the clientele, were R!OT Santa Monica and Manhattan Transfer. As we got into it with Larry Chernoff [president of LTG] and Richard [Cormier, managing director at R!OT Santa Monica], it became obvious that there were some opportunities for genuine synergy," says Rosen.
In addition to services and clients, the two companies discovered their creative personnel to be simpatico. "We are getting ready to work together on a couple of jobs," notes Rosen. "We think this is not only great for our clientele, but is also great for our talent, because they get a chance to interface with their counterparts in the other market."
Cormier points out that "R!OT has a global clientele and we wanted to offer a global presence. People responded to a specific product, which was the R!OT Santa Monica brand. That’s why we went through the name change for Manhattan Transfer. They have high-end talent, good infrastructure and technology, and we shared some of the same clientele.
"For the North American market it makes sense to be in the two major markets," continues Cormier. "A lot of our clients are shooting in Europe and England and other countries. We are entertaining the idea of having an even broader presence in the global marketplace"
R!OT Santa Monica was formed last year when the three post companies under the Four Media Company banner merged; those shops were the original Riot, Digital Magic and the film and animation divisions of POP. (Four Media Company, or 4MC, is a subsidiary of LTG.) R!OT Santa Moncia offers duplication and telecine transfers in both standard and high-definition, as well as in film resolution formats. R!OT also offers compositing, 3-D animation, editing and visual effects work. R!OT Manhattan, which opened shop as Manhattan Transfer in 1983, became a part of LTG when its parent company, Northvale, N.J.-based Video Services Corporation, was acquired by LTG in December ’00. R!OT Manhattan provides visual effects, 3-D animation, editing, telecine and compositing services, and creates broadcast design. Both R!OTs have clients in the commercial, television, and film industries, and are linked by a fiber optic connection.
Going Bicoastal
Company 3, a Santa Monica outfit that’s been around since ’97, and is also part of Liberty Livewire, is currently setting up shop right next door to the Empire State building. Why is the California post house opening a Big Apple roost? "All of my clients from back East and the Midwest suggested that we [open a New York office] because they felt that there wasn’t the same abundance of [post] talent in New York that there was in Los Angeles," says founding partner/president/colorist Stefan Sonnenfeld. "I felt that it would be good to have a place in New York that would service clients in the unique, personalized way we do here [in the Santa Monica office]."
Having an operation in New York will allow Company 3 to better service its clients on the East Coast. "For instance, one of my biggest clients is from New York and he spends months out here; he hates it because he’s away from his kids and his family," explains Sonnenfeld. "In this instance, a guy from New York can come out to L.A. for a month and work in my room, and I can go work in his room."
According to Sonnenfeld, Company 3’s New York office is in the process of being staffed. "A lot of colorists and talent in New York have been very receptive to us and want to work with us," he notes. "We have a ton of résumés. We think we have the best guys."
Sonnenfeld feels that his company’s boutique approach is something Gotham wants and should have. "I think New York needs a breath of fresh air. The [companies there] need some competition," he states. "The [post houses] there are used to doing things one way, and clients are getting tired of having to do it their way. Company 3 is a much more adaptive company," contends Sonnenfeld. "We’re hungry to explore different opportunities and different ways of doing things."
But Company 3 is happy to work in tried-and-true ways, as well. "You certainly have to satisfy the New York clients who are content doing things the way they’ve been doing things. We’re happy to accommodate them and help them in other ways that they’re not used to," says Sonnenfeld. "Our business philosophy is artist driven—I’m an artist sitting in the chair fifteen hours a day, besides being president of the company. [Things don’t] have to go through hierarchies of management; it’s just me. We’re able to move and adapt in a much quicker way."
When asked if the post house will have to adjust to its new environs, Sonnenfeld replies, "I don’t know how much adapting we’ll have to do, other than working in skyscrapers instead of big buildings down by the beach."
Sonnenfeld is obviously excited about his company’s new Midtown digs, which include a penthouse and the floor below. He enthusiastically describes the penthouse, which has a glass atrium complete with fireplace and kitchen. The other floor will house the shop’s technical facilities. Initially, the workspace will have three telecine stations capable of high-definition; eventually two or three rooms may be added.
Like R!OT, Company 3 is in the Liberty Livewire family, but Sonnenfeld points out that his boutique is its own entity. "Liberty provides some corporate structure for us as far as attorneys and accounting but, other than that, we’re very separate. We’d like to stay that way," he concludes.
Merger Move
Lookinglass partners Charles Day, who will be CEO of the new entity; Lookinglass president Christine Tardio, who will assume the COO mantle at the merged company; Lookinglass editor David Brixton; and The Whitehouse founder/ editor Rick Lawley had known each other for years when they realized that their editorial shops were a perfect fit. With the two firms’ imminent merger the British shop will establish a U.S. presence and Lookinglass editors will have a foothold across the Pond. And the soon-to-be international editorial facility is in the process of setting up shop in New York, as well.
According to Day, the merger of The Whitehouse, which opened in ’90, and Lookinglass, which launched in ’95, "creates a company that has an extraordinary level and depth of talent. As soon as we finish building the New York office, we’ll be in what you can argue are the four major advertising markets in the world."
With offices in Santa Monica, Chicago, London, and New York, Day sees the new entity as being able to proffer both its editors and clients a new experience. "The level and depth of talent that we will now be able to offer in each city, and that we will be able to move seamlessly through all those cities and anywhere else, is unique," he claims. "It creates opportunities for editors in different parts of the world to experience working in other countries, and to be backed from a production support standpoint."
Day and his partners have been busy studying the way things are done in the Big Apple. "We’ve spent the last couple of months making sure that we’ve understood New York, and the dynamics of the town and what people expect," he relates. "We’ve talked to a number of candidates about becoming executive producer of that office. It’s very important for us to make sure that the person we hire to manage the production aspect of the office is a New York expert."
As far as talent goes, Day says the New York office will be staffed by two local editors, one editor from London, and a fourth cutter now working in one of Lookinglass’ shops.
Steps are being taken to digitally link all of The Whitehouse offices, but Day asserts, "We’ve always been very big believers that the best work is done by an editor working in a room with a director and an agency team on a collaborative basis. Our first commitment is to put the editor in the room with the idea people. But given people’s schedules and production realities, I think it’s important that we be able to offer other ways for people to continue the process in a virtual way."
When asked when the new office will launch, he says, "People obviously have high expectations of what The Whitehouse is going to bring to New York. If we start to put dates on things, it means we will be making compromises. What we’ve decided to do is make sure that we can find great space, and that it’s presented in a way that says we’re serious about this."
