Aerospace and defense technology firm TRW (NYSE: TRW) has taken aim at Hollywood with the launch of Picture PipeLine, a secure broadband solutions company based in Carson. Picture PipeLine will offer digital dailies, real time postproduction collaboration and file transfer services to the film, television, commercial and music video production communities.
Part of an emerging marketplace, Picture PipeLine is one of several companies that leverage proprietary software, hardware and advanced telecommunications to eliminate the barriers of time and distance for producers of visual media. These so-called "CyberCarriers" create a broadband connection between, say, the shooting location and the post facility, so that a director and an editor can review dailies as if they were in the same room.
Other such companies courting the creative community include feature cinematographer Curtis Clark’s Culver City, Calif.-based NeTune Communications (SHOOT, 8/25/00, p. 7); Eagan, Minn.-based Wam! Net; and Toronto-headquartered JCI Corporation.
The first client to sign on with Picture PipeLine is the Warner Bros. fire department drama, Third Watch. Warner Bros. is a minority investor in Picture PipeLine, and collaborated in the development of the applications, user interface and services that the company offers. For Third Watch, Picture PipeLine connected the Warner Bros. Studios lot in Burbank, Calif., with the program’s production office in Brooklyn, N.Y., and executive producer Brooke Kennedy’s office in Manhattan.
"I’m a producer that’s usually hired to take productions on location," said Kennedy. "So I’m very in tune with the problems that come up from having to span time and distance. I can’t think of a production that would not benefit from [this service]."
In terms of targeting the spot community, Picture PipeLine VP of sales Charlie Mitchell reported that the company has had informal conversations with a leading ad agency. "I think our service will prove invaluable to the commercial business," he stated. "From what I hear, they’re on an even tighter schedule than television or features." The company was also tapped to link the editors on the Warner Bros. feature The Perfect Storm with visual effects artists at Industrial Light+Magic, San Rafael, Calif.
Picture PipeLine services will be available à la carte, with the firm providing all applications hardware and software, system installation and training, security and 24-hour-a-day technical support. Billed as a monthly fee, the service costs are specific to each production, based on what and how many locations need to be connected, as well as on what services—digital dailies, video conferencing, etc.—are provided. But Mitchell estimated that the cost of a basic service package for 90 days could equal one day of production costs for a film or TV show. On average, it takes Picture PipeLine 30 days to establish a connection between locations, which might prove to be too long a lead time for a number of commercials. However, theoretically, if an ad agency had the services already in place, a link to a designated collaborator could be turned around in less time.
Like most CyberCarriers, Picture PipeLine typically relies on telephone lines for connectivity. These, according to company president/COO Thomas Gritzmacher, offer "the best price performance." Mitchell added that the system works on both terrestrial and wireless systems: "We’ll set it up for whatever a particular production needs," whether that be via satellite or a T1 line.
Within the next two months, Picture PipeLine will open a sales, marketing and demo facility on the Westside of Los Angeles. Also coming soon is a new service, synchronized playback, which allows users in numerous locations to start and stop the streaming of footage. At this juncture, only one location is able to manually manipulate the stream or playback.
Mitchell joined PicturePipeline from Burbank-based 3 Point Digital, where he was VP of sales and oversaw business development for Internet Protocol (IP)-based video products. Prior to being named to his current post, Gritzmacher was a senior executive at TRW. The Picture PipeLine executive team also includes CEO Gerard "Rocky" Roccanova, a 21-year veteran of TRW.
Headquartered in Cleveland, TRW is a global technology, manufacturing and service company offering products and services with a wide range of government and commercial applications, among them: "smart" vehicle safety and control systems, remote keyless entry systems, advanced laser technologies, and air-traffic control communications systems. TRW has extensive facilities in Redondo Beach, Calif.
