LONDON - Ascent Media UK made a major investment in DI technology this year involving UK Group facilities: One, St. Anne's, Rushes and Soho Images. The investment is in response to an increasing demand for new digital post technology in London. Ascent Media is planning further investment in DI of equal significance in 2005.
The company is now able to offer a full range of post services to directors, cinematographers and producers wishing to work in the UK. As part of this investment, One has opened a dedicated DI department at 71 Dean Street in London, with fully operational suites mirroring the DI division set-up at Company 3 in Los Angeles. Company 3 colorist Stefan Sonnenfeld, who's worked on "Man on Fire," "Bad Boys 2" and "Collateral," has been advising UK technicians on the build of the new department, in conjunction with the One's managing director, Paul Jones.
"We have been watching the DI space closely over the last few years," says Paul Jones, One's managing director, "and felt that with the second generation of technology now available we were able to get ahead of the market to build a creative grading solution that offers clients the most powerful tools available in a realtime 2K film resolution environment."
The investment to date includes the acquisition of two Quantel IQs; a da Vinci 2K color corrector; an SGI Storage Area Network; Truelight color management system; MTI for dust removal and an HD infrastructure, including VTRs.