This massive sign announces Creative Mega Playground's plans for downtown Manhattan.
NEW YORK - Post Production Playground, which has been servicing the independent film community for nearly 10 years from its midtown location, has announced a new venture that will expand its creative services as well as add considerable post production space in downtown Manhattan. The company is now sporting a new name - Creative Mega Playground (www.mega-playground.com). This follows a recent agreement between company owner Eitan Hakami and the Brasil-based Estudios Mega, which approached Hakami in a partnership deal that helps connect the South American facility with the New York filmmaking community.
While financials were not disclosed, Hakami says Estudios Mega has made a seven-figure investment as part of the partnership, which includes the securing of 45,000 sq./ft. of space on three floors at 609 Greenwich Street. Village Mega Playground, the name for the downtown space set to open later this year, is being designed by the Walters-Storyk Design Group and will feature 16 Avid systems, including Symphony and HD Nitris, along with Unity storage and a Digidesign Pro Tools mix room. The space will also feature an HD telecine, operated by Michael Smollin, who joins the facility from Technicolor Creative Services.
Additional staff brought in for the new venture includes Jonathan Epner, who was former director of operations for New York Times Television; Seth Isaac Buncher, the former president of the NYC Avid users group; Avid Elite technician Nick Brzoza; and former Technicolor sales rep Blair Lavey.
Creative Mega Playground has also formed a co-venture with reality programming specialists Joe Dinki and Cleve Keller to form CMP-TV. They will focus on producing programs designed to move the genre forward and have already secured deals with VH1 and A&E.