NEW YORK — The Vladar Company (http://vladar.com/), which produces, posts and distributes features, has three releases planned for the coming weeks. Vlad Yudin (pictured) co-founded The Vladar Company in 2008, along with producer Edwin Mejia, and the team went on to direct, produce and pen the script for the successful 2013 bodybuilding documentary,
Generation Iron.
On September 18th, the company will release Jeremy Scott: The People’s Designer, which pulls the curtain back on the life and times of one of the world's most provocative designers, as he makes his mark on fashion and pop-culture history with his unique and ornate style. Yudin helmed, produced and penned the piece, which offers insight from fashion industry leaders and A-list celebrities, including Miley Cyrus, Rihanna, Kanye West, Katy Perry and A$AP Rocky.
Also on the 18th, The Vladar Company will release CT Fletcher: My Magnificent Obsession, a story about the six-time world champion power lifter CT Fletcher, who overcame health issues and uses his success and determination to motivate others. The documentary features appearances from Stone Cold Steve Austin, Bill Goldberg, and Kevin “Da Hulk” Washington.
And on October 2nd, The Vladar Company will release The Somali Project, a documentary feature that follows the real-life story of a group of pirates on a mission to stop hijackings and kidnappings in the waters off the Horn of Africa. This film represents an acquisition by the company, which worked with the filmmakers Jon Gursha and Peter Greene of Film Marketing Services.
Post recently caught up with Vlad Yudin, who describes the company as one that is “very integrated,” with the ability to develop, produce and distribute niche content.
“It’s important to find a demographic that you can market to directly,” says Yudin. Those demographics, he adds, can change from subject to subject, but there’s also the opportunity for the company’s content to crossover, beyond fashion, in the case of Jeremy Scott, or bodybuilding, in the case of
Generation Iron or
CT Fletcher.
“That happens with a lot of our films,” he says of their crossover appeal. Social media helps The Vladar Company get the word out to the intended audience, and digital platforms, such as iTunes, Amazon Digital, Vimeo make digital distribution a reality.
In 2016, The Vladar Company has plans to release three or four
theatrical films, and up to 15 digital-only features. Documentaries, says Yudin, are always a “hard sell,” so his general rule is to keep budgets as low as possible — that translates to under $1 million. They’ll only shoot on film if a very specific look is desired, otherwise it’s almost always digital.
“The HD formats are excellent,” says Yudin. “Red can shoot between 4 and 5K resolution.”
The Vladar Company has its own internal studio, which it uses for offline editorial, drawing primarily on Final Cut Pro, but with Avid and Adobe Premiere available too. The investment in an in-house studio, says Yudin, was the company’s effort to control its own destiny.
“There are so many levels,” he says of the filmmaking process. “Post is expensive, and it came to the point that I built my own studio.”
As a 24/7 operation, they can keep costs down, while still partnering with outside studios for their color correction and audio post needs.