Post Production Technology News

Soho and the post industry

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 16:00

The London district of Soho is the heart of post-production for independent film and television, with many of the post houses there battling for the opportunity to work on some of the world's top films, TV programmes and commercials.

Post production facilities in Soho vary greatly in size and style. There are large, international and well established firms, reeling out huge quantities of work in very quick succession. Then there is a handful of smaller, high end facilities delivering a bespoke service - the success stories in this tough industry. High end post production facility, The Look, based in the centre of Soho is a prime example of the latter.

With primetime British TV drama credits such as Top Boy, the Fades, South Riding, Whitechapel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood and Monroe, The Look has slick facilities offering clients superior grading suites, one with HD projection onto a four metre screen.

Says MD and Colorist Thomas Urbye: "Being a small, but technologically advanced and creatively led facility means we can adapt our workflow for each job, and can train our operators and even our clients to understand new processes that we develop together.

"Because the UK independent film industry is struggling a lot at the moment - directors are increasingly looking to make good quality TV dramas instead.”

Nearly 30 hours of TV drama were graded at The Look in 2011, yet only two Quantel Pablo systems completed the high volume and high quality of work in a short timescale.

Urbye explains, "People look to Soho for the best post production systems. The fact that we can deliver such quality results in such a short amount of time highlights just how powerful the Pablos are. Using two of them on a GenePool is a great help as two of us can work on one drama, conforming or onlining on one Pablo and grading the other half of the programme on the other."

The Look has recently graded Channel 4's Top Boy, a compelling drama about gangs in Hackney, London. Urbye says, "This series, shot with an Arri ALEXA and transmitted with a 2.40 crop - was a bold move for Channel 4. Its look and feel, we believe, has not been seen on UK television before. The Director, Yann Demange (Dead Set and Criminal Justice 2) and DoP Tat Radcliffe didn't want the piece to look gritty and grey, the usual look for London 'street' dramas. They wanted high contrast and strong colours to give the drama a very distinct look."

The series trended on Twitter as the second most talked about topic for the week it aired, and it pulled in an audience of well over a million. Urbye's skills and eye combined with the flexibility of the Quantel Pablo Neo gave the series critically acclaimed reviews in the national press. For example, The Metro newspaper's review reported - 'Top Boy' is much more than a bleak, kitchen-sink drama - it's beautifully shot, unhurried and uses color imaginatively and subtly’.

The Look graded the BBC drama South Riding which was shot with the new Arri ALEXA. DOP Alan Almond BSC (Desperate Romantics) won a BAFTA for Best Photography for this production.

The Look is already geared up for a busy 2012. A major four-part primetime drama is set to be graded in February - using their Quantel Pablos.

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