It’s official. The Waterfront Film Studios, occupying the well known premises at
the V & A Waterfront, is a brand new joint venture partnership between Blade
Works, Lasernet, Hilton Treves and Alun Richards. Having acquired the assets of
Collective Dream Studios late last year, the partnership is in the process of
putting together a specialist services company which will not be following the
traditional facilities model.
The acquisition came about after Lasernet’s Ivan Bridgen approached Collective
Dream to enquire about premises. “After further discussions it became apparent
that Collective Dream was prepared to offer an asset buy-out, and after
discussions with my current partners, a deal was struck,’ advises Bridgen.
“It was the perfect solution for me,’ he adds, “as it offered premises and
equipment which can be utilised for projects that are either currently in place or
are planned. We were also able to take on existing staff who are all highly
experienced with the type of equipment and areas that existed.’
It’s already starting to develop into something that is quite an interesting
business. All the studios are currently busy shooting Dominion – produced by
Syfy, which is an adaptation of the 2010 supernatural movie, Legion. The pilot
was shot in October and Syfy starts shooting the first series shortly. They will be
in studio all year.
“For the time being I will spend time here every two weeks,’ says Harris, “and
we will see what develops.’ Bridgen is now permanently based at Waterfront
and working on other offerings, which will be revealed in due course.
“We are looking seriously at the restoration side of the business, offering an
absolute top end product with no expense spared in creating perfection in the
end result. We are in the process of completing audio suites to add language
dubbing to the restoration procedure.’
“We will also be looking at special effects in an effort to attract more post-
production work to the overseas productions which come to Cape Town,’ adds
Bridgen, “however we do not foresee bringing more equipment in, but utilising
what we have here. The old Film Lab is now being used for cleaning and
preparation of print and negative stock for the restoration process.’
While Harris and Bridgen are understandably cagey in terms of the full roll-out of
plans for this new venture, it’s clear that the Waterfront Film Studios sees
specialist potential and plan to take full advantage of gaps in the market. With
the combined creativity and experience this partnership has to offer, there is
little doubt of success.
