Offhollywood Bases Expansion on Red and Scratch Post 4K Workflows

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Thu, 09/10/2009 - 20:00 -- Nick Dager

After relocating their operations to a new state-of-the-art studio in SoHo during summer 2008 Offhollywood is expanding again adding a full new floor as a totally dedicated Red camera rental and service facility – the first such Red-authorized facility in the United States. Offhollywood will soon boast a much larger studio to include even more state-of-the-art digital services. Their commitment to Red is as strong as ever. “We purchased the first two Red One 4K cameras on the market and now have more than a dozen cameras in our rental inventory that are all constantly in use by us filmmakers and other production houses ” says Pederson. “Red has set the standard for digital cinema cameras and filmmakers realize the value of their product – portability for shoots ease of use immediate previews of shots on set faster post production workflow results comparable to 35mm and cost-effectiveness that’s a critical factor for every production.” 
 
 First Offhollywood is adding a new floor that is a fully dedicated facility for Red camera rental service and support the first such Red-authorized facility in the United States.  Their goal is to give filmmakers and producers shooting on the east coast quick access to Red parts and repair services if needed. “We have the cameras and now we have the ability to help keep filmmakers up and running during a shoot ” says Pederson.
 
A new Scratch DI theatre went on-line in August. “We are opening the doors to an all-new kick-ass Scratch theatre that includes Dolby sound 3D and projection for dailies DCPs and client review sessions as well as 35mm projection so that producers and directors can review the film-out version prior to mastering ” says Pederson. “Scratch gives Red users the ability to fine tune their films or projects in real time. With Scratch the colorist is working in real time to do the color grading and finishing so that Red users can immediately see the results of their changes as well as realize how their film will look on the big screen. This is a huge time saver as compared to what we view now as older technologies.” 
  “We got on board with Scratch as an early adopter ” says John “Pliny” Eremic partner chief operating officer and director of post-production at Offhollywood. “We determined that an all-data post workflow is the future of films TV and commercials.  We chose Scratch for its streamlined workflow stability data management tools real-time color grading and finishing for HD 2K and 4K. The Assimilate guys are continually updating the features within Scratch so it remains a rock-solid tool and very relevant to us for our future plans.” Among their film projects an Offhollywood highlight is the critically acclaimed Frozen River (writer/director Courtney Hunt 2008) which was produced in association with Offhollywood. It’s a prime example of an indie film that realized the quality results of an affordable digital post-production workflow in Scratch. The film has won numerous awards at international film festivals including the Sundance Film Festival 2008 Grand Jury Prize and Independent Spirit Award (2009) and was nominated for two Academy Awards (2009). 
 
With a focus on Red-Scratch productions Offhollywood currently has three high-profile films in the works — Rabbit Hole with Nicole Kidman Fair Game with Sean Penn and Naomi Watts and Twelve with Kiefer Sutherland Ellen Barkin and 50 Cent. The production packages bundle Red 4K digital cameras on-set Red Camera Tech/DITs Scratch-Red workflow technical support with dailies and Scratch digital intermediate post and finishing services. 
 Offhollywood CTO and co-founder Mark Pederson says “We excel at offering complete Red/Scratch workflows and services. As an early adopter specializing in these tools we are able to give filmmakers and producers powerful digital cinema technologies as well as the expert service and support needed today for state-of-the-art production and post-production. They’re able to more quickly turnaround films of exceptional quality using a cost-effective workflow. This dramatic change in filmmaking blows the doors of opportunity wide open for the vast spectrum of creative professionals.”