Park Road Post Production, Wellington, New Zealand, Peter Jackson

Park Road Delivers ‘Jaw Dropping’ Digital Intermediate on Alex Proyas’s Knowing

‘Thanks for the most jaw dropping DI that I could have dreamed of’ were the words of director Alex Proyas on his latest feature Knowing.
Knowing, starring Nicolas Cage, released last Friday in the states – the highly anticipated thriller has shot to the number one spot in the US box office, already grossing nearly $30 million.

The film was an exciting challenge for the Park Road DI team as it was shot exclusively on the RED camera. Having worked with RED technology since it’s inception, there was really no better option then bringing the film out to New Zealand for the Park Road treatment.

The results are spectacular. Senior Colourist Dave Hollingsworth graded the film, while Tony Pratt, RED Workflow Manager and Phil Oatley, Head of Technology, have put in place a custom suite of software and hardware tools – developing a proprietary (and highly coveted) workflow for dealing with the digital negative.

Foley for the film was also completed at Park Road under the expertise of Robyn McFarlane and Caroline McLaughlin. Senior Post Producer Eleonora Sparagna also wishes to thank Katie Hinsen, Matt Wear, Natalie Best, Carl Ayala, Daizo Inaoka, Victoria Chu, Ian Bidgood and Steve Duburguet for all their tireless effort.

Knowing will hit New Zealand’s screens on the 21st of May.

WotWots gets Park Road treatment

WotWots gets Park Road treatment

Park Road Post Production was delighted to do the ADR, sound mixing, mastering and deliverables for Weta Workshops the WotWots, a stunning new television series for preschoolers.

The latest brain child from the creative minds of Academy Award winning Weta Workshop, this homegrown sensation follows the adventures of two adorable siblings from outer space, SpottyWot and DottyWot.

The show is energetic, colourful and entertaining, with all adventures built on one central ingredient which defines the series - the joy of learning and discovery. In each episode the WotWots help children to celebrate and understand the diversity of the animal world. They recognise kindness and co-operation as core values, delight in learning new words and enjoy exploring their creativity through drawing.

Catch the WotWots at 8.50am weekdays on TV2.

Aphrodite’s Farm Wins Top Prize At 59th Berlin International Film Festival

Aphrodite’s Farm Wins Top Prize At 59th Berlin International Film Festival

Aphrodite's Farm has been awarded the Crystal Bear for best short film in the Generation 14 plus section of the 59th Berlin International Film Festival.

Co-written by Adam Strange and Pete Force, directed by Adam Strange and produced by Anzak Tindall, Aphrodite’s Farm is a 15 minute fairytale set in Taranaki, New Zealand.
The film premiered internationally in the Generation 14 plus youth section along with thirty other short films where it scooped the top prize.

“It’s such high praise to be awarded the Crystal Bear, but the real prize for us was sitting in the dark, watching our film with people from the other side of the world; listening to them laughing and reacting so warmly! All along, we hoped we were making a Kiwi fairytale that had universal themes, and appeal that went beyond borders or languages. To have it affirmed this positively really is the ultimate accolade - the perfect fairytale ending,” says director Adam Strange.

Producer Anzak Tindall added, “Not in our wildest dreams could we have hoped for such a tremendous result. This was one hell of a first encounter with this dynamic festival. It was enough to be selected for the Berlinale but to be awarded the Crystal Bear for best short film at this magnificent event is a truly wonderful and unforgettable surprise.”

The story centres around the family who produce the magical milk on Aphrodite’s Farm. When the family patriarch dies, the future of the farm is thrown into jeopardy. The arrival of young farm hand Friday creates even more chaos before finally bringing the family’s destiny full circle.

Park Road provided the full post for Aphrodite’s Farm. The heavy use of design elements was a welcome challenge for the team in Miramar.

GM Recruitment Update

Meetal Gokul

Digital Vision Enhances Workflow at Park Road Post Production

Park Road has recently added a DVNR and Phoenix Workstation to their DI offering.

“After receiving the DVNR our operators were performing their first job within 24 hours” remembers Park Road’s Technical Director Ian Bidgood.  “The kit interfaces with our grading system effortlessly, and because it’s such an intuitive system – bringing everything together was hassle free.”

Since its arrival, the new kit has enhanced workflow and restoration at Park Road.  The DVNR handles noise reduction for all mastering material including DCI mastering in real time, while the Phoenix is used for film restoration and fix ups.  Both tools have allowed Park Road to speed up the DI and mastering process.

“In relation to mastering, we were looking for a system that was capable of noise reduction without loss of picture quality.  The DVNR was able to perform this task and exceeded our expectations with regards to HD video and DCI mastering”.

“It used to tie up several tools to achieve what we can with the Phoenix” adds Bidgood.  “The Phoenix has already been put to work on a number of restoration projects and has freed up our other resources considerably”.

The addition of the DV tools has confirmed Park Road’s position as a key player in the worldwide film industry. 

Park Road hosts three-time Oscar winning cinematographer Vittorio Storaro

Park Road hosts three-time Oscar winning cinematographer Vittorio Storaro

Vittorio Storaro is undoubtedly a living legend in the art of cinematography. He won his first Academy Award for Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, his second for Warren Beatty's Reds and his third for Bertolucci’s The Last Emperor. He has also been awarded the American Society of Cinematographer's Lifetime Achievement Award.

It was therefore with great delight that Park Road was able to host Storaro last Saturday where he captivated a full house of enthused film makers. Storaro spoke of his life, his craft and his influences – in particular the art of Caravaggio.

Caravaggio was a fascinating and rebellious artist, who greatly influenced the Baroque movement. Storaro revealed how Caravaggio used light symbolically and emotively, methods that have been emulated in his own cinematography.

Storaro emphasised his art as ‘writing with light and motion’, a literal translation of the word cinematography. Many thanks to Vittorio Storaro, cinematographer Richard Bluck, Michelle Scullion and the New Zealand Cinematographers Society for putting this talk together.

Park Road unveils VFX in DI secrets at SPADA

Sam Kelly wins New Filmmaker of the Year at SPADA

Park Road unveils VFX in DI secrets at SPADA

Park Road Post Production delivered an enjoyable and informative Masterclass at last weeks SPADA conference held in Auckland.

The expert panel was headed up by Park Road’s head of DI, Adam Scott, and examined the evolution of visual effects - from the capture of physical effects in camera, through DI and onto the silver screen.

Park Road was joined by key personnel from Weta Digital and Weta Workshop in Wellington, and Albedo VFX in Auckland.

Using The Tattooist as a case study, director Peter Burger, DOP Leon Narbey and VFX supervisor Peter McCully from Albedo, revealed the tips and tricks of creating convincing visual effects despite budget constraints.

Weta digital VFX supervisor Dan Lemmon and Weta Workshop Senior Project Manager Grant Bensley then explained how they produced visual effects for the larger budget US feature 30 Days of Night.

Despite different financial resources, a common theme ran throughout both case studies; a seamless picture pipeline is only achieved by working closely with all departments, from physical effects through to DI Post. The panel also stressed the importance of avoiding the replication of services in order to avoid unnecessary expenses.

Sam Kelly wins New Filmmaker of the Year at SPADA

Congratulations to Sam Kelly, recipient of the 2008 New Filmmaker of the Year award.

Aimee McCammon, Park Road’s General Manager, had the pleasure of announcing Sam as the winner at last weeks SPADA conference.

Sam has won several short film awards in the 48Hours competition (Darlene, Maori Detective & the Boogie Fever, Baby Farmer) and the Filmaka Comp (DisMembered and Waiting for Gordy). He directed Frames, which went on to screen at the NZ International Film Festival, the Tirana International Film Festival and the International Festival of Cinema and Technology.

Sam has also received the 2008 Italian Film Festival scholarship and will spend six weeks working in Italy late next year. He has recently completed a Masters in Screenwriting and plans to make his thesis script, a thriller - Snapshot, into a feature film.

Sam’s prize includes $20,000 in post-production services from principal sponsor Park Road Post Production; plus $10,000 equipment rental from Panavision, $3,500 of film stock from Kodak, $4,000 cash from FACB, a travel prize from Stage and Screen and a Gold Card from SkyCity Cinemas.

Many thanks to Tony Pratt, Park Road’s Workflow Wrangler, for his assistance on the judging panel.

Park Road editor sought by Sony for Dido video

Park Road editor sought by Sony for Dido video

Our very own Katie Hinsen has recently teamed up with creative partner Sally Williams to create a music video for UK pop artist Dido.

Dido’s latest album, Safe Trip Home, will be accompanied by a series of short films.  Each mini-documentary has been created in a different corner of the world to globally examine the theme of “home”.

Editor Katie and Director/ Producer Sally were approached by Sony BMG after their work was discovered on YouTube. The duo took out the Australasian bid ensuring that our remote South Island east coast holds pride of place alongside Rio, Mumbai and Bangkok to name a few.

In their interpretation of the track Look no Further, Katie and Sally take us on a journey of introspection: “Our goal was to take the story that Dido had painted with her song and let it fly in a New Zealand context.  Simple and honest storytelling was the cornerstone of the production”.

The film depicts the emotional journey of a resilient solo mum highlighting the ‘strong, independent streak’ that characterises New Zealanders.

Turnaround was tight; the story was shot in just one weekend. Natural History New Zealand Ltd stepped up to assist with the production while Park Road facilitated the film through post production.

When they’re not giving up their weekends for the creative cause Sally works at NHNZ where she is an Associate producer, Field Director and Story Producer while Katie can be found at Park Road Post Production where she works as an editor.

To view the music video visit http://www.safetriphome.com

Director Pietra Brettkelly receives recognition at International Documentary Festival

Pietra Brettkelly has received the Sprit award at the recent EBS International Documentary Festival for her direction of The Art Star and the Sudanese Twins.

The feature length documentary tells the extraordinary story of Vanessa Beecroft, a world-renowned contemporary artist and her struggles to adopt from a developing country.

The online, colour grade and deliverables were completed here at Park Road Post Production.

Visit http://www.theartstarandthesudanesetwins.com for more information

Park Road mixer recognised at Qantas Film and Television Awards

Rhys Bonney // 15 Aug 1973 - 14 Sept 2008

Rhys Bonney // 25 Aug 1973 - 14 Sept 2008

The staff at Park Road Post Production extends sincere condolences to family and friends of editor Rhys Bonney who sadly passed away on Sunday 14 September.

Rhys joined Park Road through the in-house trainee scheme and worked as an online editor in the Digital Department for just under two years.  His credits includes Jay Russell’s ‘The Water Horse’ and Vincent Ward’s ‘Rain of the Children’, Florian Habicht’s ‘Rubbings from a Live Man’ and Anthony McCarten’s ‘Show of Hands’.  Before joining Park Road Rhys worked in editoral for Robert Sarkies’ ‘Out of the Blue’ and Peter Jackson’s ‘King Kong’ Production Diaries.

Rhys was a talented and valuable member of the Digital Intermediate department; his ethic and dedication to each and every project was evident in his work and he was hugely popular with staff and clients alike.  He will be sadly missed.

Park Road mixer recognised at Qantas Film and Television Awards

Park Road was in Auckland over the weekend to share in the success of several of the winning projects at the Inaugural Qantas Film and Television Awards.

Tim Prebble, Gethin Creagh, and Park Road’s senior sound mixer Gilbert Lake were recognised with an Achievement in Sound Design for their work on Jonathan King’s Black Sheep.

Robert Sarkies’ Out of the Blue won a host of awards including best picture with a budget over $1 million, best performance by an actor in a leading role (Matthew Sunderland), best performance by an Actor in a supporting role (Karl Urban), best screenplay, best cinematography and best editing.

Composer Jack Body recognised Park Road in his thank you speech when he and fellow composer John Gibson were awarded best original music for their work for Vincent Ward’s Rain of the Children. 

Best director for comedy was won by Taika Waititi for his film debut Eagle vs Shark.

The Graffiti of Mr. Tupaia cleaned up in the Short Film Awards by winning best short film, best performance and best screenplay.

Park Road adds to colour correction with Quantel Neo

Park Road has recently added to its Digital Intermediate offering with the new Quantel Neo colour correction control panel. The Neo panel will make Park Road’s color grading process more time-efficient and streamlined with colourists having more control.

Park Road’s Head of Digital Intermediate Adam Scott says, “Having all the colour tools instantly available just one touch away makes this a true colourist control surface.  Neo is an excellent tool that clients will really love.”

Soon to be installed the Neo panel will be used on all DI projects that come through Park Road’s DI department.

Designed and developed in conjunction with some of the world’s top colourists, the Neo panel takes colour correction to the next level. Its simple and uncluttered layout gives fast access to Pablo’s fully-featured grading toolset, and it has been designed to look great in any grading suite.

Scott first saw Neo at NAB 2008 and was immediately taken with it. “Quantel has obviously listened closely to colourists’ feedback during its development,” he says. “The Park Road DI workflow is already extremely slick, being based around two Pablos on a Genetic Engineering workflow backbone. The Neo is a natural next step in further improving our efficiency; DoPs demand speed and flexibility – with Neo we can deliver even more.”

PARK ROAD DELIVERS JOHN WOO’S RED CLIFF

PARK ROAD DELIVERS JOHN WOO’S RED CLIFF

New Zealand’s premier post facility Park Road Post Production has again confirmed its position as a key player in the worldwide film industry having recently delivered Red Cliff, Asia’s biggest ever movie production directed by the acclaimed John Woo.

Red Cliff is a film of epic proportions and is Woo’s return to Chinese-language film after years in Hollywood helming projects such as Broken Arrow, Face/Off and Mission: Impossible 2.

The Digital Intermediate (DI) as well as film and video deliverables were completed at Park Road.

Park Road was brought on board early in the production and was a hub where all components of the film were brought together.  The facility’s Head of Laboratory Kai Cheong Yeung and Head of Digital Intermediate Adam Scott played a key role in developing relationships with other facilities in various parts of the world that provided services for the project.

Yeung says coordinating with other facilities from the outset and developing the post workflow with the production in China was imperative for successful post. 

“We were dealing with material from all different parts of the world, live action from files processed and scanned in Beijing, VFX from San Francisco, sound from Sydney, and of course we were bringing it all together here in New Zealand.

“Working closely with the Chinese production from the start enabled us to develop a solid workflow allowing Park Road to deliver the film to the highest quality.”

Park Road Senior Colourist Dave Hollingsworth worked closely with DOP Lu Yue to grade the film and trailers in the facility’s DI Theatre on the Quantel Pablo. 

All film and video deliverables were competed at Park Road through the in-house laboratory and the DI department.

“Working on Red Cliff was a great experience and something we are extremely proud of,” says Scott, who supervised the DI and video deliverables and played a key role in the post production of the film.  “It’s a huge film with a massive number of live action and VFX shots.  It’s got plenty of technical ambition which really saw our team raise the bar in terms of technical creativity.”

Written as a four-hour film and starring some of the biggest names in Asian cinema Red Cliff is split into two films for Asian territories, the first part releasing in July 2008 and the second in January 2009.  A third film, a reedited combination of the two parts made for audiences outside Asia, is planned to release in early next year.

Red Cliff is based on part of the classic Chinese novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Set in the final days of the Han Dynasty, in the year 208 AD, it covers the war that established the Three Kingdoms period, when China had three rulers.

Park Road has completed the first part of the film; the facility will start work on the second part in a couple of months.

Park Road wins Innovation Award

Wellington’s premier post facility Park Road Post Production has set its position as a key player in the worldwide film industry having last night won an international award for innovation.

The facility won Australia’s Content + Technology Award in the Recognition of Innovation category.

The winning entry was for the development of the RED camera post production workflow.  Park Road was the first facility in the world to work with the recently developed RED camera and the facility created a benchmark in developing the RED post workflow.

When the project was carried out last year under a veil of secrecy Park Road had only five days to complete post production before the footage was screened to public audiences at a trade fair in the United States.

Park Road General Manager Aimee McCammon says working with brand new technology and delivering the world’s first RED movie was an incredible experience.

“It’s fabulous to win this Award in recognition of the work we have done with the RED camera.  When we developed the workflow we began from a blank page, we had no templates or models to work from.  Our team at Park Road are very talented and its great that the world is recognising the skills we have here.”

Ted Shilowitz from RED Digital Cinema says, “RED is thrilled Park Road has won the Innovation Award.  The staff’s willingness to dive in head first into new technology and new workflows without fear is unparalleled.  Since the very early days of RED, posting Peter Jackson’s Crossing the Line in 4k, to the RED feature film and commercial work they are providing Post and DI services for on a daily basis now, Park Road is without a doubt one of the leaders of the pack when it comes to RED post production services.”

The Content + Technology Awards were devised by Content+Technology magazine (http://www.content-technology.com) to recognise innovation in products, production and projects throughout Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia.

Park Road welcomes the new Screen Production Incentive Fund

Park Road welcomes the recently announced Screen Production Incentive Fund, which is designed to support the production of New Zealand-driven feature film, television and animation projects that have significant levels of private and/or international finance.

The fund has been developed to retain New Zealand’s screen industry talent and infrastructure while putting the industry on a similar footing to practitioners in Australia.  Retaining New Zealand talent and New Zealand stories is a key purpose of the fund.

Maintaining New Zealand’s international competitiveness, the fund will provide a 40% grant on qualifying New Zealand feature film production expenditure, and a 2o% grant on qualifying New Zealand television and other screen production expenditure – primarily drama/comedy, documentary and animated content.

The New Zealand Film Commission will administer the SPIF. Full guidelines and criteria for the fund are now available on the Film Commission’s website http://www.nzfilm.co.nz

Park Road to work on Alex Proyas ‘Knowing’

Park Road to work on Alex Proyas ‘Knowing’

Park Road Post Production will soon begin the Digital Intermediate for Knowing directed by Alex Proyas (I, Robot) and featuring Nicolas Cage.

Knowing was wholly shot on the RED camera and tells the story of a teacher who opens a time capsule that has been dug up at his son’s elementary school – it contains some chilling predictions that lead him to believe his family plays a role in the events that are about to unfold.

Park Road Head of Digital Intermediate Adam Scott and his team have been working closely with the production providing support and quality control of the digital rushes during the shoot.  The DI is set to begin later this year. Check back for more updates soon.

Park Road supports the 37th New Zealand International Film Festival

Park Road Post Production is proud to support the 37th New Zealand International Film Festival. The premier post production facility has supported the nationwide festival for several years and this year is once again happy to be involved with the film festival.

In addition to supporting the festival itself Park Road has provided post production services to over 12 New Zealand feature and short films exhibiting at the festival, including several short films that came through the facility under the Short Film Package, which offers special rates to first time New Zealand film makers.

PARK ROAD ADDS DIGITAL CINEMA MASTERING TO ITS WORLD-CLASS OFFERING

DOLBY CERTIFIES PARK ROAD’S MIXING THEATRES AT PREMIER STANDARD

DOLBY CERTIFIES PARK ROAD’S MIXING THEATRES AT PREMIER STANDARD

The sound mixing theatres at Park Road Post Production have joined the ranks of only a handful of mixing theatres throughout the world with their new Dolby Premier Studio Certification.

The Dolby Premier Studio Certification is an additional certification above the existing Dolby Approved Studio and is a measure of technical excellence at every level of a studios operation.  It identifies studios with superior equipment, acoustics and competence. 

To date only six mixing theatres worldwide have Dolby Premier Studio Certification.

Park Road’s Head of Sound John Neill says the certification gives filmmakers confidence that they are working in one of the best mixing theatres in the world.

To gain certification Dolby Senior Sound Consultant James Seddon audited the Park Road mixing theatres over two days.  Seddon personally audits all sound studios throughout the world that apply for Dolby Premier Certification to ensure measures and standards are consistent.

Room acoustics, monitoring standards (visual and audio), equipment selection, installation standards, synchronization accuracy, mixing competence and technical experience are all measured and evaluated as part of the certification process.

PARK ROAD ADDS DIGITAL CINEMA MASTERING TO ITS WORLD-CLASS OFFERING

Park Road Post Production has added to its full service offering by becoming the first post facility in the region with Digital Cinema Mastering capabilities.

With its new digital technology Park Road can now complete digital files right though to Digital Cinema Package (DCP) stage, which is the only format that can be delivered to digital cinema.

Being able to fulfill all delivery formats – film, HD/video and now digital cinema - adds to the convenience of working at Park Road says Adam Scott, Park Road’s Head of Digital Intermediate. 

The two obvious advantages of being able to complete masters for all formats at Park Road are consistency in colour management and better quality control with the ability for the Director or DOP to approve all masters all in the one facility.

Scott continues, “The new digital technology we have is easy, fast and secure. Completing everything in the one facility makes the delivery process faster and more cost effective, benefiting both clients and distributors.”

All DCP’s completed at Park Road will follow the specifications of the Digital Cinema Initiative (DCI).

DCI is a joint venture of the major US studios with the primary purpose to establish and document voluntary specifications for an open architecture for digital cinema that ensures a uniform and high level of technical performance, reliability and quality control.

Alison Ingram

‘Take 3’ receives special mention at Berlin International Film Festival

New Zealand short film ‘Take 3’ directed by Roseanne Liang and produced by Owen Hughes has received a special mention in the Generation 14plus competition of the 58th Berlin International Film Festival.

Park Road provided digital intermediate services and film deliverables for ‘Take 3’ though it’s Short Film Package.

‘Take 3’ is about three Asian actresses who transcend professional rivalry in one gleeful act of solidarity. The youth jury commented “the three charismatic actresses and the fresh and wacky approach communicated with great ease by this film inspired us immensely”.

The award ceremony was held in the Babylon theatre in Berlin last Friday night and writer/director Liang at the ceremony along with producer Owen Hughes and New Zealand Film Commission Short Film Manager Juliette Veber. 

The Art Star and the Sudanese Twins Win at Sundance

The Art Star and the Sudanese Twins has won an editing award at the Sundance Film Festival.
The World Cinema Documentary Editing Award was won by Irena Dol at the Festival’s closing Awards Ceremony in Utah.

The documentary directed by Pietra Brettkelly follows contemporary artist Vanessa Beecroft, whose depictions of nude models have stirred controversy among critics, as she risks her marriage and career to adopt Sudanese twins.

The Digital Intermedate colour grade, master video and 35mm film deliverables for the documentary were completed at Park Road.

New Digital Intermediate Shared Workflow Up and Running

Digital Intermediate Shared Workflow Up and Running

New Zealand film Second-hand Wedding (working title Garage Sale) was the first Digital Intermediate project to use Park Road’s new shared workflow, enabling projects to be worked on simultaneously by two Digital Intermediate workstations.

The world-class facility installed a second 4K Quantel Pablo suite at the end of 2007. The two suites are connected and share the same 32 terabytes of storage, enabling projects to be moved between suites without the need to export or import any data.

Both Director Paul Murphy and DOP Richard Bluck were in the Digital Intermediate Theatre for the main grade for Second-hand Wedding, a room featuring a six-metre screen with split film and digital projection, while VFX fix-ups were completed in the second Pablo DI suite.  As fixup shots were completed they were passed through to the main theatre, allowing the grading process to be completed in a much shorter timeframe.

Post Production Producer Position Available

Laboratory Trainee Position Available

New Zealand documentary wins place at Sundance

'The Art Star and the Sudanese Twins' by Pietra Brettkelly is the first New Zealand-made documentary to ever win a place at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival.

The independent documentary will compete in the highly prized World Cinema – Documentary section at the 2008 Festival. The section is reserved for 16 of the nearly 4000 films entered into the various sections at Sundance.

The documentary is currently being finished to 35mm film at Park Road Post Production where the Digital Intermediate colour grade and master deliverables for international sales are being completed.

‘The Art Star and the Sudanese Twins’ features contemporary artist Vanessa Beecroft as she tries to adopt Sudanese twins Madit and Mongor Akot. The film follows Ms Beecroft over 16 months as she attempts to persuade the family of the twins and the Sudanese government to allow her to do something no foreigner has legally done - take South Sudanese children out of the country to a new life.

Vanessa Beecroft gained notoriety with her striking nude tableaux - dozens of naked women standing motionless in stark locations.

Pietra Brettkelly is a passionate New Zealand documentary maker who has worked inernationally for many years.

Park Road congratulates SPADA New Filmmaker of the Year

Director Summer Agnew is the winner of the prestigious 2007 SPADA New Filmmaker of the Year Award, announced at the SPADA film and television conference on Friday 16 November. Park Road Post Production is the principal sponsor of the SPADA New Filmmaker of the Year Award and congratulates Summer on his win.

Summer graduating from the Elam School of Fine Art in 2002.  He was awarded funding from the Screen Innovation Production Fund for the documentary film Minginui, filmed in collaboration with fellow Elam graduate Adam Luxton over 18 months in Te Urewera.  Minginui screened at the Brisbane International Film Festival 2005, New Zealand International Film Festivals 2005, DOCNZ film festival 2005, and was most recently exhibited at the Auckland Art Gallery auditorium in 2007. In 2006 he directed the first series of Lets get Inventin, which won the Qantas New Zealand Television Award for Best Children’s & Youth show 2006 and he has just completed 6 episodes of series 2.  His music videos include Die Die Die, Sola Rosa, David Yetton, Dimmer & The Checks and he has just completed his first drama, the NZFC funded short film Patu Ihu. 

Park Road supports 2007 SPADA Conference

Park Road is playing a key role in the 2007 annual SPADA conference.
In addition to hosting the welcome drinks for over 150 conference delegates and guests, the post production facility is also the principal sponsor for the prestigious Emerging Filmmaker Award.

The Award honours emerging New Zealand filmmakers who have displayed excellence, special talent and creativity in their filmmaking to date.  The finalists are Chaz Harris, Luke Wheeler and Summer Agnew and the winner will be announced on Friday 16 November in Wellington

This year the judging panel consisted of industry professionals Lynne Reed (Senior Film, Colour Grader, Park Road), Taika Waititi (Writer/Director), and John Reid (Director and Programme Manager for The Film School).

Telecine and duplication

Park Road has a comprehensive Telecine department that can transfer all resolutions and standards up to HD-Cam SR.

TELECINE

Park Road’s Spirit DataCine can transfer 35mm, 16mm and even Super 8mm film and output it as 2K, HD or SD to the majority of standards and formats.

ONLINE

Our online options include not only the two Quantel Pablos and IQ, but also Avid systems, Final Cut, Shake, Combustion, Motion and Maya.  With 12 terabytes of online storage and 40 terabytes of nearline storage, projects of any size, standard and format are easily supported and accommodated.

OFFLINE

Park Road offer dry hire of the Avid systems and can digitise Avid media in real time from the Telecine suite, as well as providing rushes sound syncing.

VIDEO AND DATA SERVICES

The Park Road taperoom can handle most SD and HD tape standards and formats.  We can do standards conversions, up-resing, down-resing, sound syncing, encoding to all formats.

The facility had a large data network and unlimited LTO3 tape storage.

PARK ROAD DOUBLES DIGITAL INTERMEDIATE OFFERING

PARK ROAD DOUBLES DIGITAL INTERMEDIATE OFFERING

Park Road Post Production will soon have the biggest Digital Intermediate infrastructure in New Zealand. The facility is adding a second Quantel 4K Pablo suite to its current DI offering of the Quantel 4K Pablo, iQ, Pandora and Spirit Telecine.

The new setup will enable Park Road to work simultaneously on several projects, dramatically improve workflow, and deliver the facilities world-class results in much shorter timescales.

The new 4K Pablo will work in conjunction with the existing Pablo suite.  The suites will be connected and share the same 32 terabytes of storage, enabling both Pablo suites to work on the same clips at the same time.  Projects can be moved between suites without the need to export or import any data.

Head of Digital Intermediate Adam Scott says the new Pablo will create a very elegant way to share projects.

“Our clients will love that we can have two 4K Pablo suites working together on the one project without one slowing the other down, for example, colour grading on one and VFX fixes on the other.

“Essentially we will be able to offer maximum operation with minimum interruptions.  Clients are a lot more techno-savvy nowadays and demand a better, faster, cheaper result.  Our clients will love it.”

Since Park Road installed its first Pablo 12 months ago the following feature films have gone through the suite:

International Feature Films
Bridge to Terabithia
Lucky Miles
The Ten Commandments
Gun of Mercy
The Water Horse
30 Days of Night

New Zealand Feature Films
The Tattooist
Rain of the Children

In addition, Park Road is also getting SAM, a CIFS server, to provide open read/write access to all media on the shared storage. SAM integrates the media management and relationships between third party products like Shake and Combustion to access the files directly from the Pablo storage and put back when finished.

This technology will save a huge amount of time with regards to data transfers and the like and will dramatically change workflows.

SAM enables DCI (Digital Cinema) and DVD authoring systems to access the final files all without any interruption to the two Pablo suites.

The new Pablo is to be installed over the Christmas break and will be up and running in January 2008.

Louise Baker

PARK ROAD WINS ENVIRONMENTAL AWARD

PARK ROAD POST PRODUCTION WINS ENVIRONMENTAL AWARD

Park Road Post Production has won the Greening the Screen Award at the annual WIFT Awards, held in Auckland on Monday 8 October. The award acknowledges the post production facility’s commitment to sustainability and responsible energy management.

Park Road implemented the ‘Greening the Screen’ programme earlier this year and has made significant changes to the way business is carried out with the aim to reduce the impact of the facility on our natural resources.

General Manager of Park Road Aimee McCammon says winning the Award is testament to the staff who have embraced the ‘Greening the Screen’ initiative.

“The staff are behind our commitment to the environment, and by monitoring and measuring the changes in energy output it is clear that the changes we are making as a company and as individuals are substantial.”

Park Road has focused on energy, waste and water as areas that could be more efficient.

“Last month we noticed a 25% reduction in gas usage, so the figures speak for themselves.  More importantly however, is our commitment to leaving a smaller footprint,” says McCammon.

The ‘Greening the Screen’ programme was developed by the New Zealand Ministry for the Environment and Landcare Research who have provided guidance and support to Park Road.

NEW SENIOR PRODUCER APPOINTED

Park Road Post Production has appointed Eleonora Sparagna as Senior Producer. Eleonora will work with Post Producers Peti Nohotima and Tracey Brown.

Originally from Rome, Eleonora has worked on film projects throughout Europe.  Most recently she was Post Production Supervisor for HBO’s ‘Rome - Season 2’, Coordinator on ‘Kingdom of Heaven’ directed by Ridley Scott; and Production Coordinator working out of Cinecitta Studios on ‘Gangs of New York’ directed by Martin Scorsese.

PARK ROAD SUPPORTS NZSO FILM SCORE SPONSORSHIP

More New Zealand films could feature lush, full orchestra soundtracks thanks to a film scoring sponsorship scheme led by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. The first film to benefit from the scheme, Vincent Ward’s new feature Rain of the Children, is to be recorded on August 21, with a score by New Zealand composer Jack Body.

The NZSO scoring sponsorship will make the orchestra available for several days of film soundtrack recording for one New Zealand-based film annually.  The NZSO aims to put a full orchestral soundtrack within the reach of New Zealand composers and filmmakers.

The NZSO is glad to be providing encouragement to the New Zealand film industry to draw on the talent available amongst New Zealand composers and to utilise the magnificent performance quality available from our orchestra, NZSO CEO Peter Walls says. “Our sponsorship is designed to illustrate that the kind of technical brilliance for which our film industry in New Zealand has become famous, could also be there in the quality of the musical scoring.”

Supporting partners in the scheme are Park Road Post Production, which will provide its world-class sound mixing facility to complete the music mix ready for the final film and will provide a mentoring service to train music engineers in this field.  The post production facility will also provide consultancy on technical matters and equipment for the recording sessions. 

Radio New Zealand will provide recording equipment, music engineering and mixing expertise and the New Zealand Film Commission will help identify suitable film projects.

NZFC CEO Ruth Harley welcomed this fantastic opportunity to partner with some of New Zealand’s premiere arts and film industry organizations. “I see that this collaboration between the orchestra, Park Road and our filmmakers has the potential to take the sound dimension of filmmaking to a new level of accomplishment. Having the richness and beauty of live orchestral music to work with will be a great joy for the composers as well as the whole filmmaking team.”

Also within the proposal is a series of “buddy schemes” aimed at giving training opportunities for New Zealand composers and sound engineers to work in the specialised field of film scoring. Currently there is a shortage of composers and sound engineers who are highly practised at working on full symphonic film scores. This sponsorship will offer hands-on experience and mentorship to develop more composers and sound engineers with the high skill levels required to work on full symphonic film scores.

“This is a fantastic association of creative talent providing huge opportunity for local filmmakers, the NZSO and composers,” says General Manager of Park Road Aimee McCammon.  “Vincent Ward is one of New Zealand’s biggest talents and his film Rain of the Children will gain an extra dimension from an orchestral score.  The NZSO must be congratulated for providing this opportunity for local filmmakers who may otherwise be restricted by budget.  In addition, scoring experience also makes the NZSO, and New Zealand, even more attractive to international filmmakers.”

The scheme can be seen as further support to the growth of the New Zealand film industry, as it should encourage local filmmakers and composers to use the NZSO as a recording orchestra, helping retain post-production within New Zealand.

By demonstrating its ability as a scoring orchestra, the NZSO should become an obvious choice for film work in New Zealand, says NZSO artistic planning manager Rachel Hyde. The orchestra is already highly experienced at the recording process due to its long association with recording company Naxos, Ms Hyde says. “The musicians are very used to reading and playing complex, modern scores, which they do for Naxos and which they also do as part of our ongoing commitment to performing New Zealand composers,” she says.

The orchestra already fields enquiries from local and overseas film projects wishing to work with them, but finding suitable spaces to record a full orchestra can be hard. “I don’t know how many film offers I have had to turn down because all the venues we could use are booked out.”

Wellington City Council is offering its support to the scheme by making one of its venues available for the first film scoring sponsorship recording.

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