SETTING UP SHOP

In recent weeks, a number of new studios have come to our attention, and they all seem to fit into the boutique model, which relies on small but efficient teams using the latest in desktop tools.

In Venice, CA, executive producer Shira Boardman, formerly with Sway Studio, opened the VFX boutique Red Magnet, which has already completed a job for Lexus. Long-time post veteran Michael Porte, who co-founded editorial company Mad River Post, DVD production company Crush Digital Video, and was more recently a partner in Manhattan audio post house AudioEngine, has opened The Field, a new creative editorial shop in NYC.

Emmy Award-winning audio pro Peter Cole just launched Before Noon Post Production Sound Services in Studio City, CA, where he will provide full service audio post to the entertainment and corporate communities. And in LA, executive producer Michele Maples opened Arsenal, a new live-action and design company that just completed promos for FX Network’s Dirt. You can read more about each of these new facilities in our News section this month.

Here in New York, Poolsidesign (www.poolsidesign.com) is another relatively new boutique, this one set up by partners Yui Uchida, Kaz Iwai and Paul Waszak, who met while attending the School of Visual Arts and have since crossed paths regularly. “Yui started the company and then brought me and Kaz on board,” says Waszak, who once had his own graphics company within Blue Room. “I’ve known him for about 10 years and we’ve always passed each other while working at different places. One day we said we should combine forces and start up our own shop, and the rest is history.”

Poolsidesign uses Macs running Adobe tools, as well as Maxon’s Cinema 4D, an app that seamlessly integrates with AE. “It makes bringing those 3D files into After Effects a breeze,” says Waszak. (See our Cinema 4D review).

Since opening, Poolside has worked on The Sauce for Fuse. This one-hour studio show looks at music, film, games and current events. The studio created the :15 open, lower thirds, transitions and even graphics that appear on-set.