American Cinematographer - June 2013 - I10

SPOTLIGHT ON
LABS
Every day, in cities around
the world, talented experts
at an array of outstanding
laboratories help storytellers
bring their images to life.
InCamera checked in with just a
few of these labs to see what’s
developing and on the horizon.
This year marks FotoKem’s
50th anniversary as a
full-service post-production
facility serving the creative
community. With one of the
most well-known labs in the
world, the Burbank-based
company offers a broad
spectrum of services, including
a palette of new digital
workfl ows for 65mm, 35mm
and 16mm fi lm acquisition.
Mike Brodersen, FotoKem’s
VP of strategy, notes, “In
recent months, both 65mm
and 35mm 2-perf have
seen a boost in popularity—
fi lmmakers shooting 65mm
as the gold standard in image
quality and 2-perf 35mm as
a cost-effective acquisition
choice for ‘scope’ aspect
ratios. Offering new digital
tools in conjunction with fi lm
acquisition gives productions a
wide array of fi nishing options
for a variety of budget levels,
with the added benefi t of a
built-in archive format for
future proofi ng.”
(www.fotokem.com)
IMAGICA WEST Corp.,
located in Osaka, Japan,
recently purchased a new
ECP PHOTOMEC Processor
to continue to provide the
industry with stellar images.
The lab strives to not only have
the best equipment but also to
employ talented professionals.
“Our employees are quite
diverse,” says Hiromi Inatsuchi,
president of IMAGICA WEST,
a subsidiary of IMAGICA
Corp. “Our workforce is
young, with the majority still
in their 30s, but we also have
a number of highly-skilled
employees in their 60s on the
front line, which may be rare
in today’s fi lm laboratories.
The younger ones are eager
to learn something new, as
well as something old (past
techniques, history, etc.) from
such senior employees. … Film
will exist for a long time from
now. … And we want to be the
place where experts gather.
“Film is the most superior
medium, especially in handling
mixed colors,” adds Inatsuchi.
“Experts are very aware of
the advantages, thus as long
as budgets allow, fi lm will be
in demand for a long time.”
(www.imagicawest.com/
westcom)
Over at Technicolor–
PostWorks, in New York
City, they are seeing a
reversal of recent trends,
with more directors and
cinematographers choosing to
capture on fi lm. “Filmmakers
are fi nding that digital
media lacks the warmth and
emotional power that their
narratives need. Film-original
projects that we have recently
serviced (or are currently
servicing) include Inside Llewyn
Davis, Bluebird, Chinese Puzzle,
Delivery Man, The Butler, Noah,
Non-Stop and Fading Gigolo.
We also continue to service
the television series Boardwalk
Empire, which is shot on fi lm.
Technicolor–PostWorks works
with fi lmmakers to develop
novel workfl ow, cultivate
technological and creative
solutions to control costs, and
to address other practicalities
that might otherwise stand in
the way of fi lmmakers’ desire
to shoot fi lm. That strategy is
working and as a result, we
believe the long-term future
of fi lm is bright,” says Charles
Herzfeld, senior vice president
of feature sales.
(tpwny.slatemediagroup.com)
http://www.fotokem.com http://www.imagicawest.com/westcom http://tpwny.slatemediagroup.com
American Cinematographer - June 2013

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