We do all of the following in-house:

• Color grading

• Online editing in DaVinci Resolve

• Framerate conversions and uprezzing

• Basic VFX

• Creation of file-based masters in QT and other formats

• DCP Authoring and hosting

• DCP QC screenings (in the grading suite or at the Roxie Cinema)

  
  

It’s hard to estimate the cost of finishing a film from just the running time. Many factors can influence the cost: number and variety of shots, how complicated the conform is, client expectations, and desired deliverables. Having access to a downloadable QT of your latest cut (even if not final) will go a long way towards giving us the information we need to create a solid estimate. Start by filling out our Inquiry Form, and/or send us an email. We’re also always happy to get on the phone and discuss.

Sure! Once we've decided to work together, we'll book time in our schedule for you, and we'll ask you to prep your project according to our specs (see details in another FAQ below.) We'll sign a contract and make sure we have clarity about budget, schedule, and deliverables.

When the project is locked and you've delivered the drive to us, we'll need anywhere from an hour or so to a full day to get the project prepped (depending on length and complexity.) During this time we'll bring the project into DaVinci Resolve and confirm that it matches your reference QT exactly. We'll identify conform problems, if any, and work with you to (ahem) resolve them. During prep time we'll also do any necessary pre-processing of problematic footage (low-resolution, non-standard frame rates, noisy, etc.)

Once your film is prepped, you'll come into the studio (or connect live via the internet) and we'll do a spotting session. First we'll talk in general about the direction you'd like the color to take, and you can show us reference images, if you have any (it's ok if you don't.) Then we'll go through your film, scene by scene, and choose a "hero" shot for each scene - one that is representative of the scene as a whole - and we'll grade that shot together until you are happy with it. This can take a couple of hours (for a short) up to a day or two for a longer project.

After we have hero shots for every scene, we'll begin the process of matching the shots within each scene to the hero shot. You can choose to be present in the studio for this process, giving feedback as you notice things, or you can take off and let us do a first pass on our own.

Either way, after the first pass is done, we'll begin doing review passes. We'll watch it through together, making notes on things that need to change. We'll then fix all of those things, watch again, make more notes, etc. This process will continue until either (preferably) everything is perfect, or we run up against your deadline or budget.

Once we have final approval from you, we can start to create deliverables. In some cases, we will be creating final, texted and textless masters for you. In others, we'll be delivering a textless file (or a series of clips with handles) back to your editor, who will lay on titles and create your masters.

A note on DCPs: If we are creating a DCP for you, it is crucial that your schedule includes enough time for DCP creation and a QC screening of your final DCP (ideally in a theater.) You don't want to be watching your DCP for the first time with an audience.

Click on your editing system below for instructions on prepping your project:

Adobe Premiere Pro

AVID (email for instructions)

FCPX (email for instructions)

Other (email for instructions)

We can supervise the following through our partners:

• Capture from tape

• Film scans

• Output to tape or film

We like to get you on the schedule as a “soft hold” as early as possible, even if your dates are not solid. If another potential client wants the time we are holding for you, we’ll check with you first, giving you the opportunity to either bump your dates forward or back, or book the dates in question.

We require a 30% deposit at time of booking. Generally the balance will be due when we hand you the final deliverables, but for larger jobs we may ask for an interim payment. In all cases, if a job extends for more than 30 days past the original scheduled delivery date (due to producer delays) , the balance will become immediately due.

Any arrangement that does not involve full payment at time of delivery MUST be negotiated before work begins. We will not bill third parties.

If you book time and your schedule shifts, we will do everything we can to accommodate your new dates, but we DO reserve the right to retain your deposit (not as credit toward services) if the booking has caused us to miss out on another significant job. This happens very rarely, but it is good to be confident of your schedule before actually booking time.

Finding all-day parking can be a little bit of a challenge, but sometimes you can find a spot in the white zone in front of the restaurant next door (San Ho Wan), which is good until 5pm (but then becomes tow-away!) You can also look on Florida and Alabama between 20th & 22nd for all-day spots (but keep an eye on street cleaning times.) If you don’t find a spot easily in one of those areas, there are usually some 2-hour spots available on York between 18th & 20th and Bryant between 20th and 21st. If you ride your bike, feel free to bring it up to the studio.

Yes! There is freight elevator that goes from the sidewalk to our floor and an accessible restroom on the 1st floor.