Leading a growing trend amongst creative editorial post houses, Chainsaw, based in Hollywood, California, has bought a Baselight HD to integrate with its non-linear post production workflow. To support this latest acquisition, Chainsaw recently hired Andy Lichtstein to be its Senior Colourist. Lichtstein’s top-notch credits range from network TV series including “The Amazing Race,” “The Bernie Mac Show,” and “Everybody Loves Raymond,” to award-winning feature documentaries, “”Dogtown and Z-Boys” and “Amazing Journey: The Story of the Who.” The company has also hired veteran post executive Michael Levy as Vice President of Business Development. Levy is respected for his broad understanding of both television and feature film post processes and ability to assist clients in taking best advantage of the latest digital technology.
Led by its two multi-Emmy winning Editor/Owners, Bill DeRonde and Mike Polito, Chainsaw has been providing creative editorial and post finishing services to the Hollywood television and film community for over 12 years. With a list of high-profile projects including “American Idol”, “So You Think You Can Dance,” The Academy Awards, “The Kennedy Center Honors,” and “The Emmy Awards,” Chainsaw’s reputation for taking the most creatively demanding projects successfully from concept to completion, is well earned.
The Baselight HD is Chainsaw’s first dedicated state-of-the-art colour grading system. Previously all colour grading work was done on the company’s Avid Symphony or Avid Symphony Nitris systems. “The addition of the Baselight is part of an overall effort to broaden the company’s client base, and the range of services we can provide to each of our clients,” comments Bill DeRonde. “Baselight works well for Chainsaw on multiple levels. It fits extremely well into Chainsaw’s Avid-centric non-linear workflow. The abilities to read and write MXF media directly from and to our Avid Unity Storage Networks, and to work with Avid AAF as well as Final Cut XML sequences, were key to our decision to go with Baselight”.
This new integrated digital workflow allows projects to move efficiently from production through Avid or Final Cut off-line editorial to high-resolution post finishing without the need for videotape outputs until the very end of the process. Since the Baselight can conform and play Avid and Final Cut media directly from a project on Chainsaw’s server, the colourist is able to start final grading on a project even while the editor continues to cut.
Chainsaw is also planning to use its Baselight to accommodate two other areas of increasing interest: processing digital daiies and directly conforming native files from new file-based digital cinema camera systems. Traditionally a bottleneck in digital camera workflows, Baselight speeds up the creation of viewable dailies content direct from DPX log footage or Red RAW R3D files. It also simplifies the conform with its ability to read and directly conform multiple types of native camera files including RED R3D files.
Chainsaw is clearly ahead of the curve, equipping now for the very latest non-linear digital workflows that Producers, Directors, and Director’s of Photography are beginning to ask for in increasing numbers.
Contact – Mike Grieve ([email protected]) +44 20 7292 0400
About Chainsaw
Chainsaw is a unique post production company, operating from two locations in the heart of Hollywood. Chainsaw provides a wide range of creative and technical post services to television networks, studios and independent production companies. Its capabilities include creative off-line editorial, on-line editing, colour correction and full video deliverables in HD 444, 422 and SD. Chainsaw also offers a complete selection of Avid and Final Cut rental editing systems that can be used in its Hollywood cutting rooms or delivered to a production location. For more information visit www.chainsawedit.com. Contact – Michael Levy ([email protected])
+323 785-1550.
