London industry gurus continue to build a home for the best freelance talent

Well-known post-production artists, Jon Hollis and Tareq Kubaisi, have selected the Baselight TWO grading system and Blackboard 2 control panel from FilmLight for their unique London-based facility. Located in the heart of Soho, Raised By Wolves brings together the most talented freelance creative artists, providing them a home fitted out with state of the art technology.

Co-founder of Smoke and Mirrors, Hollis has 23 years’ experience in post-production. He was recently recognised by the developers of Flame as a leader and expert in the world of visual effects, taking home the ‘Special Recognition for Pioneering Work in Flame’ award at IBC2013.

“The production industry has always worked on bringing together the right freelancers for a shoot,” said Hollis. “If it works for production, we thought, why not for post? Why not set up the very best equipment for freelance artists to work on specific projects. It allows us to work on the projects that excite us, whether it’s a movie, a commercial or a two minute YouTube video.”

Before joining Glassworks in 2005, Kubaisi was director at VTR for 12 years. He then moved on to become the creative director at Prime Focus in London, where one of his goals there was “an entire floor of Baselight systems”, because he saw it as the most flexible, intuitive grading tool. “Buying Baselight is a statement of intent,” he said. “It’s so state of the art and so fast that it instantly enhances our creativity. Baselight is the complete package and our clients simply do not question it.”

Raised By Wolves is already well established and has completed a number of commercial projects for leading brands such as Debenhams, Waitrose and Zara. The company is currently working on a major movie project, directed by Kristian Levring and starring Mads Mikkelsen, Eva Green and Eric Cantona, The Salvation. Kubaisi has worked extensively in the past with Levring, and has graded all his films. The flexibility of the Raised By Wolves model meant that they could get involved with this project at the script-writing stage and they are now immersed in the post-production.

Colourist Kubaisi is a firm advocate of Baselight and the development resource that FilmLight continues to provide. “Cameras change every few weeks, and unless the manufacturers of post systems keep up they don’t have a chance,” he said. “Baselight has kept up and is exactly where it should be.”

Arthur Johnsen of FilmLight commented, “Raised by Wolves is one of a kind. The post industry has always been about superlative creative talent, and Jon and Tareq have built a facility where the best of the best can work.  Baselight sits perfectly in that environment, we are excited to be a part of this uniquely creative facility.”