Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Feb 7, 2015 20:07:23 GMT -6
variety.com/2015/film/news/berlin-polands-facilities-post-houses-attract-talent-more-foreign-shoots-1201425696/
Poland’s Facilities, Post Houses Attract Talent, More Foreign Shoots
Poland may not offer storied soundstages on the scale of Prague’s Barrandov or Germany’s Babelsberg, but the lights are coming on in a new crop of facilities in the entrepreneurial country’s production and post sectors.
Alvernia has been well known for some time to filmmakers working in Eastern Europe, thanks to its pod-like studio layout, impressive shadeless bluescreen dome suitable for 360-degree vfx and well-tuned soundstages suitable for symphonic recording.
Marcin Koszalka’s true crime story feature “Red Spider” and Bollywood’s “Bangistan,” among several others, have recently shot there.
But a major new entry on the market, Warsaw’s ATM Group, which features six soundstages, is also courting international projects.
Up to now, most of its biz has been focused on local projects. “ATM is a key player on the TV market,” says Tomasz Dabrowski of the Polish Film Commission, commanding a 40% share of shoots and services.
ATM has won post-production contracts on two projects from the BBC and Polish pubcaster TVP, including the pre-WWII thriller miniseries “Spies of Warsaw,” based on Alan Furst’s novel and co-produced by Poland’s Apple Film.
This sector has been on the rise in Poland for years, as local auds and fests can attest, helping dozens of low-budget features and docus to achieve polished final cuts, slick effects and engaging soundscapes.
One leader in the post arena, Platige Image, is crowing over an immersive promotional campaign created with the European Space Agency, “Ambition,” made to celebrate the Rosetta comet landing mission in November. Other than the odd authentic space shot, says the post shingle’s Michal Azarewicz, it was lensed entirely in Iceland, built up with vfx and CGI, and has been nominated for outstanding digital work by the Visual Effects Society.
“Depending on clients’ needs,” says Azarewicz, “we do strictly service or we co-create the movie from the beginning. The latter was the case of our latest movie for the European Space Agency.”
Warsaw-based DI Factory did post work on Spanish horror pic “Sweet Home” and Brodie Higgs’ “Elixir,” a German-Australian look at Berlin bohemians that’s screening at the Berlinale, says the shingle’s Jedrzej Sablinski. With a traditional focus on vfx, DI Factory is also strong on data backup during shoots, with a dedicated cart that follows cameras to push through file conversions for same-day editing, employing online dailies on all types of mobile devices.
Post house No Label is also on the rise, says Dabrowski, “with a huge capabilities and openness toward foreign projects.” Another to watch is Digital35, whose work can be seen in the fest-lauded black-and-white biopic “Papusza” and in true-life spy thriller “Jack Strong.”
In the burgeoning field of animation, one rising star is Human Ark, used by producers from Poland, the U.S., South Korea and Vietnam last year.
The Warsaw-based company is developing the feature-length family comedy toon “Diplodocus,” expected by some to be the highest-profile work of its kind to come out of Poland, penned by Mark Palmer (“Monsters vs. Aliens,” “Penguins of Madagascar”).
One possible key to the company’s success is a crew with experience in the U.S. and Western Europe. This talent pool is increasingly visible as many Poles return home in an improving economy, bringing much international experience with them, according to Human Ark’s Anja Sosic.
Poland’s Facilities, Post Houses Attract Talent, More Foreign Shoots
Poland may not offer storied soundstages on the scale of Prague’s Barrandov or Germany’s Babelsberg, but the lights are coming on in a new crop of facilities in the entrepreneurial country’s production and post sectors.
Alvernia has been well known for some time to filmmakers working in Eastern Europe, thanks to its pod-like studio layout, impressive shadeless bluescreen dome suitable for 360-degree vfx and well-tuned soundstages suitable for symphonic recording.
Marcin Koszalka’s true crime story feature “Red Spider” and Bollywood’s “Bangistan,” among several others, have recently shot there.
But a major new entry on the market, Warsaw’s ATM Group, which features six soundstages, is also courting international projects.
Up to now, most of its biz has been focused on local projects. “ATM is a key player on the TV market,” says Tomasz Dabrowski of the Polish Film Commission, commanding a 40% share of shoots and services.
ATM has won post-production contracts on two projects from the BBC and Polish pubcaster TVP, including the pre-WWII thriller miniseries “Spies of Warsaw,” based on Alan Furst’s novel and co-produced by Poland’s Apple Film.
This sector has been on the rise in Poland for years, as local auds and fests can attest, helping dozens of low-budget features and docus to achieve polished final cuts, slick effects and engaging soundscapes.
One leader in the post arena, Platige Image, is crowing over an immersive promotional campaign created with the European Space Agency, “Ambition,” made to celebrate the Rosetta comet landing mission in November. Other than the odd authentic space shot, says the post shingle’s Michal Azarewicz, it was lensed entirely in Iceland, built up with vfx and CGI, and has been nominated for outstanding digital work by the Visual Effects Society.
“Depending on clients’ needs,” says Azarewicz, “we do strictly service or we co-create the movie from the beginning. The latter was the case of our latest movie for the European Space Agency.”
Warsaw-based DI Factory did post work on Spanish horror pic “Sweet Home” and Brodie Higgs’ “Elixir,” a German-Australian look at Berlin bohemians that’s screening at the Berlinale, says the shingle’s Jedrzej Sablinski. With a traditional focus on vfx, DI Factory is also strong on data backup during shoots, with a dedicated cart that follows cameras to push through file conversions for same-day editing, employing online dailies on all types of mobile devices.
Post house No Label is also on the rise, says Dabrowski, “with a huge capabilities and openness toward foreign projects.” Another to watch is Digital35, whose work can be seen in the fest-lauded black-and-white biopic “Papusza” and in true-life spy thriller “Jack Strong.”
In the burgeoning field of animation, one rising star is Human Ark, used by producers from Poland, the U.S., South Korea and Vietnam last year.
The Warsaw-based company is developing the feature-length family comedy toon “Diplodocus,” expected by some to be the highest-profile work of its kind to come out of Poland, penned by Mark Palmer (“Monsters vs. Aliens,” “Penguins of Madagascar”).
One possible key to the company’s success is a crew with experience in the U.S. and Western Europe. This talent pool is increasingly visible as many Poles return home in an improving economy, bringing much international experience with them, according to Human Ark’s Anja Sosic.