American Cinematographer - February 2008 - 71

client to have every bell and whistle for his creative project, whether it’s aimed for projection, broadcast or DVD.” With the processing power of the Incinerator backing it up, the DI workflow happens in real time, without the computer slowing for renders, and this allows clients to play audio along with their reels in the DI. “Cinematographers will be pleased to know we have full CDL [color decision list] support,” adds Bajpai. “Whether you’re creating a CDL with digital acquisition on set or doing it in tandem with your film-dailies transfer, we can track it through the entire workflow. All the cinematographer has to do is tell us which of the preset looks he wants in which scene, and we can track that CDL information down the line.” Within the physical space of the color-correcting environment, the PostWorks team has sought to emulate topnotch home-viewing conditions, offering plush chairs, Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound, and 2K projection with an NEC IS800 projector set up to REC709. “Most people watching HD won’t be looking at a 30-inch CRT anymore,” notes Bajpai. “They’ll either have an LCD, a plasma or a home theater with projection. “We also wanted to make sure the client can work in 4:4:4 and view whatever size image he wants,” the colorist continues. “You want to be able to see your work in as big an environment as possible; you want to be able to see the details in your composites and all that.” Bario couldn’t be happier with the West L.A. location. “We’ve got a lot of high-end filmmakers and television producers nearby,” he enthuses. “It’s great for us to be in their backyard.” Likewise, he continues, Santa Clarita is the perfect location for the studio-library mastering work that will be done there. “A lot of the people who supervise those sessions day-to-day live in that area, so it will prove to be very convenient.” At the 13,000-square-foot space in Santa Clarita, PostWorks Los Angeles plans to do all of its film scanning (with a Grass Valley Spirit 4K), conforming, digital restoration and film recording (with an ArriLaser), and the facility will be connected to the West L.A. site via 10gigabit-per-second high-speed and secure dark fiber, allowing projects to move seamlessly between the two locations. “We’ll have a DI theater in Santa Clarita as well,” says Bario. “We may do some DI work for new theatrical releases, but it will largely be a restoration theater for higher-end studio titles. It will be a DI workflow, though; when we scan an interpositive from the studio library, we’ll work off the SAN instead of transferring to tape.” In West L.A., phase two saw the expansion of the machine room and vault, plus the acquisition of additional office space. Phase three will complete the West L.A. facility, taking the site to 15,200 square feet. In addition to a DI theater for theatrical color correction (featuring Kinoton film projectors for side-by-side comparisons with 2K projection), two more bays will be added for broadcast color correction, 12 cutting rooms will be installed and provided by Orbit Digital, and even more office space and client areas, such as conference rooms and a kitchen, will be made available. So far, PostWorks Los Angeles has put the series The Unit and In Treatment, as well as Webisodes for Lost, through its workflow. “We’re pushing every type of project in this model, and it’s sustaining itself incredibly well,” says Bajpai. For In Treatment, the colorist explains, “We have 43 episodes on our SAN, and we’re putting together the conforms long before their final edit is finished. All they have to do is send us their new QuickTime and a new EDL, and we’re able to color-trace all their changes. At the end of the day, they’ll have one color-timed master as opposed to 50 or 60 tapes.” “Once we finish the expansion and get a lot of projects in-house, we’ll really prove the efficiency of it all,” says Bario. “Customers will continue to push us, and that’s why we’re here.” PostWorks Los Angeles, 12233 W. Olympic Blvd., Suite 110, Los Angeles, CA, 90064. For more information, visit www.pwny.com or call (310) 689-2950. I Left: The 16-node Incinerator supports real-time color correction. All seven of PostWorks Los Angeles’ proposed color-correction environments will feature Incinerators of this size. Below: PostWorks’ 100TB SAN in West L.A. has been storing more than 50 hours of uncompressed material. By the end of 2008, PostWorks intends to have a full petabyte of similar storage online in Santa Clarita. American Cinematographer 71

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American Cinematographer - February 2008

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