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MAY 09

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42 Post • May 2009 www.postmagazine.com N EW YORK — Par t of the New York post production community for nearly three decades, Broad- way Video has been busily reinventing itself over the past year. Last fall, the company completed a major renovation, but the changes are far from simply cosmetic. Broadway has been adding talent and ex- panding the resources of its editorial and sound departments, bringing those areas up to the current state-of-the-art. Nowhere is the "new" Broadway (www.broadwayvideo.com) more apparent than in the emergence of its design depar t- ment. Creative director Katherine Burke, who has worked with the company for 15 years and recently took the helm in the de- sign depar tment, has assembled a team of artists and producers who provide concept- through-deliver y ser vice for media ranging from broadcast branding and adver tising graphics to Web and POP campaigns. "We've been enjoying a renaissance," says Burke. "The strength of BV right now derives from a combination of the creative energy and the collaborative, hands-on approach that our management team has fostered." PROJECTS Over the past few months, Broadway Video's design team has turned out work for such accounts as Showtime, American Ex- press, USA Networks and Proctor & Gamble. The team recently created an ad campaign for Wal-Mar t launching the retailer's Mom- tourage initiative that aired during The Today Show. For CBS, it designed and produced a video called CBS Heritage Wall that is cur- rently featured at CBS Scene, the network's glitzy retail entertainment complex adjacent to Gillette Stadium, home of the New Eng- land Patriots, in Foxboro, Massachusetts. For NBC, the team has completed nu- merous projects for various units of the network, including multiple videos — some live action, some graphics-based — for its 2008 Upfronts. Currently, Broadway is working on a number of projects with a new NBC division, Woman@NBCU, cre- ated under the auspices of Lauren Za- laznick, that seeks to create oppor tunities for adver tisers to reach female consumers. "Producers who were working with our editorial division started to see the great work that was coming out of our design depar tment and that caused it to really explode," notes Burke. "We're tr ying to stay lean, while diversifying our work, so that we can deliver more and stay focused on quality. I think we've hit the sweet spot as far as having the right people on our team, people who work well together, challenge each other and have a truly positive, forward-thinking attitude." In terms of hardware, the design depar tment is equipped with the latest Autodesk Flame systems and Mac-based graphics stations loaded with Adobe's After Effects CS4, Cinema 4D, Zaxwerks 3D Invigora- tor Pro, Trapcode and Knoll Light Factory plug-ins. The department is in the process of switching to a Mac-based renderfarm that will fa- cilitate faster turnaround for HD file ap- provals. It has also set up a Web-based ap- proval system, called Mediapass, for offsite client approvals. F U L L S E RV I C E The design depar tment also has the ad- vantage of being located within a full-service post house and thus has easy and immediate access to a host of other services, includ- ing editorial, sound de- sign and audio mixing. Broadway's editorial and finishing depar t- ment has eight editors on staff and features a mix of Avid (Media Composer, Adrenaline, Symphony), Autodesk (Smoke, Flame) and Final Cut Pro editing and compositing systems — they use HP and Apple workstations. Broadway Sound offers everything from voiceover and ADR ser vices to mixing (in- cluding 5.1 surround) for film, television, radio and Web media. Being a one-stop shop is something they feel distinguishes themselves from other design boutiques. Broadway Video has just forged a creative alliance with David Sutton, an award-winning director and designer who has moved his Frantic Studio to the Broadway Video facility. Sutton and Broadway have collaborated on a number of design projects over the past year, but now that they share the same workspace, they expect the creative par t- nership to come full bloom. Burke vows that success won't spoil what's made Broadway Video a special place to do design work. Even as the depar tment continues to grow, she is committed to maintaining the values and environment that has gotten it this far. "We can do the quick turnaround graph- ics that many of our editorial clients need and we can jump into brainstorming ses- sions for bigger projects and be involved from conception through completion," she says. "In taking projects from concept through scripting, style boards, shoots, post, sound and design, we are able to provide the creative of an ad agency to companies who are working on tighter and tighter bud- gets. Broadway Video has all the advantages of a 'one-stop-shop' without losing the feel of a creative studio." Broadway Video's reinvention by design This New York post stalwart has added talent and increased services. O P E N H O U S E The design team has been working on a variety of projects for NBC. Fifteen-year Broadway Video veteran Katherine Burke now heads the studio's design department.

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