Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/187650
Bits & Pieces KiddKolor opens offering editing, color and finishing L OS ANGELES — Editor/color artist Stephen Hens has launched KiddKolor (http:// kiddkolor.tumblr.com), a new studio that provides editing, color and finishing services. Hens and KiddKolor collaborated with writer/actor Rob Benedict and director Michael Weithorn on their new featurette The Sidekick, which debuted at Comic Con 2013 recently. The Sidekick is a 30-minute featurette that offers an offbeat take on the superhero genre, and an allegory about the struggle to find purpose in life even as one is being re-purposed. You can see the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mvoZsCw3v4 KiddKolor was hired for the project by Nathan Adams of Cinematomic, a company that provides full-service post for Web, television and theatrical projects. "When we set out to make this featurette, one of our primary mission statements was that it not look like an independent short," notes filmmaker Rob Benedict. "We wanted this to appear to be like any big-budget, superhero feature that could morph into a banal world where people just happened to be super heros. This put an enormous amount of responsibility on our colorist Stephen Hens, who was the hero of 6 Post • September 2013 our post production journey. He was able to elevate our project into this amazing realm where you could shift between a show down on a rooftop to four guys talking in a laundromat and from an evil lair to a boring lunch at a sushi restaurant. He brought character to the vision of the movie, which we honestly thought could not be done." In addition to the featurette, KiddColor also recently collaborated with production company AtSwim on a new Jeep commercial with director Tom Gatsoulis. AtSwim previously worked with Hens on a five-spot Acura campaign. Currently, Hens is working on a children's educational Web series for www.CHALKPreschool. com, which is inspired by the unique teaching approach of the actual brick and mortar CHALK Preschools. Created and produced by Capozzi Productions, the series is due to debut this fall. The KiddKolor DI theater runs a Sim2 DLP Darkchip processor 1080p projector that outputs 14 foot-lamperts; the same as theatrical specs at a local cinema. Driving the projector is a custom-designed Mac that offers realtime playback. KiddKolor's studio is calibrated by David Abrams of Avical. For more on "Calibratrion," turn to page 28. www.postmagazine.com Chainsaw targets features H OLLYWOOD — Boutique post facility Chainsaw (www.chainsawedit.com) has launched a new division that will focus on post services for features, and have built an all-new 4K digital intermediate theater at its facility on North Orange Drive in Hollywood. They have also brought in new team members with experience in preparing films for digital cinema, theatrical release, broadcast and home entertainment. The new division will target both studio and indie features. Founded by editors Bill DeRonde and Mike Polito, Chainsaw has served as an independent provider of post services for scripted and unscripted television series. "Many of our clients work in both television and features and have been asking us to broaden the scope of our services to include features," explains GM Steve Purcell. "With the way the business is evolving and the cross-over of talent between television and feature films, we see tremendous opportunities for growth." The studio has called on veteran post producer Annalise Kurinsky to head the new division as director of feature film services. Also new is veteran colorist Doug Delaney and finishing editor John Pehlke. All three arrive from Santa Monica post house New Hat, where their credits included the TriStar release The Call, Open Road's A Haunted House and the Russian feature The Dyatlov Pass Incident. The new DI theater includes a Baselight color grading system, a Christie 4K projector and a 20-foot projection screen. The theater can natively accommodate all popular digital cinema camera formats, including raw formats, and grade imagery at resolutions up to 4K. It is also directly linked to the main Chainsaw facility, providing projects with access to editorial, compositing, VFX and other services. The feature division is set up to service productions beginning with prepro and a variety of on-set/near-set dailies solutions.