Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/348146
www.postmagazine.com 41 POST JULY 2014 OPEN HOUSE n 2010, artistic collaborators turned business partners Theo Stanley and Zak Tucker set out to introduce to the commercial, television and feature film industries a facility that would focus on serving storytellers with boutique-level artistry and comforts, backed by industrial strength infrastruc- ture, technical support, engineering and disciplined project management. The two formed Harbor Picture Company, a full-service post production studio, that offers a full range of services from cam- era to delivery (including dailies, offline, VFX, DI/color correction, sound design/ mix, DCDM, DCP, tape mastering, file- based), all under one roof. "Our vision for Harbor is to be a platform of artistry and infrastructure for feature film, commercial, digital and broadcast post production," says Zak Tucker, president of Harbor Picture Company. "Our goal for the platform is to enable storytellers anytime, anywhere, whether they reside within our four walls or outside them." In 2012, Joe Gawler joined Tucker and Stanley as a third partner. Formerly the senior DI colorist of Deluxe NY and Technicolor New York before that, Gawler was tasked with heading up the expand- ed feature film DI department. The move resulted in a vibrant, aesthetic-driven space that is home to production and post production veteran artists that also nur- tures emergent talent. Harbor has created a flexible technical architecture, designed to work from the studio scale down to the young filmmaker. "This facility is a nexus for creative pic- ture and sound post in NYC," says Tucker. "We're lowering the barriers that get in the way of creativity, whether those are finan- cial, workflow or geographical. Things that weren't possible are now possible." Tucker, Stanley and Gawler believe that great work happens when people are in the right mindset, so creating a comfort- able atmosphere was top priority when designing the Harbor headquarters. After months of searching, they landed an old printing press building in west SoHo. They designed a 25,000-square-foot space that lent itself to the creative process by blending different materials and organic touches, like wood reclaimed from a silo in upstate New York. Once open, Harbor held strong to its commitment to support storytellers no matter what — even during devastat- ing natural disasters. When Hurricane Sandy hit New York in October of 2012, it crippled the city with flooding and loss of power. Determined to meet their clients' deadlines, Stanley and Tucker brought in a production generator truck, parked it outside and ran electricity up the side of the building. HARBOR SOUND When long-time film and TV mixing house Sound One closed its doors in late 2012, there was a void left in the New York- based sound industry. At the time, with the extension of the Empire State Film Post Production Tax credit, Harbor's posi- tioning was opportune to update its home base and in a natural next step, welcomed many former Sound One resident talents as well as other sound artists from NY and Los Angeles. "As Sound One was closing, we reached out to some of the top artists there and asked them if they were looking for a home," Tucker explains. "We spent quite a lot of time talking to them, and they saw this was the place for the next iteration of their careers." According to Harbor Sound, one of its key recruits was Avi Laniado, formerly chief engineer at Sound One during a 28-year run. Harbor Sound also features one of the largest ADR stages in New York City, run by ADR mixer Bobby Johanson. The stage is constructed on top of a floated concrete floor that is suspended by a series of springs to zero out noise. An all-digital system provides clean, accu- rate and fast workflow. "It's rare to have this level of technol- ogy, engineering expertise and artist- ry, for picture and sound, in the same place," says Tucker. "We're bringing talented people together, and we're fortunate that everyone has managed to dovetail their own interests with the growth of this idea." HARBOR PICTURE COMPANY BOUTIQUE LEVEL ARTISTRY, BACKED BY SOLID INFRA- STRUCTURE, TECHNICAL SUPPORT, ADVANCED ENGINEERING AND DISCIPLINED PROJECT MANAGEMENT. I Co-founder Zak Tucker: Harbor's range of services are designed to enable storytellers. xxxxx