Ascent Media Group confirm £1.5M investment in UK film services

Ascent Media UK have announced a £1.5 million investment in DI technology this year, involving UK Group facilities One, St. Anne’s, Rushes and Soho Images.
The move is in response to an increasing studio demand for new digital postproduction technology in London. Ascent Media is planning further investment in DI of equal significance in 2005, exemplifying the Group’s commitment to the format.
Ascent Media is now able to offer a full range of postproduction services to Directors, Cinematographers and Producers wishing to work in the UK, utilising existing UK resources and talent and importing the successful processes the group has already developed in Los Angeles for the feature film sector.
As part of this investment, One has opened a dedicated DI department with fully operational suites mirroring the DI division set-up at Company 3 in Los Angeles. Colourist Stefan Sonnenfeld, with credits including ‘Man on Fire’, ‘Bad Boys 2’ and ‘Collateral’, has been advising UK technicians on the build of the new department, in conjunction with the One’s Managing Director, Paul Jones.
“We have been watching the DI space closely over the last few years,” said Jones. “And felt that with the second generation of technology now available we were able to get ahead of the market to build a creative grading solution that offers clients the most powerful tools available in a real-time 2K film resolution environment.”
The investment to date includes the acquisition of two Quantel IQs; a da Vinci 2K colour corrector; an SGI Storage Area Network; Truelight Colour Management system; MTI for dust dusting and an HD infrastructure including VTR’s, with more details expected to be announced shortly.
“This is a very exciting time for Ascent Media,” said Brenda Smith, Group Managing Director of Ascent Media, UK. “With this investment we are now in a position to bring all of the combined assets of Ascent Media together to offer a comprehensive slate of postproduction services to the feature film industry in the UK.”
Ascent Media Group, www.ascentmedia.co.uk
(sp)