LipSync Post Deploys First iQ Pablo In UK

LipSync Post has become the first company in London to install the new Pablo - Quantel’s next generation colour correction system.
They have chosen the top of the range 4k Pablo model complete with Quantel’s TimeMagic technology which takes the waiting out of rendering.
The choice for the equipment was led by head of post Kevin Phelan and senior producer Alasdair MacCuish.
“This was going to be up against the coal face; which is us and our clients chipping away doing a grade or a conform, using some of the excellent compositing tools as well, and also doing title sequences and end rollers,” said Kevin Phelan. “It means you can’t have a machine that is running on three wheels rather than four. Functionality, real-time and the video-friendly user interface are important to us. We are mad about film here but we are also heavily conversant with all types of video. Putting different resolutions on the same timeline is highly exciting and saves a lot of time and expense.”
With its one-stop-shop ethos, LipSync decided from the start that the work for film and HD clients would not end with the completion of conforming and grading. Recent projects include ‘Cashback’ Directed by Sean Ellis and ‘The Descent’ Director Neil Marshall’s acclaimed follow up to Dog Soldiers.
Going one step further and producing the deliverables as well makes a lot of sense both technically and financially. Phelan said: “It works well for us. We’ve even made deliverables for other facilities.”
Phelan added: “If you think about it, you’ve spent all that time doing a 2k or 4k grade and you have this fantastic piece of data that comes out as film and looking the same. If you then take that away to another facility, you go down a generation from the negative to an interpositive that’s then scanned, and re-graded! So why not avoid all that and do it while the project is still hot and the client is still around. Get the absolute best quality.”
He concluded: “I cannot recall any look that we have not been able to achieve with the iQ - and we’ve been asked to do almost everything. Most of DI is a mixture of being incredibly creative and hard work. But working with a creative director makes you be more creative and achieve a required look. Vincent Ward’s River Queen literally drips off the screen and is receiving loads of accolades in its home country of New Zealand. People say, ‘Oh yes, that’s Allan Bollinger’s stunning cinematography – as ever’. I say, yes superb cinematography, then we got to work on it: we had that film in here for six weeks. We graded it and gave it its chocolate, sepia looks amongst many other specialised looks. We did an amazing job on it; we should get an award for it. There should be a DI award!"
(SP)