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Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Post-Production Houses to Share Editing Bays

Shawn Sanbar, chief executive of post-production company Atlas Digital, had been thinking about entering a partnership with another firm but wanted to find the right one. That “right one” came along as Runway Inc., a post-production business with locations in Santa Monica, Hollywood, Universal City and Burbank. Sanbar, who started Burbank-based Atlas Digital in 2003, said that the client base of the two companies were complementary. Atlas provides work primarily for reality television, while Runway does the same for scripted television series and feature films. “The idea is to keep the two brands as we are better known in one segment and they are better known in the other and create efficiencies by combining the back office,” Sanbar said. The real connection between Atlas and Runway comes in real estate. Since announcing the partnership last month, Atlas and Runway have purchased a building together in the Magnolia Park neighborhood of Burbank. This building will add about eight editing rooms to the more than 80 that Atlas already owns and the more than 500 owned by Runway. Additionally, Runway recently bought a building on Riverside Drive in Sherman Oaks that was home to Carousel Productions, the production company of actor Steve Carell. “Having access to the Runway real estate allows us to sell into more space and vice versa,” Sanbar said. In addition to post-production services such as editing, color grading, visual effects and DVD mastering and replication, Atlas also has a strong software development team. The company also rents out edit bays and production offices. For both companies, the partnership – which will eventually result in the companies merging but keeping the brand names – means being able to get into new markets with their services, Sanbar said. The increase in the number of facilities the companies will work from means that Atlas can compete with larger entertainment companies like Hollywood Production Center in Glendale and FotoKem in Burbank, he added. “This puts us in the game in a little different way,” Sanbar said. He also compared what Atlas and Runway are doing to the move made by Saban Capital Acquisition Corp. last year when it acquired Panavision Inc. in Woodland Hills and Sim Video International Inc. in Toronto in a deal valued at $622 million. In that case, Saban bought Panavision, a supplier of cameras and lenses, and Sim Video, a post production house, to be able to provide all the services that a film or television series might need, Sanbar said. “If you are able to provide end-to-end services, you are the only phone call they need to make,” he added. “We don’t want anybody calling anyone else.” Smartphone Theme Park Legacy Entertainment has unveiled two new theme parks for which it is doing design work. The North Hollywood themed attraction design firm’s latest projects are set to open this year in Bali and near Jakarta in Indonesia. Formerly known as Goddard Group, Legacy unveiled its new name and corporate design to members of the themed entertainment industry at the IAAPA Trade Show and Conference in Orlando in November. In addition to announcing the two new theme parks, the company highlighted the opening that month of Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park. The 73-acre theme park, which cost $$795 million, features seven main pavilions, three large show venues and an assortment of family and thrill rides, including the world’s longest rapids ride. Legacy President Taylor Jeffs said it was an exciting time to be able to debut a new theme park while announcing two others. “With every project we take on, our goal is to push boundaries, break rules and give audiences something they’ve never seen, felt or experienced before,” Jeffs said in a statement. “I can say with a great deal of confidence that all three of these theme parks will do all this, and much more, in spectacular fashion.” Trans Studio Bali is described as an indoor theme park designed with social media in mind. “Nowadays, everyone is viewing the world through their smartphone cameras, so we thought it could be an exciting idea to draw that parallel by creating the world’s first park specifically ‘designed for camera,’” Marcus King, managing director of project management, said in a statement. Trans Studio Cibubur is under development with the working name, “Trans Studio Action Zone.” It focuses on telling action stories through rides and attractions. Staff Reporter Mark R. Madler can be reached at (818) 316-3126 or [email protected].

Mark Madler
Mark Madler
Mark R. Madler covers aviation & aerospace, manufacturing, technology, automotive & transportation, media & entertainment and the Antelope Valley. He joined the company in February 2006. Madler previously worked as a reporter for the Burbank Leader. Before that, he was a reporter for the City News Bureau of Chicago and several daily newspapers in the suburban Chicago area. He has a bachelor’s of science degree in journalism from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

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