By Elina Shatkin, September 20, 2004
FotoKem, the Burbank post-production facility, announced that it has acquired the assets of Imagica USA, the U.S. subsidiary of Imagica Corporation of Tokyo, Japan. The award winning Playa Vista, CA facility, home to the Academy Award winning Imagica multi-format wetgate optical printer (“Bigfoot”), Multi-65mm digital film scanners and MSM-Solitaire 65mm film recorders, provided digital and optical services on over 80 large format films in worldwide release.
Acquisition of the multi-format scanners and recorders will make FotoKem the only facility in the U.S. capable of providing optical and/or digital conversions to all of the prevailing 70mm formats – 5, 8, 10 or 15-perf. In addition to scanning, recording and final color correction, FotoKem’s large format division will provide digital visual effects, titles and opticals. With a renowned film laboratory on the same site, FotoKem has positioned itself as a one-stop facility for worldwide 65/70mm postproduction.
One of the two 65mm scanners acquired in the deal is currently being fitted with an 8K sensor. The Imagica will also be the world’s fastest large format scanner, processing an 8192 X 10928, 15-perf scan at 36 seconds per frame
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A majority of the key personnel at Imagica also migrated to FotoKem. Andrew Oran, Director of Sales, Special Formats for FotoKem, was chief of production at Imagica USA for 5 years before heading up large format operations at a lab in Europe. He is joined by his successor at Imagica USA, Jose Parra. The pair will lead a core group that includes long-term Imagica USA veterans in the roles of optical supervisor, printer operator, line-up, digital artist and production coordinator.
Illustrative of FotoKem’s versatility in 65/70mm post-production are several recent projects. “Mystic India” was shot in 65mm 8-perf for domestic release in India. FotoKem is converting the 8-perf vertical format to a 70mm horizontal 15-perf negative for international release. The international version of “Mystic India” is a different cut than the domestic India version, and since the domestic version couldn’t be cut, FotoKem conformed the 15-perf version in camera. For “Forces of Nature,” FotoKem provided lab services, created an 8-perf 70mm version for release and did the film recording for the digital intermediate trailer. On “Vikings,” FotoKem used digital tools to-perform image processing and color correction on effects shots before recording the frames out to negative for inclusion in a final optical print.
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