Edmonton-based Studio Post is expanding with a new film processing system and added effects capabilities.

The shop purchased a Photomec Film Processor which allows it to process film at 80 feet per minute, increasing capabilities by almost four times the previous capacity of 22 feet per minute.

‘We are trying to increase our capacity because with the amount of work going on here now we can’t process fast enough to meet the producers’ needs,’ says recently appointed general manager Mark Wood.

The new system, according to Wood, will process 10,000 feet of film in two hours, a huge improvement over the almost 10 hours it took previously.

In 1996/97, Studio Post processed two-million feet of film, in ’97/98, 2.5 million feet of film passed through the facility, and now, halfway through the year, it has already processed 1.5 million feet of film.

Studio Post, the Prairies’ largest post shop, and the only film processing facility in the city, handles jobs for many shoots taking place in Calgary, Edmonton, Regina and Winnipeg. Their competition comes from Vancouver- and Montreal-based labs.

In addition to the new film processor that should be delivered in April and ready for use by early June, Studio Post is expanding its effects capabilities with the addition of Pinnacle three-channel dve and Geco Packaging.

The new wares allow the shop to create 3D titles in an online environment, take on a lot more effects-type projects and finish them faster. Although not a lot of film work requires three channels, the new system will be used for commercials.

Maya, another new addition to the shop, was acquired last summer and put into action early this year with a two-month job for oldies movie station Movie Max which called for a full on-air promotion animation package.

Studio Post is equipped with fiberlinks between Edmonton and l.a., which were set up for the Disney series Honey I Shrunk The Kids. During filming, Studio Post processed and transferred the film on the midnight shift, and fiber linked it back to Hollywood every morning so producers could preview dailies over breakfast.

The shop houses two online suites, three offline Lightwork systems, an animation graphics room, and one telecine with Rank Ursa film scanner and bulk duplications.

Current jobs include Paramount/ Nickelodeon’s Snow Day, a feature film being shot in Edmonton for which Studio Post is handling the Betacam transfer. Among the company’s other projects are feature film Bad Faith out of Bradshaw MacLeod, and producer Tom Dent-Cox’s mow, The Sheldon Kennedy Story.