Toronto post and design shop Crush Inc. has added the Discreet flint graphics and F/X system to its arsenal of high-tech gear. Crush president and co-owner Gary Thomas says the new machine is already being used substantially in the shop’s day-to-day operations.

‘We are going to be working it as a design tool initially, but it also gives us a range of toolsets we don’t have,’ says Thomas. ‘We do a lot of design, end graphics and titles, which don’t necessarily have to take place in a Quantel Henry. They can take place in a smaller environment. That’s primarily why we were looking at flint. It is such a powerful tool.’

Crush used the system on a new spot for the Mercedes M Class four-wheel-drive called ‘White Out – Nap,’ which is not the first time Crush has done work for the car company. In fact, it recently completed a Mercedes campaign with Roche Macaulay & Partners that met an unfortunate end.

‘The ads were pulled because there were six frames of the World Trade Center,’ says Thomas. ‘It was unfortunate because it was a really cool job. It was a little [more raw] than you would normally associate with Mercedes. It was playing off the monotony and repetition of everyday life, relieved by the wonders of this new car.’

Thomas reports that the flint has also been used on the Jackie Chan feature Tuxedo, currently in production in Toronto. It was Crush’s commercial relationship with Tuxedo director Kevin Donovan that brought in the job, which consisted of providing graphics that will appear on computer screens in the course of the film. Crush designer Sean Cochrane did the research and searched for innovative ways to present the imagery.

‘I think the shots have been expanded a bit to take advantage of [the graphics],’ Thomas says. ‘We haven’t really been involved too much with features. This is our first foray.’

In terms of further diversification, the shop recently created 88 minutes of graphics work for a DVD featuring recording artist Moby, based on his album Play. The DVD’s main attraction for fans is a ‘mega-mix’ where a series of DJs have re-mixed Moby’s album cuts. Crush provided all the visuals for the mega-mix, incorporating what Thomas describes as ‘free-flowing graphics with live-action elements.’

-www.crushinc.com

Third Floor goes from first floor to fourth

On Oct. 1, coinciding with the company’s ninth birthday, Third Floor Editing moved its Toronto offices around the corner from its first-floor location on Spadina Avenue to a fourth-floor space on Adelaide Street West.

While the new digs are smaller than Third Floor’s former studio (4,750 square feet versus 7,000 square feet), executive producer Jane Broadfoot says no changes to equipment or services are planned. She adds, however, that although the new offices will maintain the shop’s five editing suites, ‘We’re down to four editors again.’

With the departure of editor Dave Thomson in September to pursue a writing career, junior editor Scott Blackett is working toward filling the vacant fifth editor’s spot.

The move comes on the heels of the expiration of Third Floor’s five-year lease on Spadina.

The new address is: 410 Adelaide Street West, Suite 410, Toronto, ON M5V 1S8. The phone number remains the same: (416) 504-6004.