Toronto post house Magnetic North’s acquisition of rival shop Casablanca is five months old, and the newly formed entity is busily looking to reap the rewards of that consolidation.

The purchase from Alliance Atlantis Communications, which has by and large exited production and completely washed its hands of the post biz, came amidst other major acquisition news on the Toronto post scene. Global giant Technicolor made a huge splash when it took over Command Post & Transfer, while AAC sold the third and last of its post concerns, Toronto animation and FX house Calibre Digital Pictures, to DKP Effects, which itself had earlier been purchased by U.S.-based IDT Entertainment.

With fewer productions to bid on, post players are getting fewer in number and bigger in size.

‘I’ve been a big believer that the industry certainly needed some consolidation – obviously to eliminate some competition, but also just to function more efficiently,’ explains Bruce Grant, president and owner of Casablanca Magnetic North, as the new firm is called.

Grant had eyes on Casablanca ever since his purchase of Mag North, of which he was already president, from Rogers Communications in late 2001. Mag North had two audio mix theaters geared to lower-end TV work, while Casablanca had built a strong reputation for its audio capabilities for both TV and features. CMN is currently in the process of moving Mag North’s video operations from its Richmond Street digs into the former Casablanca’s large facility on Boston Avenue in the city’s production district. The move is slated to be complete by December.

The facility-to-be includes three large mixing theaters, two smaller ones, two foley rooms and an ADR stage. ‘Our abilities to package in the sound are now greatly enhanced,’ Grant says.

AAC had been looking to sell its post interests, which also included Halifax’s Salter Street Digital, since mid-2002. At that time, it announced a reported US$14-million sale option for all three post houses to Hollywood video and film asset management firm Point.360, but the deal fell apart one year later. All the while, Grant lurked in the background, letting his interest be known. Rob Power, VP of SSD, and a group of investors bought the Halifax op from AAC earlier this year, renaming it PowerPost Production.

Grant won’t divulge the value of his deal with AAC, except to say negotiations went on for six months.

‘Having audio and video under one roof will give the shop increasingly efficient synergies, especially when it tackles full post on a project such as The Eleventh Hour,’ Grant says.

That CMN would get both audio and video on the CTV journo drama was a no-brainer – previously, Mag North handled the show’s video, and Casablanca the audio. The shop is also currently doing film transfer on Sturla Gunnarsson’s epic Icelandic feature Beowulf & Grendel, video post on the Global series Zoe Busiek: Wild Card, and is busy with a trio of CBC projects: the Emmy-nominated comedy series The Newsroom (audio and video), the forthcoming Paul Gross mini H20 (sound mixing), and the animated kids series Shoebox Zoo (audio and video).

Grant is upbeat about business this fall, noting that quoting levels are higher than what they were a year ago. While the likes of Deluxe and Technicolor go after the Hollywood feature films shooting in town, shops such as CMN will continue Mag North’s core business of episodic TV, while also welcoming Canadian or copro features such as Beowulf, as Casablanca had. With Hollywood guest productions shrinking and an $0.80-ish loonie and new tax credits looming south of the border, it might prove a sound strategy.

Grant is not shy about playing the patriotic card, either. While Deluxe is owned by the U.K.’s Rank Group and Technicolor by France’s Thomson conglomerate, local shops such as CMN and Eyes Post Group are privately owned Canuck firms, and hope that will be a contributing factor for local producers deciding between them and the international titans.

‘Three-quarters of the revenue from [Casablanca and Magnetic North] comes from indigenous Canadian producers,’ Grant says. ‘They are our bread and butter.’

However, while U.S. feature business is on the decline, the same can be said of Canadian drama, which Grant admits is of great concern. The slack might be picked up by copros such as the recent CBC U.K./Canada mini Sex Traffic, for which CMN did the sound mix, to help fulfil the show’s copro agreement.

‘It’s a global market, and we’re also looking to the Far East – anywhere that requires post,’ Grant says.

According to Grant, at the time of the acquisition, Mag North had 21 full-time staff and Casablanca had 26. By year’s end, he expects the new company’s full-time head count to rest at 30.

‘Not everyone joined up,’ Grant simply says, noting that the shop has gone to a freelance arrangement with several of the former Casablanca’s sound mixers, while retaining employees in managerial positions.

With all elements of the company soon to be incorporated into the one location, Grant is confident CMN will bring in producers who otherwise may have bypassed Mag North.

‘A consolidated post facility is more efficient, and having offline, video and audio together is much better for our clients – plus there is a film lab in the building, so our customers have one-stop shopping,’ Grant says.