Two successful post-production companies in the Metro Toronto market have merged in a strategic alliance that will offer a larger range of equipment and services to their clients.

The match-up involves Eyes Video Production of North York and Greystone Production Services of Toronto. Initially, the new company being formed as a result of the deal, Eyes Post Group, will continue operating out of the two locations. Eventually, however, both offices will move into a 12,000-square-foot space currently being renovated in Toronto’s Parliament and King neighborhood.

Izhak Hinitz, a founder of Eyes Video and the man who will be responsible for running day-to-day operations at Eyes Post Group, says he’s long wanted to establish his post-production facility downtown and the merger with Dan D’Or’s Greystone enhances the appeal of a move toward Lake Ontario.

‘We’re merging with Greystone to form this new company in order to better serve our clients and have a larger, more diverse equipment array,’ says Hinitz, adding that Eyes Post will be able to look after jobs ranging from low-end corporate videos to high-end broadcast projects.

Says D’Or: ‘Greystone and Eyes: we’re two of the most profitable companies in Toronto; we’re small but both doing very well.’

While this business deal will allow D’Or to spend more time on such outside activities as producing feature films, he will be involved in running Eyes Post and will be available to lend his many years’ experience in post-production and interactive projects to the company and its customers.

In that vein, the shop will provide services in new media. ‘We hope to offer, in the very near future,’ says Hinitz, ‘the ability for clients to take finished shows and produce a cd-i master which can then be distributed on cd-i. This process will involve digitizing the finished show and programming (it) to suit client needs.’

Meantime, the three suites – one operating at the North York location and two more downtown – will cater to producers with projects in a wide range of budgets. Uptown, editing boxes run the gamut from a trio of cd graphics cameras, through 3/4′, 1′, Betasp and D3 recorders to an on-line painter system by Dubner and a Time Arts (Lumina/Topaz) animation system. An Abekas 53D digital effects system handles the fancy effects move and regulation issue 1/4′ audio tape and a voice booth are there for the more workmanlike projects.

Downtown, Suite 2 offers interactive capability via the Sony Laserdisc LVR-5000 recorder/player. As well, the suite is home to one of the latest new vtrs from Sony, the Digital Betacam, along with a pair of BVW-75 recorders, and a high-end switcher and edit controller. For effects work, there is an ADO 2000 featuring Digimatte and Digitrail, and 2D/3D animation comes courtesy a 486-platform pc running 3D Studio software.

Hinitz says Suite 3, also downtown, will get a boost from its current cuts-only status to become an a/b roll component analogue suite with Betasp and 3D digital effects with lightsource and warp. The space will also include a component character generator, switcher and dve and will still, Hinitz maintains, offer ‘reasonable prices for customers not in need of the higher-powered interformat rooms.’ He adds that this suite will suit European clients who need to work in the component realm to allow for standards conversion later. It will also function well for pre-builds and for finishing low- to medium-budget corporate videos and tv series.