The west London post-production facility will open a second site in March which, when complete, will have 22 suites over 8,500sq ft, including sound studios and Pogle grading. The company directors, led by chief executive Paul Kingsley and backed by outside investment, are putting£500,000 of new equipment into the Shepherds Building facility. Crow's Wendell Street base will remain fully operational, with 14 suites under the name of Crow2.
Crow1 - as the new flagship facility will be called - will share the same building as Big Brotherindie Endemol and historical documentary producer Atlantic Productions, maker of The Real Face of Santa(BBC2) and the upcoming Unmasking the Sphinx(Discovery/Five).
National Geographic is believed to be opening an office at the Shepherds Building in March. Crow managing director Jocelyn Buckley said that although no serious discussions had yet occurred with the indie neighbours, 'even if it has in-house facilities, I find it hard to believe there won't be an attraction to having us in the same building'.
A sound studio, an online Avid Symphony and a couple of offline suites should be set up by mid-March, and full operation is scheduled for the end of April.
Crow is expecting to double its current staff of 22 by the end of this year. Buckley said although freelancers will be used initially, she will bring in four new employees to set up the infrastructure of the site. There will also be a restructuring as some staff move across to the new location, but this was 'not code' for redundancies, she insisted.
Buckley also said that she intends to use her advertising background to create a system closer to the commercials world by bringing in dedicated account managers.
Buckley was appointed as managing director in October, having previously been the event manager for the BBC director general's office.
Crow TV has worked on The South Bank Show(LWT), Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance(Lion Television) and The Challenge(BBC2).
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