Thomson's services division will build a film lab of 32,000sq ft at Pinewood comprising 75 staff from the 100 at West Drayton. It will offer integrated film and front-end services, release printing and digital cinema distribution.
The company plans to buy new film developers but use existing printers. The cost of the move will run to several million pounds.
According to Thomson Technicolor Theatrical Services president Joe Berchtold, it chose Pinewood because it is “the pre-eminent film facility in the UK”.
The content services division will be moved to a new 14,000sq ft facility on Lexington Street in Soho around the corner from sister company MPC. The facility will comprise 25 staff and offer DI grading services. The company said it would offer new and existing kit but would not be drawn on further details.
The facility will complement MPC and compete directly with any companies offering grading for films, TV and commercials, according to Technicolor.
Berchtold said: “We're moving these elements of the business so that each piece is as close as possible to the customers at different stages of the process.”
The facilities will be connected by high-speed broadband.
Pinewood is a facilities provider as well as a media centre which could mean overlap in the provision of services with Technicolor. According to the company, the crossover will be approximately 10%, mainly in the area of sound post-production.
No comments yet