Production Companies Retooling to Take Advantage of the Latest Mass Medium
The number of Orange County-based companies getting into the multimedia production business continues to grow as Internet-savvy businesses look for new ways to market their products and companies. Some traditional production companies are reinventing themselves and competing with new multimedia facilities for projects ranging from video streaming to CD-ROMs and DVDs.
The 56 companies in the Business Journal’s directory have a combined 496 employees, compared with last year’s 56 companies with 395 employees. (Some companies on both lists declined to disclose employment figures.)
The multimedia production directory comprises an eclectic mix of companies that offer a variety of services and products such as training, corporate videos, commercial production, full-length feature films, IMAX films, infomercials, stage productions, airline video packages, production and post-production services, presentations at sales and stockholder meetings and CD-ROMs. There are also companies on the directory this year offering Web site design and other Internet-related services.
“More and more companies are recognizing the importance of the Internet and looking at other ways of using their talents,” said Ken Anderson, president and CEO of OC Post in Irvine.
Anderson heads up the Media Alliance of Orange County, a year-old organization whose members are primarily local production companies that want to improve the status of OC as a destination for film companies and advertising agencies.
“There are so many new technologies evolving and maturing that the creative community is forced to stay on top of it and businesses are changing as a result of that,” Anderson said. “We now edit pieces that end up in a CD-ROM or DVD, material that may never air on television or find its way to videotape. The new business means more business for local companies that are prepared to make changes.”
Traditional production studios continue to thrive despite the Screen Actors Guild’s ongoing five-month long strike.
Lyon Studios, Newport Beach, kicked off the New Year with a commercial it produced for National Car Rental for a promotion with Walt Disney World. The studio’s team wrote and produced the 30-second TV spot that made its debut during the Super Bowl in January. The studio recently completed three TV spots for Irvine-based HomeBase Inc.’s new House2Home concept; another three spots for breast implant manufacturer Mentor and a TV promotional spot for Irvine-based Taco Bell Corp.
Although its primary business is Web site and CD ROM development, HyperDisk Media Inc., Irvine, has recently been entering new territory by creating CD business cards, developing a 3D projector system and e-mail registration kiosks.
The five-year-old company is working with several company-owned McDonald’s stores in the San Diego and Hollywood areas to create content for its 3D projector systems, said HyperDisk’s Nick Singer. The Ronald McDonald magic show features the fast-food chain’s clown pulling hamburgers out of a top hat as images of French fries and Big Macs dance around his head.
“They float up while he conducts his magic show and it’s a way to introduce new products,” Singer said.
McDonald’s is also one of several companies, including several hotels, that have hired HyperDisk to create a network of e-mail registration kiosks for its stores. The initial test will take place in three McDonald’s stores, Singer said. The stores use the kiosks to register customers and stay in touch by offering in return loyalty programs with discount offers, he said.
One of OC’s newest facilities opened inFebruary. Ocean Heart Productions, which overlooks Newport Harbor, has at least two good reasons for producers to stay in town: a new Avid Symphony editing system, and its very own “martini boat.”
The Avid Symphony, a high-end nonlinear online editing system, utilizes uncompressed video that eliminates the need for editors to create two separate products because its output is ready for broadcast. The system is one that is sought after by OC producers who usually make the drive to Los Angeles.
The martini boat, on the other hand, is for clients to use and cruise around the harbor, sipping cocktails and relaxing.
The Business Journal’s directory also includes a mix of specialized companies such as ATM Media Services in Anaheim. The company found its niche working with ministries such as the Harvest Crusade and West Los Angeles Church of God. It provides onsite video duplication for live events. Armed with about 400 VCRs, the company is hired to videotape the event live and subsequently have the tapes ready to sell after the event.
Attendees “get these tapes to take home and share with their families,” said Ceasar Manalo, one of three owners of the company.
Edgewise Media Services, Anaheim, dropped off the list as it moved out of the editing and post-production business to focus on its main business providing videotape and film in all formats to multimedia companies. Edgewise, which grew 66% to 100 employees, recently added 15 employees with the purchase of three separate companies under the name Studio Film and Tape in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. n
