In lean times, it pays for this post facility to offer more to its agency clients


What’s Their Gig?
When Precision Productions and Post opened its doors in 1990 as an editorial house, it was a far cry from the robust, all-in-one post facility it is today. Editorial is still on the menu, but so is graphics and visual effects, color grading and editorial finishing, and 5.1 sound mixing and design. A much newer production unit takes an even wider scope, offering its television and integrated media clients concept development, storyboarding and design, casting and full-on production services. That range extends to formats, too: Precision’s Avid and Final Cut online and offline bays can handle whatever format, from RED RAW to Genesis, that clients hand them.

One of Precision’s eight edit suites.

Located in a 6,000-square-foot building in Los Angeles, Precision is currently experiencing an uptick in commercial spot work as agencies continue to get leaner by the minute. For a recent ad campaign for golf club maker TaylorMade and ad agency NYCA, Precision produced eight spots and handled nearly every aspect of the production. They also directed a complex, slo-mo shoot-shot with a Phantom camera-featuring TaylorMade-sponsored pros at a golf course in Georgia. The full post for the spots, now airing worldwide, took three months of graphic design, CG, color grading, compositing and editorial finishing. “The client wanted to have a single unified vision that carries through all the spots, both domestically and internationally, and we did that by having one creative lead who oversaw the design and execution,” says Precision president Joseph Arnao. “It’s all executed with one eye so there is no distinction between production and post. Everything comes together here under a unique creative point of view.” Other recent work includes long-form programming for Discovery and Speed, behind-the-scenes videos for HBO, branded content and spots for Gatorade and Subway, promos and on-air graphics for Fox and FX, and home entertainment promos for MGM. The facility recently wrapped a promotional package for Fox Sports Net’s coverage of Major League Baseball that knocked it out of the park, so to speak: Precision staff created TV promos customized for 13 teams and 17 Fox broadcast markets, broadcast graphics, billboards, magazine ads and stadium graphics.


A neon sign and a chrome bike happily coexist in Precision’s lobby.


The Cool Factor
Though the company emerged as a result of the desktop revolution, Arnao says Precision always trains its staff to keep on top of the latest technology and workflows. “Some of the most exciting creative in post production today is happening at the desktop level,” he says. “Our model allows for our creatives to maximize the power of the box that is in front of them while amplifying that power when it’s needed.” Keeping it all in house, another advantage of working with modular, desktop systems, means more creative control as well. “The look we can give clients is cohesive from on air, to print, to outdoor, to the web,” he says. “All the elements connect.”


The company’s 5.1 sound mix suite.

The Geek Factor
Precision’s staff are skilled multitaskers who can deftly juggle more than one job and task at one time-unlike that poor guy profiled in Matt Richtel’s recent New York Times article. Says Arnao, “The two things clients desire most are great talent and one-stop shopping. In the traditional model, the production company hands the project over to an editorial house who then hands it over to a finishing house,” he says. “But clients have learned that costs more money, involves more running around and increases the grief factor-plus, a lot of creative value gets lost in translation. They save time and money, and finish with a better product, by doing it all in one place.” The shop’s workspaces are just as flexible as its staff: each suite can be modified according to the workflow that’s needed for a particular project. “Every room is pretty much set up to do everything,” Arnao explains. “Because jobs are fluid and flexible, we may need to go from an editorially based workflow to a graphic based workflow and our suites are configured so that can be done almost at the flip of a switch. Our staff of assistants, post supers, and producers have a core understanding of the workflow and process for each project brought in-house,” he adds.   “Our process is streamlined to allow our creatives to focus on creating.”


Precision president Joe Arnao has been with
the company for most of its 20 years in
operation.

Precision Productions + Post
10718 McCune Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90034
310.839.4600
www.meetprecision.com.