A new £12.5m post production facility dedicated to stereo 3D is being earmarked for launch in the north of England. Sites in Sunderland, Wales and Manchester are all being considered, with the decision depending on the grant of regional development money, writes Adrian Pennington.
With that in place, equipment could be installed in April ready for business this summer, according to Saif Chaudhry, the founder of Sunderland-based Stereographix and a consultant to the project.
“We aim to set up an outsourcing model, similar to one adopted by other post houses, but to outsource work to the north instead of outside the country, where salaries and office space are cheaper and to ensure that the skillsets for 3D stay in the UK,” he explained. “The missing piece is a public funding grant which will help make it feasible for us to reduce the risk of operating outside London.”
Chaudhry said the facility could provide for 160 new jobs within three years and that it would tap the graduate pool of higher education media courses.
“This will be the first facility built from the ground-up to be 3D capable rather than retro-fitted,” he said.
3D screening rooms and facilities for editing, compositing, grading and VFX are planned.
Chaudhry declined to reveal the name of his clients but claimed that they had already won the post production contract on a 3D feature.
Stereographix has developed a range of 3D training courses and 3D development workstations and is currently working on a 3D film for Durham University.
