London post facility, Envy, is almost doubling the size of its Rathbone Place premises and investing in new 3D-enabled Avid technology as part of a £2 million expansion, writes David Fox.
It has appointed supplier, Tyrell CCT to provide new Avid systems for the facility’s new offline studios due to open in August 2011.
The expansion will grow its Rathbone Place premises from 15,000 sq ft to 25,000 sq ft and add 18 more offline suites bringing the total to 75 Avid rooms, including its two other nearby premises at Margaret Street and Foley Street.
The Avid systems provided by Tyrell CCT include 16 Media Composer Mojo DX v5.5 systems on HP Z800 workstations connected to a 64TB ISIS 5000 shared storage system.
Envy selected the Media Composer Mojo DX to ensure compatibility with 3D projects scheduled for later this year. The new stereoscopic features in Media Composer enable editing in stereoscopic 3D direct from the timeline, without the need for specialised 3D editorial tools. The Mojo DX hardware also provides stereo 3D monitoring whilst the editor/director can edit and preview in 2D.
The addition of Avid’s new ISIS 5000 shared storage system will allow Envy to effectively handle its tapeless media workflows and data storage requirements. The ISIS 5000 provides the flexibility, interoperability, and scalability necessary to grow with the facility’s needs. This investment ensures compatibility with existing infrastructure at Envy’s two other sites. Tyrell CCT provided workflow consultancy and will also provide installation for the Avid systems.
Envy is also adding another Autodesk Flame Premium to its visual effects department, another online Avid Symphony room, and more Avid Icon kit for its audio department. It is also adding another 5.1 audio suite, which it claims will give it the most surround sound suites in the UK.
“This is a significant expansion for the company and is a direct response to the increasing demand from our existing and expanding client base,” said David Cadle, Envy’s Managing Director. “We worked closely with our trusted Avid partner, Tyrell CCT, to ensure that best solutions were selected for our demanding workflow requirements.”
Envy won the Best Post Production House at the Broadcast Awards in 2008, 2009 and 2010, and has 95 operational areas including offline editing, Final Cut Pro, DS Nitris, Symphony, Baselight grading, Smoke, Flame, 3D and audio including Dolby licensed studios. Some of the projects it has worked on include Grand Designs for Channel 4, Britain’s Next Top Model for Sky Living and Shooting Stars for the BBC.
