Raves and Ringing Endorsements for Zoetrope Aubry Productions
REPO CHICK, shot entirely in front of a green screen, had the most complicated post-production workflow of any film I've made.
I began our final output in Los Angeles at a company I'd worked with before: but the project, done in full resolution in Final Cut Pro, was beyond
their capabilities. Then Richard Beggs, our sound designer, recommended ZAP. Thanks to Kim Aubry's experience and his team's diverse skills, all went smoothly thereafter. Special effects elements flowed in from Phil Tippett's studio in Berkeley and VCE in the Pacific Northwest. Working to a tight deadline - our Venice Festival premiere - ZAP gave us exactly what we needed, in English and Italian!
I was delighted with my ZAP experience. It's great that such a facility exists - and in the Bay Area, not LA!
I look forward to working with them again this year, on STRAIGHT TO HELL REDUX!
Juliana Parroni, Editor "The American Experience," "American Masters" and Film Professor at Howard University.
I first hired ZAP in 2005 to provide the services necessary to restore and master to HD a series of important documentary films that date from 1979 to 1991. I went to Kim in part because I needed someone with his precise range of knowledge. I was hired to supervise this job based on my knowledge of the films and the conditions under which they had been originally been produced, NOT on my knowledge of new technology. Having been a colleague of Kim's in the past, I knew him to be knowledgeable, and very important under the circumstances, possessed of good taste and high integrity. The four films, by noted directing team Lance Bird and Tom Johnson, are of historic value and we were committed to preserving them for future generations. Each of the films presented a new challenge. With patience and flexibility Kim guided this complex project through issues of deteriorating prints, lost negative, replacing narration from original 1/4" master tapes, remastering and sweetening of sound, replicating period graphics, layout, even issues of distribution... the list goes on and on. The length of the job was due to other pressing matters on the part of the filmmakers, but even over the gaps in our inattention, Kim and the people at ZAP kept the project on track. ZAP was always willing to work within our budget and gave us options when we needed them. Kim was asked to consider various opinions and sometimes referee and this he did with grace and humor. On his own initiative and from his own passion for the work, he often went the extra mile.
I really can't imagine having completed this project without ZAP.
From Justine Shapiro of Promises Films, Co-Director of "Promises"(2001) and "Our Summer in Tehran" (2010).
After almost 5 years of fundraising/researching/fundraising/ shooting / fundraising / translating / fundraising/ editing / fundraising / and shlepping back and forth to Tehran, I never imagined my documentary film - Our Summer In Tehran - would ever find itself in “post-production”!
This phase of production represents both the birth and the death of the film. The t’s are crossed, the i’s are dotted and there’s no going back. There’s a lot of pressure because a bazillion decisions must be made during a short, intense, and costly post-production phase: whether it’s color grading, font choice for subtitles and text, graphics, layout for the credit roll, art for the main title sequence, animation, timing… no matter how bad the hangover, or how awful my period cramps –I will have these two weeks, and only these two weeks, to make these decisions, that I will have to live with, for the rest of my life.
When faced with such a profoundly daunting task, all I want is to find myself in a post-production house that has my back, holds my hand, anticipates ‘issues’, organizes work-flow and offers options. I want to be around people who are familiar with the terror I feel inside, and with patience, understanding and humor, embolden me to express my most clear and creative self.
Kim Aubry and Ri Crawford are a dynamic duo. Kim comes from a deep film culture and is always quick to provide a story from the field that puts my own situation into broader context. He patiently explains the complicated technicalities, so that I actually understand what he’s talking about. And whenever I am vexed over really dumb but very important things (like subtitle fonts, speed of the credit roll, how to graphically introduce the families) Kim and Ri patiently offer options. One of the many reasons I enjoy working with Kim and Ri is because I trust their aesthetic, their reasoning, their opinions. They respect my ideas, and always offer options that might better realize my vision.
Ri is a master at After Effects and at animation. To treat a scene in the film that plays clips from the TV travel show that I used to host, we looked at many possible TV sets in which to superimpose the clips. None of these TVs felt ‘right’. Ri solved that problem by animating/creating a TV that worked perfectly; to more elegantly introduce the families that I meet in Tehran, Ri created an elegant montage of photographs with names written across the top of the photos; Ri and Kim patiently sorted through 40 paisley images to find the right one to ‘fill’ the letters that spelled out the main title sequence. These are just among the few creative and problem solving contributions that Kim and Ri made to my film. And because my film is crafted in a subtle and lyrical way, all these ‘little things’ add up to what I think is a much improved film.
I never thought I could actually enjoy post-production, partly because raising the money to fund post-production in this financially depressed economy, was (and is) very difficult. However Kim and Ri were exceedingly generous with their time, and the cost of post-production made absolute sense to me. Kim is extremely clear about costs and overages. Money was never an uncomfortable topic of conversation.
Kim and Ri are a pleasure to be with, they are articulate and communicate skillfully. I never felt that I was in a grey area with ZAP. Kim always made sure to clarify what we wanted to accomplish with each day and what we wanted to accomplish moving forward.
I swear I’ll never make another film, but if I do, I’ll go back to ZAP.
Kim Aubry (and his incredible team) was hired to do the HD post-production on a documentary film I made in 2009 (The Magnificent Tati). They were amazing at solving all the problems of media conforming my project had (and believe me there were many), adding wonderful graphics, creating a great sound mix and making the various international deliverables I required (PAL Digi-Beta and HD-Cam-SR). I've worked in London and Paris with numerous post-houses and have to say none can hold a candle to ZAP.
Integrity, creativity and the ability to solve any technical problems has made ZAP my preferred facility anywhere in the world. I will definitely use them again. Beyond the the actual work, ZAP is comprised of some very nice people that make the often grueling last steps of any film production fun and enjoyable. I truly can't recommend them enough. February 7, 2010
Saqib Mausoof, Director "KALA PUL - THE BLACK BRIDGE" (All news out of Karachi is bad)
I worked with ZAP in 2008 for post-production on my film, Kala Pul. The film was shot on Super 16mm, with Telecine done by Schwartz labs in Switzerland. I had edited the film in FCP, with a DIY attitude but needed a professional touch for the festival master. I found ZAP to be surprisingly affordable, keeping in mind their heritage and affiliation with Francis Ford Coppola. Kim not only guided me through the post production workflow, he recommended changes in color correction, sound design and even titling.
It was a pleasure to work with his team and I would recommend all filmmakers to enhance their final product with his creativity.
