4 out of 5 AACTA Nominations!

As Meatloaf didn’t say, “Four out of Five Ain’t bad...”

Soundfirm proudly post produced four out of the five films nominated for ‘Best Feature Length Documentary’ at the 5th AACTA Awards, due to be presented in Sydney at the end of the year.

We’re thrilled to extend our hearty congratulations to the connections of all these fantastic films, and are proud to have lent our creativity to help make them what they are.....

“‘Gaybe Baby,’ ‘Only the Dead,’ ‘That Sugar Film,’ and Women He’s Undressed’ represent really diverse stories, and truly show-off the talent that we have in Australia for crafting brilliant factual narratives,” said Soundfirm’s General Manager, Paul Willey.

All four films posted with Soundfirm in Melbourne and/or Sydney.

Soundfirm also posted ‘Reg Makes Contact’ (Corrie Chen, Jiao Chen, Raquelle David), nominated in the Best Short Fiction Film category.

Our final congratulations also to ‘Sherpa’ (Bridget Ikin, John Smithson) also. Although not one of ours, it’s a great film, made with real intelligence and sensitivity.

We look forward to the Awards night in November.

NOMINEES FOR BEST FEATURE LENGTH DOCUMENTARY

  • Gayby Baby. Charlotte Mars
  • Only the Dead. Patrick McDonald, Michael Ware
  • Sherpa. Bridget Ikin, John Smithson
  • That Sugar Film. Nick Batzias, Damon Gameau
  • Women He's Undressed. Damien Parer, Gillian Armstrong

 

NOMINEES FOR BEST SHORT FICTION FILM

  • Flat Daddy. Annie Kinnane, Matt Holcomb
  • Karroyul. Kelrick Martin, Jaclyn Hewer, Melissa Kelly
  • Nulla Nulla. Dylan River, Tanith Glynn-Maloney
  • Reg Makes Contact. Corrie Chen, Jiao Chen, Raquelle David

AACTA_graphic


3Deep and Soundfirm partner on 'world-first' 5k short film.

In a global first, Soundfirm have partnered with Australian film-maker, Pawel Achtel, to produce a ground-breaking Natural History short film.

The World's Sharpest Whales’ will be leaping off the screen at this week's gathering of the 3D film industry at the British Film Institute in London.

Shot off the coast of Tonga by Australian film-maker Pawel Achtel, and edited in Sydney on Soundfirm’s SGO Mistika editing system, the film is the first underwater footage ever shot in full-resolution 5K, and shows a glimpse of the lives of one of the world’s largest creatures, the Humpback whale, in the sharpest and most intimate of details.

Using the new 3Deep rig, an innovative and award-winning underwater housing designed by his own company, Achtel has, for the first time, avoided the most serious optical problems - including severe distortion and chromatic aberration - associated with traditional underwater housings and at the same time created a system that’s a fraction of the weight and size of a conventional 3D rig.

Based on two side-by-side RED Epic cameras, mounted within the same titanium housing, and incorporating additional optical modifications to enhance the colours found underwater that can’t be matched in post-production, the 3Deep weighs in at a mere 23kg (50 lbs) including lenses, 3D monitor, batteries and cameras and is only 30cm (1ft) wide.

"With lightweight, maneuverable, yet high resolution camera systems, we were able to film natural behavior and follow the action in a way that hasn’t been possible before," said Achtel, from his Tasmania-based company headquarters.

With the SGO Mistika 4k 3D finishing system, associated with productions such as The Hobbit Trilogy (Warner Brothers) and The Great Gatsby (Warner Brothers), it was possible to align geometry, colour match, colour grade and adjust 3D, largely in real time, and with a couple of keystrokes. "It was a fabulous system to work with", said Achtel, "and transformed the footage we’d spent so long capturing in the wild, often in a matter of seconds."

“It’s been a privilege to have worked with such an innovative Engineer and Film-maker” said Soundfirm’s General Manager, Paul Willey.  “We have a passion for post production because, at its core, it’s about technology facilitating creativity and opening up real and imagined worlds to an audience."  "Pawel’s groundbreaking and awe-inspiring work is the perfect example of that,” he added.

Sam Sheppard of SGO UK will be presenting 'World’s Sharpest Whales' at 14.30 on 12 March (Day 1) and at 11.30 on 13 March (Day 2) during each HFR/4K 3DCS Bootcamp Post Production session at the BFI, Southbank, London.

http://www.3dcreativesummit.com/

Contact: Sam Sheppard - SGO Mistika Product & Workflow Specialist ssheppard@sgo.es

 

Pawel Achtel, Director, DoP, Editor, Stereographer, Colour Grading.

Jon Shaw, Director of Photography

Ian Watson, Post Production Editing and Conform.

Michael Gissing, Editing, Sound Mix and Sound FX

Stuart Monksfield, Mojo Media (Sydney), 3D Consultant and Mistika re-seller.

Paul Willey, General Manager

Bruce Emery, Technical Lead, Soundfirm Sydney

Jasmin Cornford, Post Production Co-ordinator, Soundfirm

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/76025643[/vimeo]

 


3rd AACTA Awards - Nominees Announced

Congratulations to all of the 2014 AACTA Awards nominees!

Particular shout out to Warwick Ross' "Red Obsession", Anna Broinowski's "Aim High in Creation", Ben Nott & Morgan O'Neill's "Drift", Ivan Sen's "Mystery Road" and Joanna Werner's "Dance Academy - Series 3", all of which Soundfirm have been involved in.

We look forward to celebrating the Australian film & television industry in January 2014.

For more info: http://www.aacta.org/winners-nominees/3rd-aacta-awards-nominees.aspx


Top Accolade for CEO, Roger Savage.

http://www.film.vic.gov.au/media/screen-leaders-2013

Soundfirm Founder and CEO, Roger Savage, has been awarded the ‘John Howie Award for Outstanding Leadership, Achievement and Service to the Victorian Screen Industry' at the Film Victoria Screen Industry Awards.

Roger’s career spans in excess of 45 years: moving to Australia from England in 1964, he engineered some of the most important Australian popular music recordings of the period and, concentrating on film sound tracks and post production in the early 1970’s, some of the country’s most celebrated films.

Roger has always been on the cutting edge of technology, and has consistently driven innovation in the way film soundtracks have been created and delivered.  After 30 years in Port Melbourne’s Crockford Street, Roger has recently moved Soundfirm's facility in Melbourne to a purpose built warehouse space on Fennell Street, at the same time investing in projects and technologies (including Dolby’s Atmos) for the benefit of the next generation of film-makers.

Congrats on this much deserved accolade!


Red Obsession

Soundfirm have recently completed the full picture and sound post production on Warwick Ross’s “Red Obsession” for local and offshore release.

The film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival, and was the subject of a special Gala Evening at the Sydney Film Festival in June.  The film was conformed and graded in our Mistika Suite in Sydney, and the final mix was completed in Melbourne.

The legendary Bordeaux region, ‘the best plot of land in the world', has been producing valued wine for centuries. The region's fortunes, long exposed to the vagaries of climate, are now swayed by market forces. In 2010, when a vintage year was on the cards, the global financial crisis ensured that Western pockets were empty, and cashed-up Chinese buyers set the price. This shift, fuelled by the East's obsession with these illustrious vineyards, created a perfect wine storm; co-director and vigneron Warwick Ross documented the upheaval.

Narrated by Russell Crowe, Red Obsession is an expertly told, delectable tale of a much-coveted global commodity in times of change.

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/62213586[/vimeo]

 


The Eye of the Storm wins at MIFF '11

Congratulations to Fred Schepisi on his feature "The Eye of the Storm" for picking up The Age Critics Award at the Melbourne International Film Festival this year. The film is an adaptation of Patrick White's Nobel Prize winning 1973 novel and is the first successful film of a White novel. Schepisi's film featuring an extremely sought after cast including Geoffrey Rush, Charlotte Rampling and Judy Davies is a visual gem and Schepisi's first Australian feature since 1988. "The Eye of the Storm" opens nationally on the 15th September 2011.


Dance Academy series 1

Congratulations to Joanna Werner and her talented team for taking home the logie for the most outstanding childrens program 2011. Well deserved! We are proud to be associated with this fantastic series.


Welcome to the new Soundfirm website!

Welcome to 2011, and the new look Soundfirm website!

There are many exciting developments taking place at Soundfirm, Australia's oldest and most awarded sound post facility. Have a look around, and sign up to our newsletter to get all the latest details!