DNEG has bought production and post-production services assets, including a film and TV production studio complex comprising eight soundstages, from its parent company, Prime Focus Limited (PFL).
DNEG now offers eight Hollywood-designed soundstages from a studio complex in Film City, Mumbai, and a full suite of film and TV production and post-production services in India, including digital intermediate, camera equipment rental, sound and picture editing, and associated support and technology services.
The acquisition has added a headcount of more than 240 staff members, pushing DNEG’s global headcount to more than 10,000 employees.
As part of the transaction, DNEG has acquired the following divisions from PFL: Prime Focus Studios (PF Studios), Digital Intermediate (DI), Equipment Rental Services (EQR), and PFL’s Advertising post-production business.
“Having achieved a distinctive leadership position across visual effects and animation, with the capabilities and scale to be a preferred partner to our clients, DNEG’s next logical step is to extend our filmmaker-focused services into the production ecosystem,” said DNEG’s Chairman and CEO Namit Malhotra. “Adding these new services to DNEG’s portfolio allows us to bring India’s proud 100-year history of film heritage and its industry talent to the global market. It also presents our clients with the benefits of an integrated solution across the entire production chain, unlocking greater efficiencies and savings, with the reassurance of working with a trusted filmmaking partner.”
PF Studios is India’s largest integrated film and TV studio facility, spread across a 200,000 square foot complex in seven acres of land in Mumbai’s Film City, and featuring eight sync soundstages, each with a clear internal height of at least 50 feet. Designed by Wylie Carter Architects in Los Angeles, and close to Mumbai’s major transportation hubs, the studios also feature a Film Processing Lab, Film Image Enhancement facilities, production offices, makeup rooms, workshop areas, cafeteria facilities, and a vast choice of backlot locations within a 520-acre property.
As the first team to offer DI technology in India, the DI division has provided colour grading services on over 500 feature films since its opening in 2003. It is equipped with Baselight grading systems and the latest digital projectors in an integrated network of six dedicated DI suites. The team, who also provide IMAX mastering services, recently delivered DI services for Bollywood blockbuster Brahmāstra, among other high-profile projects.
The EQR division has an inventory of over 40 high-end feature film cameras and associated kit. With a full range of ARRI, Sony and RED cameras, the division has a large and varied client base ranging from the largest film and TV production houses and studios in the country to independent filmmakers, and also caters to the advertising market as well as sporting events such as the Abu Dhabi T10 Premier League and the Maharashtra Premier League.
The Advertising division operates from a 10,000 square foot, state-of-the-art, HD post facility in Mumbai, with 12 Smoke/Flame edit suites, Baselight colour grading suites and Telecine colour correction, a CGI / VFX team and more. The Advertising team delivers more than 1,500 commercials each year, working with directors, production houses, and advertising agencies, to create ads for brands such as LG, Cadbury, De Beers Forevermark, Maruti, and many more.
Jon Creamer
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