Stefan Sonnenfeld, President & MD LA & NY, Company 3

LBB: Tell us about what you offer as a company, where your offices are and why they're located where they are.

SS: Company 3 is primarily a colour correction company and also offers VFX and online services for commercials, music videos, episodic television and features and our service offerings are constantly expanding. We have created a Digital Camera Capture department for all Digital/High Definition productions, a Location-Based Services division for assistance on set. Our Virtual Services capabilities allow our clients outside New York and Los Angeles to take full advantage of our talent and technology from anywhere in the world. Through our partnership with Method Studios, we can also package high end VFX jobs for our clients.

We have offices in Los Angeles and New York and work in conjunction with Rushes, UK and Ascent 142 in London. These locations are strategically desirable to serve the needs of our US and European clients.
 

LBB: Are you offering any particularly cool services that people may not be aware of? If so, here is your chance!

SS: We like to think all of our services are pretty cool. We've recently built a state-of-the-art theatre designed to meet the challenges of colouring 3D feature films and our technical staff has put together a unique workflow for handling material shot with the Red camera. We always strive to be at the forefront of new technologies and be ready to provide any service our clients are asking for.
 

LBB: Do you feel that that the people back at the agency and client end are aware of your company's input into the final product?

SS: Yes they do. The relationships we have developed with Directors and DPs have given the agencies and the clients an understanding of the craft behind the colour correction process.

LBB: We presume you are working directly with some advertisers now, which makes perfect sense to us. However, we gather sometimes the agency doesn't like this. Is it an issue?

SS: Actually, we have not yet worked directly with the advertisers. We always partner with an agency to address their clients' requests and needs.
 

LBB: New companies are appearing to offer global adaptation work, a job traditionally done in a post house. Are these companies offering a different approach or can you offer the same cost-effective service?

SS: Our goal is to adapt to the challenges, competition and demand. As Company 3 is part of a global company (Ascent Media), we have a great international reach and can offer the same cost-effective services other companies do.
 

LBB: Has the business of post production changed over the last ten years? And what do you think it will look like in ten more years?

SS: The post production business has changed radically over the past ten years. In the world of feature films, ten years ago the digital intermediate was still in the earliest experimental stages and now it's the rule, not the exception. A significant number of major features now use a type of 3D technology that was just a distant dream ten years ago. DVD was still the new thing ten years ago. Today, the changeover to HD has happened and a significant number of households watch HD and Blu-ray images and, as a result, audiences are more discerning than ever before about the images they watch. That's why a shop like Company 3, with the artistic and technical talent to keep up with all these, continues to thrive. As for the industry in ten years: the only thing we can be sure of is that it will look different than it does today.
 

LBB: Is there a project you have worked on that you are particularly proud of? Can you tell us why you have selected this from so many?

SS: I'm proud of every job that comes through my shop but if I had to pick one show off the top of my head that really means something to me personally, I think I'd say 300 because it was such an innovative approach to filmmaking and the process of colouring it was very rewarding. Director Zack Snyder, Cinematographer Larry Fong, Editor William Hoy and the visual effects team were really going for something very different and I think our work on that film was an important part of that look the filmmakers were working towards.