Tampa Bay video production company CMR Studios has recently completed construction of new video studio space. The expansion includes an “Infinity Wall” hard corner cyclorama (cyc) that allows for shooting special effects in-house. With a state-of-the-art florescent lighting grid bathing the space with color-corrected, even illumination, the camera views the seamless space as totally neutral. This allows for on-camera talent to be digitally layered with graphics, backgrounds, virtual sets and even other talent or the same talent replicated. Equipped with HD cameras and teleprompter, the studio has been busy since completion. Projects completed include corporate business videos for Western Reserve Life Insurance, AEGON, Xanthus Financial Services and Habitat for Humanity, regional TV Commercials for Hungry Howies and website videos for the Bonati Institute and Realtime IT Solutions.

All the expertise that we have gained and the facility we’ve built combine to make CMR Studios the perfect resource in Tampa Bay for independent film production and post. Ideally the filmmaker brings us in early in the process so we can assist with pre-production and shooting. We can help avoid the common pitfalls of lower budget films right from the start. But you can also bring your project to us after it’s underway for us to finalize the finishing touches, fix problems and bring your vision to the screen.

HD|SD Editing
Often budget minded directors have already done a rough-cut edit on their laptop with Final Cut. Since we’re using Final Cut Studio 2 HD we can import the edit as a starting point, saving time and money. Our comfortable suites give you plenty room to work.

Once we’re done we can master your DVD for festival applications, shopping for a distributor or direct sale. You also walk with the whole film on a hard drive with the session files, timelines, M&E and final output, ready for film transfer when you make your deal.

Compositing
Funny… nobody saw that boom mic or light stand when you were shooting the scene! We can get rid of them. Or you may need high-end special effects and wire removal on those stunts to make them real. We do that and more in Shake. For example, using the green screen hard cyc on our insert stage you can do special effects or even add people to scenes.

Color Correction
Of course you shot in HD but you want a “film look” as well. Color correction is more important in movies than anywhere. We also have the plug-ins to select the film stock you want to emulate.

Sound Design
Special effects require special attention when it comes to sound. Often it requires creating a sound that doesn’t even exist in real life. Combining Foley with our extensive library of sound effects as well as acquiring new sounds we can create a unique signature for you.

ADR
Problems with dialogue are common even in big budget films. It get’s compounded on smaller budgets where the audio is sometimes the last consideration on set. Partial scenes, single actors and even complete replacement are all jobs we’ve tackled.

Audio Sweetening
Great sound comes from attention to detail. Proper sound effect placement and ambience along with musical score that fits the film and punctuates action are elements that make a film succeed. We bring decades of sound recording experience to your film.

CMR Studios in St. Petersburg has been awarded a contract for post production services on “Descansos,” a independent film featuring Gary Busey, Charles Durning, and supermodel Cindy Taylor. The film takes its name from a Spanish word – Descansos – which means “resting places.” It tells the story of a man compelled to rid the world of roadside memorials to victims of traffic accidents. He ends up trapped on a remote island where he must face his inner fears and conflicts after he meets a mysterious woman who tends one of those crosses. The film is being finished in one of CMR Studios’ Final Cut HD suites by senior editor Rich Roddman. Work includes the final edit, color correction and compositing the special effects. Mike Weber is overseeing the dialogue replacement, sound effects, Foley and the final mix of the audio track in their ProTools audio suite. Produced by Gulf+Atlantic Films, written and directed by J. Michael Kipikash the film was shot entirely in the Tampa area. The production team includes LA Based composer Don James and Midwest based effects house Dimension-X. Since the project collaborators are geographically separated they are utilizing a web-based workflow, sharing the digital video and audio files over the internet as they are completed. CMR has also been providing compressions of the trailers in Macromedia Flash and the new Apple H.264 codecs for superior quality in online video viewing by distributors and film festival organizers.

CMR Studios now offers High Definition Video services to our clients. Two of our editing suites are running Apple’s Final Cut Pro HD, providing the ultimate in flexibility allowing us to work in any format from DV through uncompressed HD. CMR utilizes Blackmagic hardware for an HD-SDI I/O and true pixel per pixel monitoring without having to resize the image. CMR also took delivery of three (3) Sony HDV Cameras. These small and highly versatile cameras offer the beautiful imagery of 1080 lines of horizontal resolution versus 486 on standard definition video, giving a more film-like quality image, which translates to the look of a higher budget production, yet we’ve managed to keep the pricing of HDV the same as standard definition. This new format is changing the way companies produce projects. You can now future-proof your projects by shooting in HD. CMR’s experience with this new technology continues to grow. Productions include local area commercials and corporate videos shot around the Tampa Bay area and abroad, with a production shot on location in Roatan, Honduras, wrapping in late Spring ’05.

A time-lapse film for ship-builder Maritrans by St. Petersburg video production company CMR Studios was awarded two Silver ADDYs for Cinematography at the Tampa Bay Advertising Federation ADDY Awards and the 4th District Advertising Federation ADDY Awards. “Eight Months in Five Minutes” documented the double hulling of the fuel barge “Ocean States.” Director of Photography Mike Weber utilized multiple synchronized cameras at the Port of Tampa to capture the disassembly and rebuilding of the ship last year. Camera positions varied from high on the catwalks of the dry dock to the bottom of the bilge inside the hull. CMR utilized their proprietary time-lapse techniques to turn the eight months of footage into a dramatic five minute show that Maritrans uses at trade shows and for web marketing.