Ventura Studio Company Expands on Its Multimedia Savvy

Simon Balderas realized he was entering a relatively new territory when he opened the Full Motion Studios multimedia production company in Ventura in 1995. Though members of the entertainment industry had begun to discover Ventura County’s film and video potential, few had been willing to set up a permanent shop in the area.

Three years later, Balderas not only still maintains his shop, but he is thriving.

Through a range of CD-ROM, laser disc, animation, video and other multimedia and production work for advertising and entertainment clients, Full Motion has built up annual revenues of more than $1 million.

The financial success has enabled Balderas to expand his staff from one--himself--to 10. And in February, Balderas will relocate company headquarters from a 1,500-square-foot location on Callens Road to a 3,000-square-foot office and studio site in downtown Ventura. The company will maintain a 1,500-square-foot production studio at the Callens Road location.

“I think developing [multimedia] technology allows people to work in a less cumbersome fashion--one computer can now take the place of an animation stand, four animators and a film camera,” Balderas said. “Technology is allowing us to do what we want to do and where we want to do it. . . . More people can stay here. I grew up in Ventura County and want to stay here for a long time.”

Full Motion’s new office will be in a second-floor space above two restaurants--Franky’s and the Busy Bee--in the downtown Ventura redevelopment district. It will house the company’s digital editing facilities, production offices and other multimedia facilities.

“Traditionally, most of the business acquired here is television work out of Los Angeles,” Balderas said. “It seems now as though the trend is more multimedia than film.” And, according to Balderas, Ventura County has a lot of multimedia talent, people making CD-ROMs and laser discs and doing computer animation and video.

Plans to relocate Full Motion coincide with negotiations between Balderas and Ventura County filmmaker Bill Hillman to form the Destiny Entertainment feature film production company. Soon, Balderas will put together CD-ROM and other high-tech marketing material to present to potential project investors.

The first project the team hopes to get financing for is a feature-length film based on the true story of an illiterate man who takes in and cares for street children.

“Most of the major studio pictures that come out all have Web sites, press releases, ongoing information released before the movie even comes out, whether it’s [related merchandise] or just building up hype,” Balderas said. “In our case, we’ll be trying to attract a small, select group of people who are going to support [the project]. . . . It’s a high-tech movie pitch.”

Hillman, who produced, wrote and directed the film “Double Exposure,” said seeking investors through advanced multimedia technology is an appealing change of pace, since it is easier and a lot more fun to sell an idea through a quick, slick visual package.

“Instead of a huge business plan with a massive page count,” he said, “they can sit down, while they’re eating lunch, and in a six- to eight-minute presentation discover the uniqueness of the project.”

Full Motion clients include Warner Bros., Sony and Disney Interactive.