Quantel’s Special Effect
Advances in technology have made it possible to create high-quality special effects for movies, television and commercials on personal computers. That can be good news for those who want to start special-effects operations in their garage. It’s bad news for makers of the expensive equipment that was once necessary to produce special effects. Silicon Graphics and other computers that use the Unix operating system have been steadily losing market share to machines costing a fraction as much.
One maker of specialty hardware bucking the trend is Quantel, which manufactures proprietary film-editing and visual-effects systems that are fully digital.
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All of Quantel’s machines use a “pen and tablet” mechanism exclusively; Quantel Chief Executive Ken Ellis likens the system to an artist using a paintbrush. Strokes of a pen-shaped stylus with a metal ring in the tip disrupt the electromagnetic field in a desktop tablet, causing elements to be added, removed or changed according to the operator’s wishes. Need to remove an actor who didn’t work out from an otherwise fine shot? Blot him out, and stick a potted plant in front of him. Want to change the color of a background? It just takes a few strokes of the pen.
Some other manufacturers’ equipment also uses a pen-and-tablet system, but Quantel contends it is gaining converts by being the only one that doesn’t also require some input from a keyboard or mouse to complete the work. The price of Quantel’s systems range from $30,000 to as much as $1 million, depending on the components. Its main hardware competitor is Silicon Graphics.
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These prices are steep, and Quantel admittedly doesn’t make mass-market items. There are currently about 400 Editbox units in use now, at various postproduction houses and television networks around the world. But companies that bank on speed, ease of use and return on investment to compete in the entertainment industry see the Editbox and other Quantel equipment as a sound choice.
“Other machines tend to lean toward computer-based thinking; it’s a left brain/right brain kind of thing,” said Steve Wyskocil, executive vice president of EDS Digital Studios in Los Angeles. Wyskocil says EDS--which specializes in digitally restoring older films for studios--still makes money from a Paintbox they originally bought in 1982. “Most other manufacturers’ equipment becomes obsolete in two or three years,” he said.
Quantel said the longer life expectancy of its equipment makes it easier to justify the thousands of dollars per year it costs to maintain and upgrade it.
Ellis said the company has put a particular emphasis on customer support since being acquired by Carlton Communications in 1992. Part of that commitment is that Quantel--which has its U.S. headquarters in Darien, Conn.--now has offices in 12 cities across North America, including such major production centers as Los Angeles, New York, Toronto, San Francisco and Dallas.
Carlton has quietly become ubiquitous in the U.S. entertainment business. If you’ve bought any Disney or Warner Bros. videos in the last 10 years, you own products of their Technicolor division. If you watch television or go to the movies at all, you’ve seen the work of Quantel’s equipment.
The Britain-based company produces no content and owns no television stations in the U.S. Foreign ownership restrictions prohibit the company from having the same kind of television operations here that it does in Britain, where Carlton is a well-known name.
Before 10 years ago, Carlton had virtually no presence in the U.S. Carlton Chairman Michael P. Green decided the company needed to diversify and gain critical mass to compete in the global marketplace. Several major acquisitions were made within months of one another. These included Technicolor Inc., purchased from Ronald Perelman for $780 million in 1988, and UEI, a maker of high-end professional audio and video equipment, bought for $1.5 billion in 1989. UEI included Quantel and the Solid State Logic audio company.
More than one-third of Carlton’s revenue now comes from North America. While Technicolor remains the U.S. cash cow, Quantel’s revenue is experiencing a stronger growth rate.
The revenue of Carlton Communications’ products division--which includes Quantel and Solid State Logic, with the majority attributable to Quantel--has increased about 10% in the last two years, from $277.7 million to $302.3 million at the current exchange rate. Operating profits are up 61%, from $52.8 million to $84.9 million. Ellis attributes the growth to a combination of cutting-edge research and development, heightened customer service and the fact that the company actively seeks feedback from its clients--those professionals who use Quantel equipment every day.
“What’s unique, I believe, is our R&D; relationship with the creative community,” said Ellis, who has worked for Quantel since he was in college 25 years ago. “I think we’re probably the first manufacturers in the media world to employ graphic artists on staff.” Ellis says 25% of Quantel’s U.S. work force of 125 are artists, editors and the like.
Even giant companies have found it tough to compete with Quantel.
Late last year, Eastman Kodak announced it was stopping production of its Cineon film system, which competed with Quantel’s Domino editing system.
Ellis believes the company’s sales will get even stronger with the expansion of digital delivery for film and television. “We’re very well positioned to take advantage of all the technological changes,” said Ellis. “We can pick the best of technology used in PCs. . . . By picking and choosing the right technology, we hope to become more productive and efficient, and become an integral part of the industry.”
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Yo Quiero Quantel
A scene from a recent Taco Bell commercial demonstrates how Quantel’s Henry workstation was used to create the image of a chihuahua running across the hood and up the roof of a taxi. The work was done at Finish Line in Los Angeles.
1. The production crew found that the hood of the car was too slick for the chihuahua to run on, as originally planned. To give the dog traction, a blanket was placed on the hood of the car, and the image was shot.
2. A shot was taken of the taxi alone.
3. At Finish Line, the two pieces of film were transferred to videotape and fed into the Henry workstation. The blanket was “keyed out” and replaced with the image of the taxi.
A technician added shadows to make the completed image appear seamless, as if the dog were running on the bare hood of the car.
Total time: about six hours.
