Christie projections at Canadore college

"We asked ourselves: Could we possibly create a world-class post-production facility in North Bay?" shares Yura Monestime, Associate Dean of Media and Entertainment, at Canadore College.

Until the creation of Post Production at Canadore, companies filming projects in northern Ontario had to head south following production, usually to Toronto, in order to finish their films in post-production.

"In northern Ontario, the film and TV industry is booming and very alive. But because there wasn't a professional post-production facility in the north, companies would take their northern stimulus funding south to finish post-production. And rightfully so because there was nothing in the north that could accommodate them," explains Monestime. "We noticed that gap around four years ago and started to structure a business case and a model for a post-production facility. We decided to set a new bar for not only northern Ontario or the province, but maybe nationally and even internationally."

Post Production at Canadore fills that gap by creating both a skilled northern work force and a high-end facility able to accommodate the post-production needs of any film or television project.

The new world-class facility creates jobs, stimulates the film/TV industry and educates future producers, directors and technicians in the post-production industry.

Many firsts

Post Production at Canadore is the only full-service post-production facility in northern Ontario. It's also the only college facility with Christie® 4K projection. And it's not only one of just a few studios in Canada with Dolby Atmos® capabilities, but the only one located in an educational setting.

About Dolby Atmos

Dolby Atmos is an immersive surround sound technology that allows filmmakers to precisely place and move sounds anywhere in the cinema, including overhead, so you feel like you're inside the action.

Educating student filmmakers on Dolby Atmos production tools gives them a leading-edge, since all major Hollywood studios and industry-leading filmmakers embrace the technology.

Post Production at Canadore

In addition to Dolby Atmos' sound-mixing capabilities, the 5,500 square-foot facility features recording, dialogue replacement and studio grade colour correction capabilities, along with office space and a 24-seat computer lab.

Not only is the studio regularly used in academic programming, it's also available for film industry use, for the final steps of film creation prior to production release.

Christie Vive Audio meets Dolby's stringent requirements

Post Production at Canadore proudly uses a Christie Vive Audio® sound system.

The Canadore project team was thrilled with their Vive Audio experience at the Christie plant in Kitchener. And after visiting the Cineplex® Cinemas Queensway & VIP in Toronto, which has both Christie Vive Audio and Dolby Atmos sound technology, Canadore knew it would be a good fit for their theatre.

"When the folks from Dolby visited our new facility, they were completely blown away by the sound clarity of the Christie system. Christie Vive Audio knocks it out of the park, audio-wise," enthuses Quinn Pelletier, media technologist, Canadore College

Christie 4K projection

The new facility uses Christie 4K 3DLP® digital cinema projection to view source material in their Atmos mix stage, in the ADR (automatic dialogue replacement) stage and in their color grading suite.

"It was amazing to sit in the new studio with all of these professionals and installers… We went through a first-pass of a movie as a sample of what the room can do. After it played, you could see everyone just looking at one another and smiling, and for me, that kind of said it all," says Monestime.

Why Christie?

"We are thrilled to be working with Christie because they are a Canadian company setting the bar for an extraordinary industry standard, and they're strongly recommended by our consultants," explains Monestime. "For example, Christie sent one of their technicians to spend a few days with us to ensure installation and setup was flawless. The quality and timbre of their Vive Audio system is impressive, along with the amazing images from their CP4220 4K projector."

Expectations? Exceeded.

"The final results of the build far exceeded our expectations. Together with Christie technology, the entire Canadore team, and the builder, this is one of the best sounding and technically advanced rooms in Canada," enthuses Monestime. "Our students are using industry-grade equipment from the very beginning, meaning that they will develop professional skills and abilities even before they graduate."