Technicolor

Source: Exec Digital Canada

Date :10/31/2007 4:44:30 AM

A comprehensive service

Executive VP Francois Deschamps talks to Exec US about Technicolor Services Creatifs’ localized approach to client relations

Written by Alison Withers and Produced by Kevin Patey

Technicolor Services Creatifs is part of the services division of the global media company Thomson. Technicolor originally introduced color to motion pictures some 90 years ago. Since then it has developed an expertise second to none in the range of services delivering visual entertainment for industries from motion pictures, to DVD-Video, DVD-ROM, and CD-ROM and software game manufacturers. Its international clientele including Dreamworks SKG, Paramount, Sony Pictures Entertainment Universal, Activision, Microsoft and Vivendi Universal Games and in January of this year entered a collaboration with China to develop its operations in the fast-growing S and S E Asia markets. The Canadian Technicolor operation, Technicolor Services Creatifs, Canada, has headquarters in Montreal, and provides the full range of post production services to clients in the Canadian market.

François Deschamps, 46, is Executive Vice President of Technicolor, Canada, and has been with the company for six years. He had previously worked in an entertainment company on production, post-production, distribution, educational programming and programming for family entertainment. During that time his career progressed from sound engineer through to Executive Vice President. He feels his experience in post production is helpful to his present role with Technicolor, which involves managing talented, creative people for clients: “If you have never been in that role it’s difficult in corporate management to understand sometimes how it’s done.”

A creative and fast-changing world

The Canada operation has 20 separate business units, based around Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal. It is dedicated to supporting Canadian suppliers. “We are a one stop shop covering processing film to film, transfer to video, video editorial, sound editorial, sound mixing, digital intermediate visual effects, so the full post production complement,” François Deschamps explains.

Services also include distribution of the full range of formats to commercial and broadcasting clients. As part of a much larger organization it follows corporate policies in areas like risk management, he says, but has to be sensitive to local cultural needs and issues, so there is also autonomous management for each of the units and they share information between themselves to ensure best practice: “West coast people think differently from East coast people, so although we want to give a good image of Thomson and provide the best service, we are very locally oriented and respect the cultures we are in. This is very important. Diversity is also very important for Thomson, and awareness of diversity is an important part of the way we work with individuals - both the people we hire and the cities we are in.”

The focus is to work efficiently to keep Technicolor’s position as number one in its industry, using ongoing process transformation initiatives including KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) to review and re-engineer the way the company works.

They have just carried out this process for the DVD operation and are preparing to go into two more divisions in the next few months. François Deschamps says the business has changed dramatically in the last two years from analogue to digital, with work flows changing as a result almost on a daily basis. But he emphasizes that they are in a creative business and working with talented people and have to be sensitive to that also.

Finding and hiring talent is one of the most challenging aspects of an operation in a cutting edge industry undergoing rapid technological change.

He says the company pays great attention to this through a range of activities. These include training, a reward program for employees to suggest improvements and contribute new ideas, initiatives to help people feel involved in the business and, wherever possible, a policy of promoting from within. He says: “We are a great company but there’s a lot to do to improve that. We try to take care of our people because talent is what drives us.”

Operating in a diverse range of cultures means Tehnicolor has a strong presence in each city where it operates. It supports the Canadian Film centre in Toronto, has sponsorship links to Concordia (Christine supplying correct name) University in Toronto and three universities in Montreal while the Technicolor General Manager in Vancouver teaches at its university. The company also has internship programs for college students - it feels it’s very important to have a presence in the communities and supports local film festivals.

Technology & purchasing power

One of the benefits of being part of a large organization like Thomson is access to its purchasing power and resources, giving divisions the ability to invest in the best people and equipment and to access expertise from other parts of the group.

Thomson has one of the largest private secure networks in the world and carefully balances custom software applications with US-style cost effective systems. Says François Deschamps: “We have to provide network security for our clients and we have to manage security of their titles, so although we manage our own businesses we are really joined at the hip with Thomson on security strategy and business practices.”

The main challenge the company is currently dealing with is the change in the capture medium for film and television, which is currently changing from film to file-based. M Deschamps says: “Our whole process is going to become file-based only. Managing this is our challenge for the future and we have an internal project with a procedure coming out in March or April next year.”

The issues Technicolor will have to consider are managing the file process and finding efficiency for clients, factoring in time to market securely and to be able to spend more time on the creative part. It will mean helping clients navigate through the vast numbers of different formats available.

Thomson is involved with the people who set the standards for the equipment that will be used across the process, he says: “Internally we take any format and modify it. We are also very close to broadcasters and web based people with knowledge of capture and final delivery and that will help us support our clients on that front. The line between production and post production is blurring. The typical broadcaster that had a channel has a website. Even telecoms are starting to be broadcasters. The biggest challenge for our industry is that the business is changing. The client’s changing but their business models are changing as well.”

The process will also bring change to expertise needs in-house in that engineering talent will need to be more software than hardware-based and while the need for creative people will remain, the back-office will change with the need for more data management and work flow management. It’s clear that Technicolor itself is evolving fast in response and managing that change with its clients, its employees and its processes. He says: “We need to support our clients’ businesses so we have to adapt, talk to them and listen and their input is welcome in this process whether they’re big or small.”