Company Profile
Founded by Alex Laviola in 2016, Cut + Measure is post-production company located in Red Hook, Brooklyn. At present, Laviola is the only full-time employees, utilizing freelancers when needed. Cut + Measure offers a wide array of post-production services pertaining to picture, audio, and delivery, including: HD/2k/4k Color Correction, Finishing Editorial, Quality Control, Transcoding, Sound Mix + Design, ADR + V.O., Foley Booth Recording, Stereo and 5.1 Print Mastering, DCP Creation (Encrypted / Unencrypted), DCP Duplication, BluRay Authoring, LTO Archival Master Creation and HDCam(SR).
State of the Industry: Online Video and Post-Production
With the democratization of video production and the rise of the Internet, anybody with a smartphone can shoot, edit, and distribute a video to millions of potential viewers (Smith, 2017). Even for those endeavoring to produce a slightly higher-end product, the hardware and software needed are more affordable than ever, and the barrier to entry has therefore never been lower.
Following this shift, as well as increased outsourcing of certain services, the going rate for post-production work has seen a steady decline. However, it’s not just teenagers who are creating online content – feature films, television shows, advertisements, news and more have all migrated to the realm of online video (Leibowitz, 2016), and all require professional-grade post-production services.
Background and Current Work
Cut + Measure was formed as “a boundary spanning creative group focused on the post-production of film, episodic, and commercial content.” The company provides a wide range of post-production services for everything from feature-length film, to online-only short form work.
Laviola left Prime Focus Technologies after 8.5 years to embark on his own venture and better serve the needs of clients in a changing industry. In addition to providing traditional post-production services, Cut + Measure also offers pre-distribution marketing services for clients, helping filmmakers market and brand themselves and find distribution for their projects.
Cut + Measure works on projects ranging from short form to feature-length films. Not all of these projects will be shown in a theater or broadcast on television, but essentially every final product will wind up online. This means that for a film, Cut + Measure must create up to five different formats – a DCP for theatrical distribution, a version that conforms to broadcast standards, and formats for various streaming platforms from Netflix to iTunes. Videos that will only ever live online are slightly cheaper to produce as the color correction and quality check processes can all be completed on a monitor, and fewer versions have to be created.
Assets
Cut + Measure’s main asset is Alex Laviola and the relationships that he shares with talented technicians and artists. As a one-man band, it’s Laviola’s experience and contacts have enabled the company to succeed thus far. However, Cut + Measure also possesses physical assets as a business entity. The company rents a 1,600-square foot loft in Red Hook Brooklyn that contains an audio recording room, a Foley/sound design studio, an audio theater, a mixing room, a room for color correction, a room for quality checking, and two edit stations. The computers are equipped editing software, including Adobe Creative Suite, Final Cut 7 and Resolve.
Business + Revenue Model: It Pays to be Lean
Cut + Measure has one full-time employee. Its offices are located in the hip but relatively inexpensive Red Hood, Brooklyn. Given the state of the industry, low overhead is key to surviving as a small post-production business. Laviola has been able to leverage relationships, both with clients, and freelancers, to compete at the highest levels. Cut + Measure utilizes “preferred partners” for color correction audio mixing, and quality checking projects, a system Laviola described as “in-house outsourcing.” The ability to scale up or down depending on project size and workload enables Cut + Measure to keep costs down.
Despite its small size, Cut + Measure counts Showtime among its clients and boasts an audio theater designed by Anthony Grimani, a top audio engineer from Dolby Labs and Lucasfilm THX.
Cut + Measure bids for jobs by pitching its services to the client. The key to an accurate and competitive bid is gathering as much information as possible, even if it takes time. Laviola often has his colorist speak with the client after his initial meeting to ensure Cut + Measure provides the best possible quote. Freelancers are paid hourly, so Cut + Measure must determine how much to allocate for various aspects of the post-production process (color correction, sound, etc.) and then add an additional 30% or so in order to make a profit.
Looking Forward: Threats and Opportunities
As previously discussed, online video is an enormous and evolving market. Even in more traditional media and distribution platforms, advances in technology have lowered costs and expanded what is possible for independent creators. For example, Louis C.K. edits his own eponymous FX show Louie on a 13-inch MacBook Pro (C.K., 2014). This trend represents increased competition for large companies that once monopolized the industry. But for a one-person operation like Cut + Measure, the lower cost of editing software is actually a boon. Laviola explained that 10 years ago, Avid software represented a $25,000 investment. Nowadays, professional software such as Adobe Creative Cloud is available for just $50/month.
While outsourcing has threatened many U.S. based VFX companies, Laviola feels confident that Cut + Measure does not face competition from international firms. For the subtle and often subjective work of color correction and audio mixing, filmmakers like to be in the room with the editor, overseeing the process. Visual FX, on the other hand, can easily be farmed out overseas where the tax incentives are better and the labor is cheaper (Mullis, 2013). In fact, Laviola’s former employer Prime Focus is based in India, one of the primary sources of cheap VFX work. The sterile, corporate environment and inability to adapt to industry changes are what lead Laviola to found Cut + Measure and leave behind a company he sees as stuck in the past. A small, agile company, readily able to scale up or down and adapt to customer needs, the Cut + Measure model may just be the future of post-production.
References
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