BY JENNIFER SCHREIER PELCZARSKI
Los Angeles, California has long been the center of the global entertainment industry. The advent of new technologies is changing everything from the filmmaking process to the way that consumers receive content. Now, the industry is taking a serious look at how to improve efficiencies and overcome challenges, in order to maintain dominance. Kyle Jackson and Matthew Treinish formed Tunnel Consulting to do just that.
For the last several years, Jackson has been focused on developing software, workflows, and technology that transforms the way studios and producers can meet the challenges of a rapidly changing competitive environment. Treinish’s background in finance, distribution and production perfectly positioned him to run the business side of their company. Jackson’s background is in combining the creative with technology to empower content creators to be able to do more with less. Having built multiple studios and running Tunnel Post, a state-of-the-art post- production facility in Santa Monica that he and partner Alan Pao founded in 2003, Jackson handles all aspects of integration, implementation and design for Tunnel Consulting.
Content Life Cycle Management is what Jackson dubbed the process three years ago when they began working together. Utilizing a very powerful web-based asset management and collaboration tool as the base, they built a project management layer on top to combine the collaborative power of the tool with oversight on complicated processes like SD to HD up-conversion, digital restoration, and color correction on hundreds of films at a time. The new process upgrades and cycles the assets to reinvigorate film and television libraries for new life in the rapidly growing consumer HD and 3D markets. While “Content Life Cycle Management” modestly defines the overall process, the result is one of the most efficient and sophisticated business tools the content creation industry has ever seen.
No other process now available integrates all of the essential components of the creative, production and distribution processes to function together in a symbiotic fashion. While the studios race to reorganize their businesses to take advantage of shifting markets and new technology, their slow moving machines, based on antiquated business models, have created a gap where more nimble and forward thinking operations have an opportunity to leap frog over the majors to grab a hold of a major market presence.
“This whole idea of improving efficiencies has been around for a very long time in an already highly lucrative business,” declared Jackson. “What we’ve created is a more efficient and transparent process that works in real-time. Ultimately, it allows an unlimited number of individuals to collaborate toward the same goal, which results in the higher quality output that audiences demand.”
Jackson and Treinish’s new model underpins Studio e, Gwangju, a new state-of-the-art post production studio being built in Gwangju, South Korea by Innovative Advanced Media Technology and the City of Gwangju. The 10-story, 150,000 square foot facility is less than an hour flight from Seoul. The facility will encompass four floors of more than 300 high-powered workstations, incorporating SD to HD and 2D to 3D conversion capability, customized restoration technology, color correction software, pipeline and workflow collaboration tools, integrated content management and digital distribution of library titles. The project has merged Jackson’s and Trenish’s experience and talent and given birth to an exciting step forward into the global entertainment industry.
“The overall entertainment market is in the middle of a drastic shift,” observed Treinish. “Many major distributors and production companies in the U.S. have struggled to understand how to realign and migrate their business models. Studio e is a prime example of forward thinking where distributors and library owners can cost effectively migrate content from its original form into a format that is relevant and acceptable to the market today. The efficiencies and advanced technologies deployed in Studio e will permit cost savings to both the content owners and the studio owners and establish a more rapid and efficient process for the conversion of libraries and new films. As a result, HD or 3D conversion becomes profitable even for older films with smaller market potential. This is about reinventing the current operating, distribution and management processes for a fraction of the cost and in a more time efficient manner.”
Bridging the distribution gap is all part of streamlining the workflow. Taking the friction out of doing business in this business and keeping everyone accountable is key to Tunnel’s methodology. It is important to note that through this company’s approach to doing business, new job opportunities are also being created, not only in Korea but also around the world.
Jackson and Treinish epitomize the type of dynamic team that intimately understands the importance of change. They
are leading the transformation on how an organization can be more sustainable in the age of digital download. It is this way
of thinking that will continue to propel them as the frontrunner in a competitive industry, where the winner that takes all.
