DAME BLANCHE, a studio specialised in sound (mixing, sound effects, dubbing), expanded its activities in image processing in November, by acquiring a Lustre Color Grading grading station with a full HD projection system. It came as no surprise then that the company was interested in buying part of Hoverlord's material after the latter declared bankrupcy. On Tuesday 19/01 came the surprise, DAME BLANCHE buys all the material and will offer the same services as the company which was to become their partners in image post-production. Explanations with Etienne Dontaine, managing director of DAME BLANCHE SA.


Note that in 2010, LES DAMES will take back its 'generic' name DAME BLANCHE (with two sites: DAME BLANCHE Brussels and DAME BLANCHE Genval (Genval-les-Dames)).

What do you wish to accomplish by taking over Hoverlord's post-production service offer?


Etienne Dontaine: we aim to offer producers a “One Post Shopping”. Generally speaking, producers do not like the technical problems related to transferring material from one studio to another very much, be it for image or sound. DAME BLANCHE is now capable of offering all post-production services within the company.


From next month on, we will have an image department with the following services:

* Scan (digitisation) of 16 & 35mm film stock 2K & 4K on NorthLight scanner and cleaning/restauration on PFClean.
* Editing on Avid Nitris and Final Cut/Color.
* SD/HD/2K/4K grading on BaseLight 4 with HD projection.
* Finishing, credits and special effects on Smoke SD/HD/2K/4K.
* Mastering, PAD and copying on HDCam SR, HDCam, HDV, Beta Digital, DV, Beta SP and DVD.


We remember you announced a collaboration with Hoverlord before Cannes 2009...


E.D.: We already toyed with the idea of an image/sound package. After the company in Liège declared bankrupcy, we were looking at other options. Then we had the possibility to buy out the entirity of their material. But all of this was decided within a rather short time frame.


Did you also recover the digital cameras?


E.D.: yes, but we have no plans to start renting out cameras. So we have decided to sell the film shoot equipment.


What makes you think that DAME BLANCHE will succeed where Hoverlord failed?

E.D.: Hoverlord probably had too many investment costs. That will not be the case for us.


How did you finance this operation?

E.D.: A few months ago we benefited from a capital increase, but this process is not part of the strategy then established. For the buy-out we opted for bank financing.


How about the Lustre Color you acquired in 2009?


E.D.: Now we replace it with the BaseLight. However, the converted premises remain the same. Today we have a room of almost 35 sqm with the appropriate equipment to grade under the best circumstances.

Note that our policy is not to sell this or that software or machine with technical specificiations our clients hardly understand. What we are selling, is above all know-how.

But your know-how is mostly in the domain of sound...

E.D.: We are lucky to be able to work with one of the specialists in grading, Paul Englebert, one of the founders of Hoverlord. He is now the post-production manager here at DAME BLANCHE. I would like to stress that he was hired before the buy-out of Hoverlord's activities, since he joined us when we set up the grading station two months ago.


The real novelty about this buy-out is the scan, since only two companies offer this service in Belgium.

Do you already have a production lined up for the grading station?


E.D.: Yes, Frédéric Sojcher's latest film, produced by Saga Films. They will arrive in mid-February.

But the real inauguration of the station and the launch of the 'image' activities is scheduled for 1 April, a date which suits us well!