Production/Post: Evolution theory The 'right' business model and the best people remain the keys...

For most in the film production industry, evolution is a constant. Long a fixture of the Wellington post scene, the 2D group has rebranded itself as Sauce (founding partner David Tingey says the original name came about because he and co-founder Darryn Smith had first names starting with 'D' - but

Coinciding with the rebranding, Sauce is expanding out of Wellington, and will open a fully serviced facility in Auckland this month. The move is part of the company's strategy to reconfigure itself away from being a facilities service, to more of a creative hub - with toys.

Tingey says client expectations have evolved, and the business must evolve with them. "In the past we were facilities-based but now there's less and less of that facilities type work, with people wanting visual effects extravaganzas.

"As far as platforms go (Flames, Infernos, telecines etc), there are lots of them around now, all competitively priced, so the whole 'gee whiz nice gear' angle has gone and the creative point of difference is what everybody strives for."

Tingey says getting the best out of the technology in post today means directors have much to gain through constant access to it. "They are expensive toys so we're making a shop with producer/director creative teams to handle entire projects. Auckland will be an eight-person operation; teams will have unlimited access to all that visual fx software."

Combining a post facility with a production company gives Sauce financial flexibility. "The advantage for an agency is they can be confident we're going to deliver because we own the equipment. If you're a stand-alone film company and you go into a post facility to finish a job but you get your budget slightly wrong or have a technical problem, you're paying $1100 an hour in their Inferno suite - so it's an expensive mistake if you need another day. We won't bill by the hour, we'll bill by the project."

As always, it's the people driving the machines that are the most important resource in the post business. Working out of Wellington for Saatchi & Saatchi and Young & Rubicam, freelance producer Brigid Howard says the on-staff operators are key in the process of selecting a facility. "The most important thing for me is to get an operator that understands my creatives so they can spark off each other and they enjoy working together.

"There may be a particular operator at Digital Post that one of my creatives loves working with - they'll bring the script to me and say 'this person is great for this' and we'll get a quote. When a creative picks an operator, it's almost like the operator becomes the director."

Tingey says the people factor was a big influence on Sauce opening in Auckland. "In Wellington we're 25-strong but we've found it hard to attract director/producer teams. There's more in Auckland so we'll base most of our teams there."

At Oktobor, new-business manager Stephen Douglas is conscious of the potential the right people have for attracting clients. "We're looking to recruit the best of the best," he says. "We take on top international artists as our visual effects and telecine guys from the UK, Australia and the States." Fortunately, he says, many are attracted to working in NZ for lifestyle & challenge reasons.

But NZ post facilities wishing to export skills have challenges of their own. Douglas says even post-Lord Of The Rings, the awareness of NZ as a post destination is still low. "One comment I get overseas, is 'oh, I had no idea you had a post-production structure in NZ'.

"Everybody knows about Australia but few know about NZ. Everybody knows about Rings but they're still quite naive about the rest of the country. NZ needs to promote itself more. It's sad when I turn up at production conventions and there's a huge desk for Australia and a little NZ one tucked away in the corner like the poor cousins. A huge marketing job needs to be done on this country."

Despite NZ's relative anonymity Douglas says Oktobor is making inroads - particularly in Asia and across the Tasman. "Australia has traditionally exported post-production quite successfully, so I travel a lot to Sydney and compete in their own backyard - we're pushing the business to come back."

With tvcs in their first year for DDB Japan, DDB Sydney, Saatchi Malaysia, Leo Burnett Chicago, O&M Singapore and Saatchi NZ among others, The Sweet Shop's Paul Prince says a global focus, staying lean and building quality alliances has meant his film production company has prospered quickly.

"We describe ourselves as an international boutique production company that's based in New Zealand," he says. "We don't own a whole bunch of film equipment or crew, instead we work the traditional method of putting together the best crew for the best location.

"We also represent Partizan, one of the most successful production companies in the world - a northern hemisphere company with 25 directors and offices in Paris, London, New York and LA. We represent their directors in Australia, NZ and Asia, and Partizan represents Melanie Bridge in Europe and the States."

At Sauce, Tingey says although his company has done work for clients in Asia, he's content to consolidate with the opening of the Auckland office, and leave the offshore push to others for the time being. "It's definitely not easy in the international marketplace. When that Pacific peso moves up it makes it less attractive. We still see New Zealand as a bit of a challenge."