Technicolor Will Close Burbank Office

0

Technicolor USA Inc. is closing a digital media services facility in Burbank that it opened just last year with expectations that it would employ some 250 workers.

The Olive Avenue facility consolidated six Technicolor offices and was part of the film company’s core strategic move from film processing into digital platforms. The facility put services that include digital distribution, editing, tape-to-file conversion, and audio and quality control into one place. The company did not disclose the number of employees affected.

The company’s digital cinema offices on Ontario Street in Burbank will remain open. Technicolor also has three locations in Hollywood and one on the Westside offering pre- and post-production services for feature films and television shows.

Technicolor USA is a subsidiary of French firm Technicolor S.A., in suburban Paris. The company, which announced the move late Wednesday, also said it was closing a similar facility in the United Kingdom.

A statement from Technicolor said that for the company to deliver services that create immersive, connected and interactive experiences it would need to shed what it called “commoditized businesses.”

“For this reason we are planning to make the difficult, but necessary, decision to transform our Media Services department by closing our stand-alone physical Media Services facilities in the U.S. and the U.K. and prioritize our nascent digital servicing platform,” the statement said.

Technicolor is a legendary name in the film processing business. The company, like its competitor Deluxe, has struggled in recent years as the entertainment industry switched to digital formats and away from film.

It closed its last film lab in the Los Angeles area in December 2013. The lab, in Glendale, had only opened in 2011 to replace a larger facility at Universal Studios.

No posts to display