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FINELINE MEDIA FINANCE HELPS KEEP HARRY POTTER WIZARDRY ALIVE

Fineline provides funding in excess of £300K to Joe Dunton & Company for new technology to go to work on new movie

Amsterdam, The Netherlands, IBC – September 12, 2003, 2003. Fineline has provided Joe Dunton & Company (JDC) with funding in excess of £300K to purchase new technology for the company to go to work on the next Harry Potter movie, “The Prisoner of Azkaban,” which is currently being filmed in the Scottish Highlands.

The deal enables JDC to purchase the market leading ARRICAM Lite film camera package, plus the industry renowned Angenieux Optimo lens and two Ikegami High Definition (HD) Cameras.

Founder Joe Dunton MBE said: “We needed immediate investment to support the purchase of new equipment for Harry Potter. Also, we required a partner flexible enough to support the specific adaptation of the new equipment for the requirements of this particular project – often against pressing time schedules. Fineline listened to us and understood our needs and they have really helped our business move forward. We are now in a much better position to go after new projects with the benefit of Fineline behind us.”

The ARRICAM Lite 35mm camera package is going straight out to work on the next Potter movie. The ARRICAM Lite is primarily used when low weight, small camera size and operating freedom are required.

The Angenieux Optimo lens, which will also be deployed on the new movie, is a brand new technology zoom lens that was bought by JDC, with help from Fineline, and modified into an anamorphic (panoramic, wide angle) lens. As well as going to work on the Harry Potter movie, the Angenieux Optimo lens is also going to New York to be used on a new picture with Cameraman Frederick Elmes, who has recently just finished shooting, “The Hulk.”
Peter Savage, Managing Director, Fineline Media Finance said: “‘It is vital that specialist broadcast rental companies keep right up to date with the latest technology to enable them to stay one step ahead and maintain competitive advantage. JDC has made a significant investment in new technology and as a result can continue to work on such high profile projects as the next Harry Potter movie.”

Fineline has also financed the purchase of state-of-the-art camera equipment which is being developed by JDC, as part of a joint venture programme with Ikegami.

With support from Fineline, JDC has also developed the custom designed and built, “JDC Screening Room” which is used by production teams to view and edit “rushes” – clips from the previous days filming. This fully air conditioned mobile unit contains a full cinema projection system and high definition video projection. It is the first of its kind in the UK and is currently on location in Scotland with the Harry Potter filming and production team.

Joe concluded: “It is refreshing to find people in the financial community who can really understand the movie business and I am delighted with the partnership we have forged with Fineline. I look forward to working with them again in the future development of Joe Dunton Cameras.”

Notes to Editors
The Angenieux Optimo lens enables the final picture to be viewed in high quality, panoramic proportions. The anamorphic lens on the camera squeezes the extra wide picture onto an ordinary 35mm frame when shooting, and then the same lens on the projector unsqueezes the picture from 35mm to wide screen when you see the picture at the cinema.

The two Ikegami High Definition Cameras are being developed into a new concept digital magazine for broadcast cameras. This involves the development of an anamorphic lens specifically for use on the Ikegami HD Camera for use with a 16mm film to enable very high quality, wide screen images to be produced economically.

About Fineline Media Finance
Fineline Media Finance is a member of the Five Arrows Leasing Group which in turn, is a division of the Rothschild Merchant Banking Group. The company specialises in providing finance to business customers and individuals in the film, audio visual and television industries. Products include a broad range of leasing and lease purchase facilities.

About Joe Dunton & Company
Joe Dunton & Company (JDC) specialises in the rental of cameras, lenses and grip equipment to the broadcast industry. JDC comprises three divisions; Joe Dunton Cameras, E F Moy Engineering and 235 Research, a specialist anamorphic lens company.

JDC equipment has been used to make commercials, television series, including; The Professionals and Dawson’s Creek, as well as countless films, such as; Blue Velvet; Firestarter; Dune and Angela’s Ashes.

For more information about JDC visit www.joedunton.com

Press Contacts:

Alex Quinn
ink public relations & marketing

Tel + 44 (0)1635 37334
email: alex@inkpr.net Peter Savage
Managing Director
Fineline Media Finance

Telephone: 020 8334 2100
Facsimile: 020 8334 2101

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Secret research screenings were done at a theatre that no longer exists in Chicago of each film a few months before release and the workprints were native Super 35.

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Man, those must have been some super-duper-secret screenings if they had to demolish the theater after them!!!

=TMP=
 

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Posted by Steve Kraus (Member # 476) on 02-23-2004, 10:52 AM:
 
I could tell you but then I'd have to kill you.
 

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Posted by Paul Linfesty (Member # 214) on 02-24-2004, 06:01 PM:
 
Well, now that I thionk about, even if Harry Potter 3 was shot in genuine anamorphic, there wouldn't be negative splices if the preview and/or feature is using digital intermediates.
 

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Posted by Steve Kraus (Member # 476) on 02-24-2004, 06:35 PM:
 
#3 is in post and I think 4 is close to starting. A rental house where it's newsworthy to get an anamorphic zoom? And required special financing? How many does Panavision have in stock?

I sure hope that lens is for certain specific shots requiring a zoom and was not used as a variable prime for the whole movie.
 

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Posted by Tao Yue (Member # 836) on 02-26-2004, 06:45 PM:
 
Well, if they got any other anamorphic zoom, or if it wasn't accompanied by HD and ARRI cameras, perhaps it wouldn't have been newsworthy.

JDC is a pretty big outfit, among the films they've supplied anamorphics to are: Return of the Jedi, Evita, Blue Velvet, Poltergeist, and U-571. They probably have dozens of anamorphic zooms in stock.
 

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Posted by Michael Coate (Member # 757) on 02-27-2004, 12:12 PM:
 

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JDC is a pretty big outfit, among the films they've supplied anamorphics to are: Return of the Jedi, Evita, Blue Velvet, Poltergeist, and U-571.

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