Archive for the ‘DVD Authoring’ Category

Beyond Biba – A portrait of Barbara Hulanicki

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

bibaBeyond Biba tells the story of the woman behind the iconic London store that changed women’s fashion forever.  As well as tales of the store, the clothes and the brand, the documentary provides an insight into the life of Barbara Hulanicki.  It is an amazing story that starts with a cultural explosion in London during the 1960s and continues today in Miami Beach where she resides as one of the most respected interior designers in the US

The DVD contains the 60 minute documentary and a number of bonus materials including an interview with the producer, stills gallery and deleted scenes.

It is the packaging that makes this DVD stand out.  The DVD Digipak features quotes from Hulanicki, a booklet and a set of four postcards of original Biba sketched designs.  This is presented in a slipcase boldly embossed with the Biba logo.

The DVD is on sale at www.beyondbibamovie.com,  Amazon and HMV in London.

DVD Authoring – The Clarets Anthology

Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009

rhapsody202x113Just in time for Christmas we authored and replicated the Claret’s Anthology a five disc box set for Burnley Football Club.

The centrepiece of this collection is the extended edition of the film Rhapsody in Claret and Blue, the official history of Burnley Football Club.  This film, originally released in 1999, has been re-released with over 30 minutes of new footage.

Rhapsody in Claret and Blue is narrated by Alistair Campbell, a lifelong Burnley fan who completed the voice over at re:fine for the princely sum of a pizza and a beer.

The Anthology also includes four other titles available on DVD for the very first time. The Harry Potts way is particularly fascinating as it features family photos and home movies from Harry’s personal collection.  This gives a unique view of the club from Burley’s most revered Manager.

Speedlight Mastery Blu-ray and DVD

Monday, December 21st, 2009

speedlight202x113This instructional Blu-ray is ideal for any photographer wanting to take spectacular portraits on location. Shot using digital SLR cameras it was one of our most technical projects yet!

“Speedlight Mastery” was shot simultaneously using three Canon 5D MKII digital SLR’s cameras. Each camera had a 16GB memory card giving 15 minutes record time.  Audio was recorded through boom and a personal microphone and fed through a SQN mixer with balancing box to one of the cameras. 33 items were shot over a 4 day shoot of which 23 were selected for the final DVD & Blu-ray release.

Final Cut Pro was the editing system of choice, using its multi-camera capabilities to work seamless with the project.  Re:fine used Scenarist BD Studio along with its Cinevision encoder to get the best out of the video. The re:fine technical team were impressed with the output of the Digital SLRs and the combination of good optics and careful encoding proved to be a winning combination.

Refine have delivered both Blu-ray and copy protected DVDs which are now for sale at http://lovegroveconsulting.com/

Flash and Dash online and live racing

Monday, December 21st, 2009

The makers of new Children’s TV series Flash and Dash approached us about replicating a promotional DVD to accompany their national search for the UK’s remote control racing stars.

flashanddash202x113Fans of Flash and Dash, which is shown on Cartoon Network, can collect the DVD on competing in the trials which are taking place in major shopping centres around the country.

The animated series, which features twin brothers Frank and Karl who move to a new area and become part of the remote control racing world, has been a smash hit.  The DVD contains two episodes of the series.

Interested in taking part in the competition?  Click here

Aston Martin – DVD Authoring

Tuesday, November 10th, 2009

AstonMartin_350x171This month we produced the new Dealer Showroom Loop for Aston Martin in conjunction with Ambrook Productions Ltd.

Ambrook produce commercials and launch films for the car industry and have worked with us in the past in our previous incarnation of 24-7DVD.

They wanted a finished product that was clean and stylish. So the moment their selection and editing was complete we went into action and authored their DVD taking care to ensure that in the transfer from tape to disc we retained all of the fluidity and edge of the films they had produced and almagamated.

In keeping with a luxurious product Ambrook opted for a classic packaging option choosing a Super Jewel Box casing and a screen printed disc to emphasise the Aston Martin’s clean lines and sleek finish.

We had an incredibly tight deadline for turnaround but we made it to the finish with seconds to spare!

DVD in 100% Recycled Packaging

Wednesday, July 29th, 2009

01_Merlin

We created this packaging using 100% recycled material, no plastics and lots of vegetable ink!

This month we were comissioned to design, author and replicate a DVD for Business in the Community’s Merlin programme.  We proposed different packaging, in line with BITC’s clear sustainability policies. The packaging and the booklet use no plastic and are made from 100% recycled material, utilising eco-friendly soya vegetable ink, glue and water based varnish.

The packaging is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) which is an international, non-governmental organisation dedicated to promoting responsible management of the world’s forests. The FSC trademark ensures that timber products or products derived from timber, such as paper, are from sustainably managed forests.

re:fine Director Yives Reed explained; “re:fine is always seeking new ways to add value for its clients and improving environmental impacts is high on the list. We are committed to environmental policies and continue to offer greener alternatives to our clients as well as recycling the plastics used in disc production.”

BITC put together interviews with nine different role models, each of whom have been successful in their own fields.  In each case, and for different reasons, every one of the people featured has been a pioneer. They have succeeded often against what most people would have predicted. One of the common features has been a strong sense of self-belief, of not wanting to give in, of determination to make something of their lives. Almost all of them faced institutional or social barriers in pursuing their career choice.  The DVD is an inspiring watch packed in inspiring packaging.

End of season DVDs

Friday, July 17th, 2009

01_Chelsea

Four clubs, four great seasons and four DVDs authored and replicated for the fans.

2008/2009 was a great season for the football clubs that author and replicate their DVDs at re:fine.  Premiership heavyweights Chelsea replicated 20,000 DVDs for season ticket holders and fans.  The release was so successful that another order for 10,000 units followed this month.

Our four year relationship with Brentford FC continued with the authoring and replication of this season’s DVD covering their fantastic promotion to League One from League Two.

New to re:fine this year were Stoke City who surprised critics and delighted fans by staying in the Premiership after being promoted.  Their DVD contains footage of their wins against Premiership giants Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur in the season that left them a respectable 12th in the league.

Finally we were proud to author and replicate the DVD for Peterborough, who have jumped from League Two  through League one to the Championship in just two years.  Clearly re:fine’s influence has been beneficial in the clubs’ success – maybe Newcastle should have called us…

Manchester City Season Review – 08/09

Friday, July 17th, 2009

16010_Man City Season Review_Input_PAL_300168We authored this disc for ‘City in super fast time to get it to market.

Despite the £220m takeover that made them the richest football club in the world and the signing Brazilian Striker Rhobino (the best paid player in the premiership and one of the best players in the world)  Manchester City had a rather disappointing season.

This DVD features all of the matches in what was still a momentous year for City.  Extras include a history of UEFA and an interview with club CEO Garry Cook.

Centenary: The BP Story – DVD

Sunday, June 28th, 2009

Newsletter_BP_Large_350x171

BP called on us to author this feature length DVD of their first 100 years and deliver it in bespoke packaging.

With footage shot over 75 years, and subtitles in 6 languages, this film will be seen by BP’s 90,000 employees worldwide.

Centenary traces the history of BP throughout the twentieth century, and features fascinating footage from the BP archive. 

Centenary was released in a two disc set alongside First Oil which was produced last year.

BP worked with re:fine to present the discs in a book with an 8 page booklet featuring stills and a synopsis of the films.

Our print specialists experimented with different paper stocks, ink and laminates to create the perfect finish for this keepsake packaging. This included a metallic silver ink that gave the stills a silver nitrate look and complemented the BP brand colours.  The discs were given a matt finish which further complemented the packaging. Even with last minute changes to the footage, the DVDs were replicated, fulfilled and delivered by the original deadline.

The re:fine team attended Centenary’s premier at BAFTA.  As well as attending the event we provided the HD Cam SR tape for the playout of Centenary film in the theatre.  This featured uncompressed 5:1 surround sound, ensuring maximum sound quality.

The State of Things – DVD

Sunday, June 21st, 2009

TheStateofThings

We have been authoring the DVDs of Wim Wenders’ back catalogue and our latest, The State of Things, was considered ‘almost perfect’ by dvdtimes.co.uk.

We created audio/visual intros, transitions and moving chapters for the interactive menus in this beautifully shot film based on a European’s experience of filmmaking in America.

Axiom Films, a leading independent film label, recently acquired the UK rights to all Wim Wenders back catalogue. They came to us to create the latest release in his respected works, The State of Things (winner of the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival ’82). The brief was to create a DVD that would fit perfectly with the Wenders titles that they had already released.

Using the back catalogue as inspiration, our designers specially tailored the menu designs to reflect Wenders’ unique voice and took music from the feature to create an interactive experience paralleling Wenders’ other classics such as Paris, Texas and Wings of Desire. Working closely with Axiom, we ensured everyone was kept informed and that the DVD was produced on-time and to their exact specification.

DVD Times.co.uk gave our Video and Audio Quality 9 out of 10 for The State of Things. To read the review of the title click here