When you are the largest lighting and grip company in New England offering state-of-the-art technology for lease and sale in four locations you can't just sit around and wait for customers to show up. That's why the people at High Output, Inc. are making it part of their mission to create television and film production in the area. Their new 93,000 sq. ft. warehouse, production studio, and office in Canton, MA is making that a reality.
The challenge for High Output in the next several years is to help to promote the actual production in New England. The industry has not recovered from the slump of 2000. Robert Hirsch, Manager of the Film and Video Lighting Division, said the company is working hard to contact production houses and advertisers to advise them that they can stay in the US and shoot competitively in Boston as opposed to Canada. He said this market is unique since the level of production professionals is very high. People from out of town told Hirsch how surprised they are by the high level of professional technical expertise New England provides. Hirsch believes these professionals have the skill to work in LA or NYC, but choose to stay here because of the great quality of life.
Hirsch said, "We're working to ramp up the level of production activity in this market across all genres. We're working to attract feature film productions and commercials. We want to take a more active role in local production as a whole. We've always been the largest vendor to the production industry in New England and support it's development." This includes a commitment to fledgling filmmakers as well.
Many people were surprised that High Output left its Boston location. But the truth is the company lost its lease so the search was on to find a place to accommodate them. This task proved more daunting then they first imagined, Hirsch said. They wanted to stay in the city, but after much searching they decided to move out of Boston and create a facility to exacting specifications off Route 128 in Canton, MA. After relocating in November 2002, High Output now has room to store 50,000 pieces of lighting and grip equipment in the warehouse, a showroom area, offices, three large studios, food service area, and at nearly twice the size of the old location, room to grow. Hirsch said moving from Boston has not proved harmful to business.
Charles River Studios is part of the facility. It is the largest independent motion picture facility in the region with 13,500 sq. feet of space and two acoustically engineered stages with cycloramas. "With the new high-capacity HVAC system we doubled the capacity of our air conditioning system from the last place. With a working height of studios ranging from 22 to 24 feet, we can more readily shoot cars," Hirsch said.
While High Output founding partners and co-owners James Hirsch and John Cini are certain the current production slump will make a recovery, the company has three very profitable divisions: Theatre and Special Events, System Sales Division, and Retail Sales Division. "This diversified array of services help us weather the tough economic conditions of late," Bob Hirsch said.
Hirsch also said there is some "cross pollination" from performance lighting to video and film, especially in the realm of broadcast lighting. Steel trusses and lighting dimmers are two areas where directors utilize new techniques. "Our film customers think nothing of lighting from a section of truss," Hirsch said. The trusses are crisscrosses of steel that are hoisted on a small crane and enable areas such as windows to be lit without building scaffolding. The mechanical lift raises the trusses to the level needed. Cameras can then shoot more easily without having to work around the structure. Dimmer technology allows whole sections of lights to be adjusted at one control board, as opposed to the time consumption of adjusting each light by hand.
Since time is money, these innovations are changing the way lighting is constructed on a set, allowing more time for shooting and less time for setup. Hirsch said another factor to consider is that High Output's "extensive and varied inventory enables us to keep rental to a minimum, thereby affording us more flexibility in pricing, and the ability to respond quickly to our client's last minute or unforeseen needs."
The latest in technology at High Output includes the state-of-the-art Phoenix Camera Crane, which flies a remotely operated camera to 42 feet, and can support a camera operator to 27 feet. The performance lighting division features The Color Kinetics LED lighting system, and The Catalyst System of video projection by High End with plasma screen capability. The production inventory also includes HMI and quartz lighting balloons, a Bat-Verter for AC power for car shooting, and the Twin 125 generator.
As well as rental equipment, High Output has a fleet of seven dedicated delivery vehicles available 24/7. One of the pride and joys of the High Output fleet is the large white tractor-trailer truck in the parking lot. It was used in the Farrelly Brothers' latest shoot, STUCK ON YOU, in Rockport, MA. Capable of lighting 6 homes from a 1400 Amp generator behind the cab, this lighting truck can handle the largest feature film productions.
"This gives us tremendous service capability beyond any local competitor. We can respond to emergencies and last minute needs. On film sets things change minute by minute. Although we have a large service area, we can dispatch gear to a location almost immediately," Hirsch said.
High Output has regional offices in MA, RI, ME, VT and SC. The website is www.highoutput.com. Contact Bob Hirsch by email rhirsch@highoutput.com