Press Release

HD Pictures & Post Inc., a state-of-the-art high definition postproduction facility and producer of original films and television projects, has opened in Santa Monica. The company brings together veteran producers and postproduction pros with impressive credit lists and decades of experience in every phase of production ‘ from initial development through final delivery. To maintain complete creative and business control, HD Pictures and Post (HDPP) handles all aspects of its projects in-house, in its fully equipped facility at 1819 Colorado Ave. The company also opens its doors to clients seeking expert post-production services for their own projects.
Co-founders Cher Helina and Justin Bergeron have assembled a distinguished team with proven track records on some of the industry’s highest-profile projects. Mr. Bergeron is HDPP’s CEO. He brings fifteen years of film and television experience to the job along with a specialization in high-definition work that has established his reputation as an authority in the field. Bergeron’s fields of expertise encompass development, cinematography, editing and visual effects. He has shot HD projects in dozens of countries and was involved early in the evolution of HD underwater cinematography. Prior to HDPP, Bergeron was co-founder and CTO at Los Angeles’ HD Studios, one of the first companies to provide start-to-finish HD post services to independent filmmakers. While at HD Studios he oversaw dozens of projects for a roster of clients including Lucasfilm, Aspect Ratio, and Gigantic Entertainment.
Ms. Helina is the company’s President, overseeing business operations, spearheading development of HDPP projects, and producing feature films. Helina has worked for more than a decade in the industry in a wide variety of production and management positions, and is also a professional actor schooled in the Meisner technique. “There is an ever-growing market for modestly budgeted independent films produced for both the traditional and non-traditional theatrical distribution model,” Helina said. “We founded HD Pictures and Post to help satisfy that demand and our approach is a straightforward one: find terrific people and provide them with the tools to make great films at a reasonable cost.”
David Levy is HDPP’s President of Production. A 25-year veteran producer of feature films, he has enjoyed a decades-long collaborative relationship with director Robert Altman that continues to this day. Levy’s credits on films directed by Altman include The Player, Short Cuts, The Gingerbread Man, Cookie’s Fortune, Dr. T & The Women, and The Company. Along with Altman and Bob Balaban, Levy received a Best Picture Academy Award nomination for producing Gosford Park. Most recently, he produced A Prairie Home Companion, starring Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline and Lindsay Lohan. The film is scheduled for theatrical release in 2006.
Executive Vice President of Post Production Michael Forrest is recognized as one of the industry’s top online editors. He has done finishing work on features for most major studios, including the upcoming Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and Syriana. His credits also include editing and finishing trailers for Flight Plan, School of Rock, The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Forrest is a four-time Emmy winner for his work on shows for the Univision Network. One of the first certified instructors for the Avid DS HD system, he now moderates Avid’s user forum. Forrest will post-supervise all HDPP projects and oversee the company’s postproduction services, including offline and online editing, digital intermediate work and audio finishing.
CEO Bergeron said, “We’ve all been in the industry for a long time, building our expertise and relationships toward the day when we could make the films we wanted to make. Now we have all of the resources for doing so under our own control to maximize our creative potential and minimize the risks.”
HD Pictures and Post creates and delivers films budgeted at $5 million and under for worldwide distribution via a variety of media channels. The company is funded by Graydon Elliott Capital Corporation (www.graydonelliott.com/gec). GECC is a Canadian-based, independent financial services company which facilitates investment banking opportunities throughout North America. For further information, please contact HD Pictures and Post at 310-264-2575, or visit www.hdpicturesandpost.com.