Newsletter Volume 6, Issue 1

Currently nominated for four BAFTA Awards, Rebecca Hall’s film Passing centers on Irene and Clare, two
young Black women struggling to navigate the racial landscape of 1920s New York City. Based on Nella
Larsen’s novella and now streaming on Netflix, the film explores the complexities of identity in a
segregated society with delicacy, compassion and grace.

Post New York Alliance’s Equity and Inclusion committee recently hosted a virtual panel discussion with
members of the post-production team from Passing. Editor Sabine Hoffman, ACE, sound supervisor Jacob
Ribicoff and colorist Roman Hankewycz talked about their careers and how they used the tools of their
trades to help Hall craft her story and sharpen its emotional impact. The spirited, wide-ranging discussion,
moderated by Gershon Hinkson, provided insight into the creative process and the passion these artists
brought to the project.

Hoffman reflected on a 20-year career which has included work on scores of award-winning independent
films. Having previously read Larsen’s novella, she found the story compelling for how it takes you into
the inner lives and struggles of the two young women.

Capturing that internal perspective, Hoffman said, became the focus of her work as editor. “It’s a
process,” she explained. “It rarely happens in the first pass. You are trying to find the beats and the
treasures of each moment. You’re getting under the characters’ skin.”

Ribicoff recalled how his infatuation with sound began in childhood, and how he once attached a
Beethoven sonata to a Charlie Chaplin film and found the results magical. He said that sound design is
used in Passing not simply to establish locations, but to suggest how locations are subjectively perceived
by the characters.

He cited a scene, set in winter, where Irene looks out the window of her Harlem apartment at a
horrifying scene on the street below. “The window is open, and the wind is blowing, but Irene is in a
state of shock,” he said. “We took the sound of the wind and put a gauze over it, softening it and
making it more emotional. Irene is freezing but she is also deep inside her emotions.”

Hankewycz, Senior Colorist at Harbor, noted that he draws satisfaction in helping talented directors
and cinematographers achieve their vision. Passing, he said, was beautifully shot by Eduard Grau in
black & white. “He knocked it out of the park,” Hankewycz recalled. “What a pleasure it was to spend
time polishing that.”He added that black & white is especially challenging to grade due to the way the
audience perceives details in the imagery. “We’re more sensitive to contrast and brightness, not just
on the scale of entire shots, but within shots.”

Hoffman asserted that the whole crew fed off the purpose that Hall brought to the project as well as
the substance of the story, which leaves it to the audience to draw conclusions about the actions of its
central characters. “Everything was intentional in Rebecca’s mind,” she explained. “The idea was to
give space for interpretation. We prepare the film; the audience completes it. You can rewind it and
watch it again and you might have a different interpretation.”

How I Got My Start

Post-Production Supervisor Rebekah Hernandez

Rebekah Hernandez is a PNYA board member and a veteran post-production supervisor whose credits
include the Sundance Grand Jury Prize winning film The Forty-Year-Old Version and Showtime’s hit
series Billions. A native New Yorker, Rebekah has come a long way since she landed her first job as a PA
in 2013, but it hasn’t been easy. It took time to find someone willing to give her a shot and she
experienced a few false starts, but her hard work and persistence eventually paid off, and now the
sky’s the limit.

Rebekah’s parents came to New York from
Mexico and Costa Rica. Like many immigrants,
they worked hard and motivated their four kids
to attend college and progress in ways they
could not. Attracted to the entertainment
industry from a young age, Rebekah studied film
and television at SUNY, Fredonia and thought a
degree would immediately open doors. “I applied
everywhere…ABC, NBC, studios…and got no
answers,” she recalls. “I responded to an ad on
Craigslist looking for a post PA but when I showed
up for the interview, it was a residence in
Harlem. It turned out to be a lovely older
gentleman who was working on his second or
third documentary. He didn’t have a big budget,
so he paid me in lunches and MTA rides.”

She managed to land occasional work on reality
TV productions while holding down barista and
receptionist jobs to pay the bills. Eventually, she
found herself in a full-time gig at a doctor’s office where her parents held custodial duties, and wondering
if she needed to reevaluate her career choice. A coworker mentioned that her husband “worked in music
or sound,” and offered to make an introduction. She directed Rebekah to a building on Broadway. It was
home to the post house Sixteen19 and the sound facility Sound One.

“Her husband was Mariusz Glabinski, a sound editor and re-recording mixer, who gave me a tour and
introduced me to (Sound One Studio Manager) Jay Rubin,” she relates. “Jay was busy and spoke to me
for two minutes. He told me, ‘go into banking, anything else, save yourself.’”

Forgoing that advice, Rebekah left her contact information and a few months later was offered an
internship by Sixteen19. It was the foot-in-the-door she’d been craving. “I kept a notebook with me and
created a list of things to do,” she says. “I took initiative, organized the tech room, labeled everything,
learned to cut and solder ethernet cables. When the techs needed to set up an Avid in other facilities, I
volunteered to help.”

Rebekah gained experience and just as importantly began making the type of contacts that are essential
to success in post-production. Colleagues impressed by her eagerness recommended her for a job as an
assistant to Post Production Supervisor Jennifer Lane on the DreamWorks film The Fifth Estate. It proved
to be the break she was waiting for as Lane later hired her as a post-production assistant and then
coordinator on Into the Woods and Mary Poppins Returns. In 2017, Rebekah earned her first credit as a
co-supervisor on Amblin Partner’s Thank You for Your Service.

Rebekah initially got involved with PNYA to broaden her network of industry contacts. She began
attending the organizations P.I.G. (Post Intelligence Gathering) events, volunteering to check people in as
a way to say hello. “Everyone was very welcoming,” she recalls. “Obviously, they’d known each other for
years, but they never made me feel like the new kid. It was a community, and I wanted to get more
involved.”

Even though her working career demanded long hours, Rebekah found time for PNYA activities. She began
to see it as not only a benefit to her career, but also as a chance to help others, especially young people
from under-represented populations. “There aren’t a lot of faces that look like mine in this industry,” she
observes. “We need more diversity. For me, it’s about paying it forward. I didn’t get here on my own. I
succeeded because people took a chance on me, and I want to see others, including young Latinos, get
that same chance.”

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PNYA Success Stories

Through networking events and relationships with training programs, PNYA is helping young people kick
start careers in post.

The explosive growth of New York’s post-production industry is creating all sorts of opportunities,
especially for those at the beginning of their careers. PNYA aids young, prospective post-production
professionals through networking events like Face to Face and Who You Don’t Know and through its
partnerships with local and regional programs that provide post-production training.

WarnerMedia operates a program, in tandem with New York-based youth program Reel Works, that
trains BIPOC young adults to become post-production coordinators. Participants in its 7-week program
are taught by industry professionals and engage in practical exercises to apply their skills. Reel Works
also covers the cost of membership in PNYA for participants in the program. Begun in 2020, the program
has already placed several young job aspirants in paid positions.

“Do we ever have success stories!” says Cameron Amstater, the program’s Jobs Training Coordinator.
She points to recent grad, Rabia Minhas. “Rabia was hired as post-production coordinator on the
USA/NBCUniversal series The Sinner after meeting someone at a PNYA networking event.”

Other graduates of WarnerMedia’s program have landed post coordinator, post-production manager or
VFX coordinator roles with Mustache Agency, Story Syndicate, Kundart Films and Left/Right TV, and on
the series Succession, Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Ringes, The Sinner and Rap Sh!t.

Gautam Singhani graduated from the program in 2020 and used it as a springboard for a quickly
developing career. Last year, he served as post-production coordinator on HBO’s Allen v. Farrow before
being hired as a Post Coordinator at Story Syndicate where he worked on HBO’s Nuclear Family, National
Geographic’s Fauci and Becoming Cousteau and Amazon Studio’s Mayor Pete. He is currently in the first
cohort of the WarnerMedia Access Post Production Supervisor Training Program and was recently
promoted to Manager of Production at Story Syndicate.

PNYA member companies Picture Shop and Formosa Group, both divisions of Streamland Media, are also
active in developing young talent. The have worked in partnership with Made in NY since 2018 to hire
young people from its training program for post-production assistants. To date, it has provided
employment for 11 individuals. Its first hire, Natalie Seoute, is now a Digital Archiving Supervisor. Other
current staff who’ve come through the program include Office Administrator Alejandro Rosario, Data
Manager Rose Poage and Vault Technician Andre Suarez. “Shift NYC is crafting a short film about the
Made In NY Post Production Training Program and they are highlighting two of our MiNY graduates,”
reports Streamland Media Senior VP Kim Spikes. “We are very excited!”

Adam Conversano is an alumnus of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts’ School of
filmmaking. Last year, he joined PNYA independently and recently landed his first industry job as a
remote editorial assistant at Jigsaw Productions in New York. “It’s my first show on Avid and I've
learned so much through this experience,” he says. “I’m excited to continue growing and making
new connections after the show wraps in April.” We look forward to hearing many more success
stories in the months ahead.

PNYA congratulates New York’s own Andrew Weisblum on his Academy Award nomination and ACE Eddie

Award win for his work on tick, tick…BOOM! (both shared with Myron Kerstein.) It was Weisblum’s second

Oscar nomination. In 2011, he was nominated for Black Swan.

Weisblum and Kerstein faced unique
challenges on tick, tick…BOOM!, which
marked the feature directorial debut of
Lin-Manuel Miranda and tells the
autobiographical story of Rent playwright
Jonathan Larson’s early struggles to make
it on Broadway. Weisblum began his career
as an assistant editor in New York City
during the early ‘90s. He has collaborated
frequently with directors Darren Aronofsky
(The Whale, Mother!, Noah, Black Swan
and The Wrestler) and Wes Anderson (The
French Dispatch, Isle of Dogs, Moonrise
Kingdom, Fantastic Mr. Fox and The Darjeeling Limited). His credits also include The Eyes of Tammy
Faye, Alice Through the Looking Glass and the Netflix series The OA. You can hear Andy discuss how he
got his start here.

Read more about post work on tick, tick…BOOM! below.

Tick, Tick…Boom! is Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner Lin-Manuel Miranda’s magical adaptation of the
autobiographical musical by Jonathan Larson, who revolutionized theater as the creator of Rent. In
theaters November 12 from Netflix, the film finds Larson (played by Andrew Garfield), a promising theater
composer on the cusp of his 30th birthday, navigating love, friendship and the pressures of life as an artist
in New York City.

Fittingly for a film rooted in Broadway, post-production was largely completed in New York City by
members of the Post New York Alliance (PNYA). Visual effects house Phosphene used its wizardry to
reconstruct several of Larson’s hangouts from the 1990s and help the production overcome the
challenges of filmmaking during the covid pandemic. Picture finishing, meanwhile, was executed
wholly at Company 3, where award-winning colorist Stephen Nakamura worked with Miranda and
cinematographer Alice Brooks, ASC to finetune the dreamlike imagery used to tell Larson’s story.

Production of Tick, Tick…Boom! began early in 2020 just as the covid pandemic was starting to
spread across the globe and then had to pause when New York went into lockdown. Months later,
when shooting resumed, it did so under rigorous health and safety measures that included
restricting the number of proximity of people on the set.

Those measures complicated the capturing of scenes in one of the film’s central locations, a small,
Off Broadway theater where Garfield, as Larson, relates his story before a live audience. To shoot
there safely, audience members had to be captured in small groups. “Audience shots are often
captured in multiple passes, but this was much more complicated,” explains Phosphene’s John Bair,
who served as visual effects supervisor. “Extras had to be shot separately from principals and we
had to employ strategies such as keeping a group of actors isolated and in quarantine so that they
could be used multiple times.”

For one scene, where Larson is visited by the ghostly shades of Broadway luminaries, each of the
actors had to be captured individually and later assembled into a single scene by Phosphene artists.
The VFX team’s talents were applied in a more conventional manner to create certain iconic locations
from Larson’s past. Artists rebuilt the rooftop of his apartment in Soho and the nearby Moondance
Diner where he worked. “We constructed the entire environment surrounding the apartment building
as it appeared in the early ‘90s,” recalls Bair. “It’s entirely CG to accommodate dynamic cameras
moves from the live action.”

Similarly, artists recreated the environs of the Moondance Diner. “The building has changed radically
since 1992,” says Bair. “Being local helped us take it back in time. We could get references from
buildings that still exist.”

Company 3 delivered a full slate of post services from its facility on West 18th Street, including
dailies processing, color grading, editorial finishing and deliverables. It also provided space and
technology to picture editors Myron Kerstein and Andrew Weisblum and their crew.

During final grading sessions, Nakamura worked with Brooks to subtly tease out the emotional flavor
of Larson’s world. “He was working as a waiter and very poor at the time,” Nakamura recalls. “Alice
and Lin wanted to reflect his dreary surroundings in a gritty look. Nothing is polished or pretty. We
applied a film grain to enhance the effect. Most of the movie has that vibe.”

Color is used in a rather unusual way in a sequence that alternates between Larson’s rundown
apartment in Soho and one occupied by his friend Michael. “Michael works for an ad agency and
lives in a very nice, high-rise apartment,” Nakamura explains. “Lin wanted the contrast, as we
move from one space to the other, to have a visceral feel. I used the color warper feature in
DaVinci Resolve to remove most of the color from Jonathan’s apartment while adding saturation
to Michael’s place. It isn’t like transitioning from black & white to color, the effect is much cooler
than that and you can really feel the difference.”

Bair says the whole project had a special feel. The camaraderie between different departments and
vendors was unusually high, in part because they were telling a uniquely New York story at a time
when the city was facing an unprecedented challenge. “Lin had a great creative team, including DP
Alice Brooks, production designer Alex DiGerlando, editors Myron Kerstein and Andrew Weisblum,” he
observes. “We worked with all of them, and everyone worked with a common purpose. Lin has strong
opinions, but he made the most of the talent around him. Across the board, it was a fantastic
experience.”

Assembly operates two Manhattan facilities
offering dailies, offline editorial, visual effects,
color grading and editorial finishing services for
film, television and advertising. Its recent projects
include the FX anthology series The Premise and
the Netflix film Bruised. As a PNYA member,
Assembly joins a community of companies and
professionals working to promote and develop
New York’s post-production industry.

Assembly President Art Williams said his company is
joining PNYA because it views the organization as
crucial to the progress of New York’s post-production
industry. “PNYA’s efforts to support growth in our
industry are critical to startup companies like ours,” Williams observes. “We are also impressed with the
organization’s ongoing work in promoting diversity and nurturing synergies between post companies
throughout the state.”

Cadence Effects

Cadence Effects creates visual effects for film and television through a core team of experienced
artists who are passionate and technically sophisticated. Located in Columbia County, New York, with
high speed connectivity to the rest of the world, it cultivates long-term, trusted client relationships
and delivers impeccable service.

Levels East launched this year as the
East Coast branch of Levels Audio,
Hollywood, which bills itself as “the
industry’s most luxurious post-production
facility.” The new operation is headed by
Senior Re-Recording Mixer Sue Pelino and
VP of Business Development Kassie Caffiero.

Pelino, a winner of multiple primetime
Emmys, and Caffiero have collaborated for
on projects including One Last Time: An
Evening with Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga
on CBS, miniseries Nuclear Family for HBO and feature documentary Tom Petty, Somewhere You Feel
Free: The Making of Wildflowers.

Senior Post was founded in 2012 by Josh Senior and Joanna Naugle and is now the largest editorial
house in Brooklyn with 17 offline suites. It also provides dailies, editorial finishing, color grading and
deliverables, while serving clients including Netflix, HBO, FX, Hulu and Disney+.

Senior Post

The company joins PNYA after participating in one of its Post Intelligence Gatherings (P.I.G.), a periodic
event where members share information about upcoming film and television projects. “Josh and I
welcome the opportunity to meet other editors, facility owners and people who work in post,” noted
Naugle. “PNYA is a great venue for expanding our contacts, building alliances and growing our business.
It’s a fantastic organization.”

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Don’t Miss…

PNYA’s Green Committee is proud to continue to
sponsor its popular Trash Pick Up Day, which will now
occur on the second Saturday of each month. It’s a
chance to beautify your community and engage with
colleagues in a relaxed, friendly environment. Please
visit the PNYA website to RSVP for our next event.

PNYA’s webinar series Post Break is producing a
special, 3-part panel discussion on Turnover for
Assistant Editors. Next Generation Production’s Ben
Baker will host a group of editors and other industry
veterans in an informative discussion of best practices
and how to avoid pitfalls in managing media. The
sessions are scheduled for March 3, 10 and 17 with
panelists to be announced. Future Post Break sessions
will focus on the benefits of PNYA membership and
the debut of our new website and the art of virtual
production.

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Member News

PNYA Member Michael Berenbaum Co-writes and Edits "Making The Day"

Comedy to premiere at Village East Cinema in New York City on April 8
Making The Day, a heartwarming and hilarious feature film edited and co-written by Michael Berenbaum,
will have its New York City premiere at Village East Cinema on April 8, followed by a two week run
ending April 22.

Presented by MCM Creative, directed by Michael Canzoniero (Wedding Bros, Don Peyote), edited by PNYA
member Michael Berenbaum, ACE, and co-written by Canzoniero and Berenbaum, Making The Day tells a
charming and quirky story about making a film, chasing your dream and never giving up.

The inspiration behind the film stems from lead
actor Steven Randazzo's real-life struggle with
underground film financiers "coming after him"
for an incomplete movie while the film was in
production. During the filmmaking process,
Canzoniero employed a hybrid narrative/
documentary process called “organic filmmaking,”
where elements of the actors' real lives were
incorporated into a heavily improvised story.

The initial 48-hour shoot involved two camera
crews, dubbed Red team and Blue team, chasing
the cast across multiple sites in Manhattan,
allowing them to move from one location to
another totally in character without having to
wait for set up.

“Upon wrap, two things were clear, Randazzo
and lead actress Juliette Bennett had an
undeniably funny and electric chemistry,” says
Canzoniero. “However, to be a real, watchable
movie rather than an eclectic experiment, the project still needed much more story, a stakes-raising
set up and an ending that would pay off the emotional rollercoaster ride the story was becoming.”

Berenbaum is an Emmy Award-winning editor whose career includes work with Joel and Ethan Coen on
Miller’s Crossing and Barton Fink and the television series Sex and the City, Nurse Jackie and The
Americans. “I could see the great chemistry in the cast, and the potential in the multi-camera approach
to capture it, but the movie needed more tension, more exposition and more plot,” says Berenbaum. “I
quickly realized I’d be much more than an editor on this one. Helping Mike plot and write the rest of the
film became my primary goal.”

For the next 16 months, Berenbaum, Canzoniero and his crew at MCM Creative spent weekend after
weekend adding storylines and sequences around that initial effort. Five hours of improv would be
shaped, molded and rewritten in the editing room by Berenbaum into a three minute scene.

Premiering at the 2021 Cinequest Film Festival, Making The Day received stellar reviews from critics and
was the highest audience ranked comedy of the festival.

PNYA members are invited to the Opening Night premiere and Open Bar After Party on April 8 at the
Village East Cinema as guests of Michael Berenbaum at half-off the listed pricing. To purchase tickets,
visit www.makingthedaymovie.com and use the code: POSTALLIANCE.

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Big Film Design Continues to Innovate in Title Design

Big Film Design had a lively fourth quarter in 2021, designing title sequences for several wonderful, and
incredibly different films.

A Castle For Christmas is a Brooke Shields rom-com from Netflix. Brooke plays a successful chic-lit author,
and the opening titles introduce us to all twelve of her novels, in a rapid-fire sequence that packs in a
tremendous amount of information using 3D book animation to tell the story. BFD Creative Director Randy
Balsmeyer teamed with Kalika Sharma to create the result, as well as a fun main-on-end title sequence
featuring Drew Barrymore.

The Hunt for Planet B is a documentary by Nathaniel Kahn about the people responsible for creating
the James Webb Space Telescope. We have a long history of collaborating with Kahn and are very
proud of how we integrated text and credits into a very moving group portrait. And, we’re excited
now that the JWST has successfully launched and landed at its final position in space. It is very
rewarding to be a part of something so big, and important to the future of mankind! Currently
streaming on CNN+ Simple As Water is Megan Mylan’s documentary about Syrian refugees around
the world. We worked with Megan to integrate graphics in a way that was stylistically distinctive,
without getting in the way of the heartfelt content. This was the closing film at the NYFF.

And finally, Joel Coen’s The Tragedy of Macbeth, is a stunning reimagining of Shakespeare’s classic.
Coen & Production Designer Stefan Dechant found an antique book cover that was the inspiration for
the titles. We created a font that emulated the hand-lettered book cover to create the credits for
the film. This was the opening film for the NYFF and is currently streaming on HBO Max. The film
just received three Oscar nominations for Best Actor, Production Design and Cinematography.

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Leading VFX Provider Crafty Apes Acquires NYC/LA-Based Molecule VFX

Industry leader Crafty Apes recently closed on an acquisition of Molecule VFX and embarked on an
initiative to integrate the companies and expand their operations in New York and Los Angeles, under
the Crafty Apes banner. The acquisition brings together two companies with a deep roster of talent in
creative VFX supervision and production management and more than doubles Crafty Apes's NYC-based
headcount. It will continue to work on features, commercials, streaming, and episodic content, as well
as providing front-end creative consultation and on-set supervision.

Having recently celebrated their 10-year anniversary, Crafty Apes has expanded to seven production
facilities across North America. Its credits include the features Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of
Madness, The Batman, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Red Notice, Licorice Pizza, and Ghostbusters:
Afterlife, and hit series including Ted Lasso, Insecure, National Treasure and Stranger Things.

Molecule VFX has studios in LA and New York. It has worked on series such as Billions, Gossip Girl,
Genius: Aretha, and P-Valley, and acclaimed features like Da 5 Bloods.

Luke DiTommaso, Chris LeDoux, Andrew Bly

The two companies have recently shared series work between Crafty Apes’s Georgia studio and
Molecule’s New York facility, providing both on-set and post VFX resources to the likes of Genius:
Aretha and P-Valley, and as lead vendors on the upcoming Apple TV+ series Hello, Tomorrow!

Crafty Apes partner Chris LeDoux commented, "The Molecule team has a track record of taking great
care of clients and producing amazing work. Similar to when Hulk Hogan joined up with Macho Man
Randy Savage to form the Mega Powers... we're structuring a super-team from our combined NYC
and LA talent. It'll take some work and time to fully integrate our people and pipelines, but the
culture fit is a no-brainer."

Molecule CEO Andrew Bly added, “Luke and I are so proud of where our team’s incredible talent has
brought Molecule VFX. We have been allies with Crafty Apes for years, so joining forces with them will
allow us to reach new heights together. We believe this merger will have a significant, positive impact
on the VFX industry in NY.”

Both Crafty Apes and Molecule VFX are members and active sponsors of the Post New York Alliance, as
well as active in the visual effects community through mentorship programs and leadership within the
Visual Effects Society.

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Documentary/Restoration Colorist Jane Tolmachyov Joins Goldcrest Post

Former DuArt Senior Colorist Jane Tolmachyov has joined Goldcrest Post. Tolmachyov brings credits
across feature films, television and advertising, but is best known for her work in documentaries and
film restoration. She has collaborated with directors Frederick Wiseman, Ken and Rick Burns and
Michael Moore, as well as such highly regarded cinematographers as Nestor Almendros, Fred Elms and
Ed Lachman. Her first project at Goldcrest is 2nd Chance, a documentary from producer/director
Ramin Bahrani, slated to premier at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

“We couldn’t be happier to welcome Jane
to our documentary team,” says Goldcrest
Post Managing Director Domenic Rom. “She
is a passionate craftsperson with deep ties
to the industry’s most talented documentary
filmmakers. We are excited about the
projects she will bring to Goldcrest.”
Tolmachyov notes that she has known Rom
since the early days of her career when both
were colorists at DuArt. “We’ve stayed in
touch and have a great relationship,” she
says. “I have tremendous respect for what Domenic has accomplished at Goldcrest, especially regarding
its support for independent film and documentaries.”

At DuArt, Tolmachyov was in the midst of a massive project to remaster 33 films by Frederick Wiseman
when the company shuttered its post-production operations last fall. She will now continue that work at
Goldcrest. Spanning the 1960s to the 2010s, the films were originally shot on 16mm and are being
remastered in 4K. Goldcrest is upgrading its Digital Vision Phoenix restoration toolset to accommodate
the project. “When I told Frederick that I would be continuing the work at Goldcrest, he was very excited,”
Tolmachyov says. “It will be gratifying to see a project of this magnitude through to the finish line.”

Born in Russia, Tolmachyov studied at the Moscow Institute of Cinematography before immigrating to the
United States. She initially worked as an assistant film editor and later joined DuArt where she turned her
attention to color correction. Her notable documentary credits include Michael Moore’s Academy
Award-winning Bowling for Columbine and Oscar-nominees The War Room (D.A. Pennebaker/Chris Hegedus),
Suzanne Farrell: Elusive Muse (Anne Belle) and My Architect (Nathaniel Kahn). Her narrative work includes
Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winner Sunday (Jonathan Nossiter), Pollock (Ed Harris) and Tape (Richard
Linklater). She previously collaborated with Bahrani on the films Man Push Cart, Chop Shop and
Goodbye Solo.

Tolmachyov has also been involved in ongoing remastering and restoration projects for the Cohen Film
Collection and the MOMA Film Collection.
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Harbor Bolsters Global Picture Post Talent Roster

Harbor welcomes Elizabeth Niles as Executive Producer, Picture Post, New York, and expands their color
roster with three Senior Colorists, Anthony Raffaele, Nick Hasson and Julien Alary.

After forging a successful post career working with a host of top post-production companies, major
studios and networks, Niles comes to Harbor having held leadership roles including executive producer at
Goldcrest Post NY, senior DI producer at Technicolor PostWorks and senior manager at Prime Focus
Technologies. Prior to her post-production roles, she developed shows from concept to broadcast as writer/
producer and served as series producer at Rainbow-Media and producer at MSNBC.

Liz Niles, Anthony Raffaele

Niles has worked on projects with filmmaking talents including Steven Soderbergh, Ken Burns, Thomas
Bezucha, David Chase, Alan Taylor, Ric Burns and Barbara Kopple. Network and studio clients have
included New Line/Warner Bros., Sony Pictures, Netflix, A24, Hulu, HBO, PBS and Disney+. Recent
credits include The Lost Daughter, Painting with John,for HBO, The Many Saints of Newark, Ken Burns’
Muhammad Ali and Hemingway for PBS.

In addition to this exciting news, Kevin Vale has been named executive director, feature & episodic,
East Coast, after leading the picture post department at Harbor since 2015. Vale, who will oversee
offline editorial, picture post and sound post, has played an integral role at Harbor, supervising top
tier projects such as Netflix’s The Irishman, A24’s The Lighthouse, AppleTV+ See, Netflix’s Halston,
Amazon’s Sylvie’s Love, Starz’s P-Valley, Showtime’s Billions, Disney’s Hamilton, HBO’s NYC Epicenters
9/11 & 1/2, and most recently Showtime’s Super Pumped, Netflix’s Jeen-Yuhs and NBC Universal’s
Marry Me.

Harbor’s picture post department is in an exciting, expansive phase. The recent additions of top tier
colorists allow for continued collaboration and integration across their global footprint including New
York, Los Angeles, London, Chicago, and Atlanta.

Anthony Raffaele has collaborated with legendary cinematographer Vittorio Storaro on four Woody Allen
films, Rifkin’s Festival, A Rainy Day in New York, Wonder Wheel and Café Society (Allen’s first digital
film). His recent collaboration for HBO’s Oslo, with cinematographer Janusz Kaminski, was nominated
for two Emmys. Raffaele also boasts notable collaborations with talented artists such as Roberto Schafer,
Nancy Schrieber, Dean Cundy, Rachel Morrison, Joe Colins, and Frank Prinzi.

Nick Hasson, Julien Alary

His television credits include Blue Bloods for CBS, Younger for JAX Media, Los Espookys for HBO, The Get
Down for Netflix, The Helpsters for Apple TV and Mr. Mayor for NBC. In the documentary realm, his work
includes Springsteen on Broadway for Netflix and Years of Living Dangerously for Showtime.

Nick Hasson has spent 22 years working on some of Hollywood’s biggest productions. Starting his career at
George Lucas’ ILM, he built a solid foundation in artistry and technology. Hasson went on to forge
successful roles with Company 3, Technicolor, Light Iron, Riot and Modern VideoFilm.

Over his distinguished career, Hasson has crossed genres from feature films and episodic TV to
commercials and music videos. He has worked with major studios and networks including Paramount,
Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, Disney, 20th Century Fox, Lionsgate, HBO, and Showtime. Recent credits include
HBO’s Somebody Somewhere, Showtime’s The L Word: Generation Q, Hulu’s Plan B, USA’s Queen of the
South, and feature films Yes Day, Shattered and Cop Shop.

Harbor has also tapped the talent of senior colorist Julien Alary to complement its growing global roster.
With over 20 years of experience, more than 60 feature films and a host of major commercials to his credit,
Alary brings a wealth of knowledge, skill, and relationships with some of the industry’s most exciting
filmmakers. Most recently, he graded The Worst Person in the World for Joachim Trier, which played in main
competition at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival.

Alary has collaborated with acclaimed directors including Kornél Mundruczó on Pieces of a Woman, as well
as Martin Werner, Reynald Gresset and Martin de Thurah and respected cinematographers Daniel Voldheim,
Jakob Ihre, Benjamin Loeb, Kasper Tuxen and Khalid Mohtaseb.

In the commercial space, he has partnered with major studios such as Sony, Bron, and MK2, and brands like
PlayStation, BMW, Audi, Samsung, Volvo, Givenchy and McDonald’s. Recent credits include the Radiohead
music video If You Say the Word.

____________________________________________________

Nice Shoes Off to a Strong Start in 2022

With film and television continuing to rebound in the wake of the pandemic, Nice Shoes has gotten off to
a strong start in 2022. The company continues to add new talent and services, extend its physical and
virtual reach, and deliver incredible projects.

Among the latest staff additions is John Koltai. A
multidisciplinary creative director, designer and animator
with experience spanning virtually all forms of visual media,
John is also a specialist in FUI (future user interfaces). He has
designed future tech graphics for such films as Spider-Man:
Far From Home, Spies in Disguise, Thor: Ragnarok and
Iron Man 2 & 3. In his most recent project, Koltai designed
FUI graphics for the HBO Max series Peacemaker. Nice Shoes
Executive Creative, Global, Harv Glazer calls Koltai “an
incredibly gifted artist, innovator and storyteller.”
See John’s work here.

Nice Shoes is also expanding its industry outreach. DI
Finishing Artist Alex Hartley recently took part in a PNYA Post
Break session titled Turnover to Picture. He joined editor Max
Berger and moderator Ben Baker in discussing best practices for
assistant editors in delivering media to a facility for picture finishing.

Drawing on his experience on such films as The Lost Daughter, The Year of the Everlasting Storm, Couples
Therapy and Sirens, Alex offered detailed, practical advice on how to organize projects efficiently for a
variety of workflows and delivery scenarios. You can see the full session here.

Nice Shoes’ principal focus remains editorial, color, picture finishing and visual effects for features and
television. The studio’s DI department is currently working on projects for Netflix, Disney+, Showtime,
Discovery+ set to release over the coming months. The feature finishing team recently celebrated the
world premiere of Sirens at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Grand
Jury Prize. Produced, directed and shot by Rita Baghdadi, the feature-length documentary centers on
the Middle East’s first all-female metal band. Senior Colorist Maria Carretero performed final grading
for the film. You can watch a trailer for Sirens here.

____________________________________________________

New Sound Work from Jacob Ribicoff

PNYA member Jacob Ribicoff has been very busy over the past six months. The Emmy Award-winning
supervising sound editor/sound designer/re-recording mixer has completed a series of interesting film
and video projects.

They include:

Passing: The film follows two high school friends, whose unexpected reunion ignites a mutual obsession
threatening their carefully constructed realities. Netflix; Rebecca Hall, director; Jacob Ribicoff, sound
supervisor/designer/re-recording mixer; PostWorks and Harbor, post production.

Severance: Mark leads a team of office workers whose memories have been surgically divided between
their work and personal lives. Apple TV+; Ben Stiller, director; Jacob Ribicoff, sound supervisor/designer/
re-recording mixer; Goldcrest, post production.

The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey: Ptolemy Grey is assigned to the care of orphaned teenager, Robyn.
When they learn about a treatment that will restore Ptolemy's memories, it begins a journey towards
shocking truths. Apple TV+; Walter Mosely, executive producer/writer; Jacob Ribicoff, sound supervisor/
designer/re-recording mixer; Soundtrack, post production.

Benjamin Franklin: Exploring the life and work of the writer and publisher, scientist and inventor,
diplomat and signer of both the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution.
PBS; Ken Burns, director; Jacob Ribicoff, sound effects editor/music editor; Harbor, post production.

Tokyo Vice: A Western journalist working for a publication in Tokyo takes on one of the city's most
powerful crime bosses. HBO; Jacob Ribicoff, sound effects editor; Goldcrest, post production.

2nd Chance: Chronicling the life of Richard Davis, the man who invented the concealable bulletproof
vest Showtime; Ramin Bahrani, director; Jacob Ribicoff, sound supervisor/designer/re-recording mixer;
Goldcrest, post production.

The Janes: Police arrested seven women who were part of a clandestine network. Using code names,
blindfolds and safe houses, they built an underground service for women seeking safe, affordable,
illegal abortions calling themselves JANE. HBO; Tia Lessin and Emma Plides, directors; Jacob Ribicoff,
sound supervisor/designer; Goldcrest, post production.

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