Multi Image Productions, Inc. is busy making a name for itself in San Diego.
With numerous awards on its shelves, including several Emmys, the in-house film and video production company is ready to take on the city.
“We’ve decided not to be the invisible little company in San Diego anymore,” said Fred Ashman, president and senior creative director.
And little is something it is not.
Located at 8849 Complex Drive in Kearny Mesa, it may look like any other building on the block, but once inside it reflects a state-of-the-art studio production facility.
The 28,000-square-foot building houses three AVID digital edit suites, one theater, two animation suites, one graphic studio and other production and conference rooms.
The company also has an office in Dayton, Ohio, and last month opened its third in Dallas.
– Connecting To Local Projects
Having national accounts such as American Airlines, Sony Corp. and Pizza Hut Corp. under its belt, the company is focusing on fostering its relationships with local businesses such as TaylorMade-adidas Golf and the Building Industry Association of San Diego County.
“We tended to ignore it (the San Diego market) in the past with a few exceptions , because we had a slow-growth policy and we had major national accounts that were and still are forming strategic partnerships with us, and we had the opportunity to produce bigger programs,” Ashman said.
While San Diego is no Hollywood, the demand for film, video and live-event production here is rising, Ashman said.
“San Diego has grown to where there’s more companies here who want the high-end production and they’re starting to recognize and spend money on it,” he said, adding an average project can range anywhere from $5,000 to $1 million.
No stranger to the production industry, Multi Image was formed in 1972 by Ashman as an in-house production company that provides a spectrum of services, ranging from producing live stage events to recording original music scores and speech writing.
Each year, the company stages 100 live events and produces nearly 50 videos, which can take anywhere from a month to a year to complete.
Its latest project was a three-hour documentary on the building of the largest cruise ship in the world by Royal Caribbean International. It took three years to complete and won a silver award at the WorldFest Houston International Film Festival last month.
– Film Firm Branches Out
The company is also moving in the direction of marketing campaigns, trade shows and booth design productions, handling everything from the designs to what media will be seen on the giant screens at the event.
“To start a job is pretty daunting , there’s so many facets of it , it’s detail upon detail but it doesn’t have to be overwhelming, it’s in the planning. If you got that nailed you’ve got a great show,” said Gabriella Lengua, vice president of production.
The company has worked with the National Cash Register (NCR), the Economic Development Corp. and the Building Industry Association to produce teleconferences, global meetings and awards shows.
Multi Image collaborates with clients from beginning to end, arranging everything from set design and special effects to script and talent.
Its live-event staging has taken them to 82 countries around the globe, producing “absolutely killer shows,” as Ashman calls them.
“They (clients) want something different and better every year,” Lengua said.
“For the same money or less,” Ashman chimed in.
– EDC Is A Regular Client
The San Diego Economic Development Corp. uses Multi Image one to three times a year to work on events ranging from its San Pasqual Academy Child Abuse Prevention gala dinner to promotional videos.
“They do a good job at listening to what you want and putting the package together, and always stay within their budget,” said Lauree Sabha, vice president of investor relations for the EDC and a client for 13 years.
Keeping up with the clientele can be only one of the obstacles a production company faces.
Instituting the ever-changing mediums of technology into production can be costly and timely.
The latest evolution to hit the industry is high-definition television, or HDTV, a wide-screen format technology.
The Federal Communications Commission has mandated the adoption of HDTV for all broadcasting entities by 2006, with consumers to follow in the coming years.
Lengua predicts the crossover to high-definition could take up to 20 years.
“It’s going to be a process. You still have clients who don’t have the budget for HD and also I don’t think they see the worth , the difference in quality from video to HD , I think cost is the main issue,” she said.
But for Ashman, technology is not a problem.
“Technology is not the issue. It’s telling a good story,” he said.
– Stories Are The Secret To Success
Ashman said technologies come and go. What makes a production successful, he said, is learning how to find a message and then use the appropriate technologies to convey that message.
“(You can go) to any film that has special effects that are just amazing and walk away going ‘so what?’ You have to know that target audience, have a message that is somewhat meaningful and then you make it an emotional experience,” he said.
Mark King, president of TaylorMade-adidas Golf, said it’s the reason his company is a client.
Multi Image has produced corporate events and internal video productions for the golf company over the last 10 years.
“They have great people who have taken the time to sit down and create something that’s emotional and motivational,” King said. “They understand culture and people.”
He said the company’s most requested video is “For the Love of the Game,” a history of golf produced by Multi Image last year.
With enough projects to keep its staff of 20 busy over the next several years, Ashman said the company is looking forward to its continued expansion at a gradual pace.
“We’re not going to let the company grow too fast,” he said. “We’re growing, but we’re being very careful about it.”
