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SHOOT: Cinelicious Opens in Hollywood, Secures Colorist Steve Rodriguez

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by Robert Goldrich
March 2010

Paul Korver, a filmmaker who turned his focus to postproduction two years ago, has formally launched telecine/finishing shop Cinelicious, securing noted colorist Steve Rodriguez, and setting up operations in new Hollywood digs.

Rodriguez, who came over from Company 3, has already wrapped under the Cinelicious banner a nine-spot Hyundai package produced by Biscuit Filmworks for agency Innocean Worldwide Americas. Three of the spots–“Body Pass,” “Paint” and “10 Years” (which stars quarterback Brett Favre still mulling retirement from football in the year 2020)–debuted during last month’s Super Bowl telecast. Biscuit’s Tim Godsall directed the Super Bowl ads. A fourth spot, “Luxury,” was helmed by Noam Murro of Biscuit, and aired immediately after the conclusion of the game.

Rodriguez has assorted spots to his credit over the years, spanning stretches at such shops as The Post Group, Post Logic, and two tours of duty at Company 3 sandwiched around his tenure at Riot in Santa Monica. He has served as colorist on ads for the likes of Nike (the memorable “No Excuses” featuring a wheelchair athlete, directed by Errol Morris of Moxie Pictures for Wieden+Kennedy, Portland, Ore.), Lexus for Team One, a recent Time Warner Cable campaign via Uniworld, New York, and adidas.

For the latter, Rodriguez served as colorist on the lauded Kevin Garnett-starring “Carry” spot from the then TBWA\Chiat\Day, San Francisco. “Carry” garnered a 2005 Cannes Bronze Lion and was one of the commercials that earned Murro the DGA Award as the best spot director of 2004.

Bringing Rodriguez into the Cinelicious fold was a key dynamic for Korver, who serves as the shop’s executive producer. Their paths first crossed at Company 3 when Rodriguez color corrected the Christina Aguilera music video “Save Me From Myself” which Korver directed. The two struck up a rapport, kept in touch and eventually came together in this new venture.

But Rodriguez is but one of the components Korver has assembled to bring Cinelicious to fruition. He has been building the post business and his strategies under the radar over the past couple of years, operating out of interim quarters and taking on indie projects, modestly budgeted commercials and music videos. Initially he deployed some used telecine equipment (URSA Diamond and daVinci) which he obtained from Riot.

Now, though, with the formal launch of Cinelicious, Korver has stepped up his commitment, securing not only Rodriguez, but also moving into the new 5,000-square-foot Hollywood facility, and buying high-level resources including an HD/2K capable Spirit Datacine, a fully loaded daVinci 2K+ realtime color correction, and DVNR 2K realtime grain plus dust and scratch conceal.

Korver also has plans in the works to soon unveil a 2K, 3D, 4K DI Theater with a 20-foot screen, as well as 4K film scanning services.

He’s betting on Hollywood again attracting ad agency artisans and clients, hearkening back in a sense to the heyday of shops like 525 when commercial post was firmly ensconced in the heart of the city, well before the westward migration of facilities to Santa Monica and Venice. Korver reasoned that Hollywood is in the midst of a rebirth creatively and commercially, noting that buzz-generating restaurants and hotels (i.e., the new W in Hollywood, and Palihouse in West Hollywood) are also cropping up.