MUMBAI: Reliance MediaWorks has entered into an MoU with Russian World Studios (RWS) and Obyedinennaya Gosudarstvennaya Kinokollektsia (OGK) for outsourcing work that would flow in volumes as it expands its twin facilities in Mumbai and Burbank (California).
Reliance MediaWorks will get work from Russia related to film restoration, image processing and enhancement and HD conversion.
"It is a significant deal for us. RWS is part of JSFC Sistema, a large Group with diversified business interests. The best part is the deal with OGK, a state unit, which will give us huge volumes," said Reliance MediaWorks CEO Anil Arjun.
The MOU was signed during the visit of Russian president Dmitri Medvedev.
"Russian film and television industry is moving towards digitisation and the United State Film Collection houses thousands of legacy film titles which need to be restored, digitised and uprezed to HD. We are pleased to have found a partner in Reliance MediaWorks who shares our commitment for excellence and has time-proven hardware, software and custom R&D and can help us restore the Russian film legacy," said Russian World Studios CEO Yuri Saprono.
Depending on Russia‘s requirement and developing business potential, Reliance MediaWorks and Russian World Studios will explore the possibility of jointly setting up a dedicated restoration and digitisation facility within RWS Studio complex at St Petersburg for image processing and touch-ups.
The restoration and digitisation services would be provided by Reliance MediaWorks to RWS and OGK through its Media BPO, which is one of the world‘s largest dedicated film and video restoration facility.
Arjun said, "By combining RWS‘s leadership, know-how and expertise in Russian market with our experience and versatile technology we are geared to provide next generation services to RWS and OGK‘s vast film archives. Russian Cinema has been a true embodiment of their rich history and by offering restoration services in Russia, we are honoured to have the opportunity to revive some of these classic movies."
RelianceMediaWorks has already done work for studios in Hollywood, BBC and ITV in the UK.
Located in Navi Mumbai and spread across 90,000 sq ft area, the state-of-the-art facility is built to international standards. The facility has been security audited and passed by International Studios. The facility is linked through fiber optic connections to the Reliance MediaWorks operations in Burbank and London and can seamlessly transfer data across locations.
RWS, a part of JSFC Sistema, is one of the largest private film companies in the Russian market. Existing since 1998, RWS has produced hundreds of projects, both for TV and the big screen. The company also owns two studios, one in Moscow and one in St Petersburg which are spread across 22,000 square meters.
OGK (United State Film Collection) is Russia‘s federal state unitary enterprise that preserves and manages the Russian film archives.
Reliance MediaWorks has a comprehensive presence in film services: motion picture processing and DI; visual effects; film restoration and image enhancement; 2D to 3D conversion; digital mastering; studios and equipment rentals with facilities located in US, UK and India.
