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“The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.” – Steve Jobs.

THIS is who we are! Our work has literally become our play! Every day it seems as though a new challenge presents itself with each call, text or email, but we jump in wholeheartedly because storytelling is genuinely what we love to do.  ❤️

Earlier this month, Governor Hochul announced transformational changes to extend and enhance the New York State Film Tax Credit Program as part of the historic FY 2024 New York State Budget. These changes include increasing the annual allocation from $420 million to $700 million, extending the program by five years from 2029 through 2034, increasing the base credit percent from 25% to 30%, including double capped above-the-line wages as qualified costs, and more. This new credit will have a major impact Upstate, where productions can receive up to 40% credit for filming in most Upstate counties.

New York State Budget changes to the New York City Musical & Theatrical Tax Credit Program include a two-year program extension, $100 million increase in funding, and expanded eligibility for certain smaller “off Broadway” productions.

Read on for more updates from the Governor’s Office of Motion Picture & Television Development (MPTV):

Virtual Information Sessions: NYS Film Tax Credit Changes

The Governor’s Office of Motion Picture & Television Development is holding virtual information sessions to inform the industry of the newly expanded film tax credit program and answer questions. The first two sessions were held on May 10 and May 24 and were enthusiastically attended by nearly 400 industry professionals.

The next information session will take place on Wednesday, June 14. MPTV looks forward to hosting more information sessions and continuing the conversation about the exciting developments taking place in New York’s film and television industry. Over the next several months, MPTV will continue to update all materials including websites, applications, guidelines, and regulations to reflect these exciting changes.

Keeping our Communities Camera-Ready

On May 23, MPTV partnered with Film Albany to present a virtual fam tour led by Albany Film Commissioner Debby Goedeke. Attendees learned about filming in the City of Albany and Albany County and were taken on a virtual tour of many stunning area locations that have been used by productions like Succession, Billions, The Gilded Age, and White House Plumbers, to name a few. Attendees also heard from location manager Steve Grivno, who shared his experience working on White House Plumbers in the Capital Region.

Next, MPTV will head to Western NY to present a virtual fam tour with Buffalo Film Commissioner Tim Clark on June 29. Then we will travel back down the Hudson to present a virtual fam tour with Hudson Valley Film Commissioner Laurent Rejto on July 11.

To familiarize filmmakers with New York State’s many film-friendly and camera-ready agencies and the locations and resources they offer, MPTV will also host a virtual event with the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey (PANYNJ) on July 25. The Port Authority will present New York State locations available for filming, provide information about filming protocols at their sites, and answer questions submitted by attendees.

Keep an eye out for more information about upcoming events with State agencies, regional film offices, and other partners about all New York has to offer filmmakers!

Investing in New York State Arts and Culture

Governor Hochul continues to support the many artists and creative organizations that call the Empire State home and enhance New York State arts and culture. Governor Hochul recently announced $82 million in New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) grants are now available for nonprofit arts and culture organizations and individual artists across New York State.

The Governor also announced $24 million in funding for 28 projects across the state through Round XII of the Regional Economic Development Council Initiative. Congratulations to all the winning projects, especially the Social Impact Content Film School, which plans a state-of-the-art film school at its Downtown Yonkers campus, and the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, which will utilize grant funds to implement and promote special events to attract filmmakers and tourists from around the world. Round XIII of the Regional Economic Development Council Initiative was recently launched and the New York State Consolidated Funding Application is now open.

Governor Hochul also announced a plan to upgrade the Apollo Media Center in East Buffalo to support job training, youth programming and media production. The $962,000 state investment will help the Center acquire new equipment to expand media education to City residents who own a business and provide a safe creative outlet for young people to explore music and art, while also teaching skills in video production and coding to help familiarize them with media careers.

For more information, or to get in touch with the Governor’s Office of Motion Picture & Television Development, please contact 212-803-2330 or nyfilm@esd.ny.gov.

Ulster County already sounds great, but wait, wait there’s more!

The Hudson Valley, and Ulster County in particular, is home to jaw dropping nature, gram-worthy shopping, vibrant communities, and countless restaurants with farm-fresh food and cozy and exciting spaces.

We’re fond of a little town called Woodstock. Maybe you’ve heard of it?

Called the “Most Famous Small Town in the World,” Woodstock, New York is where the 1969 music festival famously took place. Say “Woodstock” and the legendary Summer of Love concert immediately springs to mind.

The nation’s oldest arts and crafts colony, Byrdcliffe, which dates back to 1903 is in Woodstock. While you can still get Woodstock-era beads, tie-dye, and glitter, these days you’re more likely to find modern art, jewelry, and clothing in the Village Green, at the center of town, as well as restaurants and plenty of live music venues that keep the scene thriving.

Want to pamper yourself a bit between days on location or after your production (or during)? Woodstock has you covered all the way from cute BnBs to the Tibetan Buddhist monastery that is next to our Overlook Mountain trailhead ✨. Anyway, there’s something for everyone in your cast and crew (and YOU of course).

If you’re looking for a snack or a drink, pop into Good Night— one of our favorites and the best in the area. The vibe is après ski lodge meets gin joint lounge (the couches are to die for). We recommend the East Coast oysters for a real taste of old New York in the Hudson Valley, (our personal fav is the Crispy Shrimp with Shishito Peppers).

Let’s talk soon about Ulster County!

We hear it all the time. Moses this, Moses that. Why are we always talking about Moses?

We love Moses, big fans, but the thing we’re talking about all the time is the MO-SYS virtual production system. Even though SO many people think we’re saying Moses.

Just to clear up the confusion, we made this handy dandy chart to help everyone distinguish between Mo-ses and Mo-Sys.

Moses	Mo-Sys
Top prophet	Impacts your project’s profits
Floated the Nile in a basket	Floated AR videos for the Oscars
Talked to a bush	Talked to up to 16 cameras with Startracker, and can operate in live streaming or record modes
Not a fan of Gold Cows	Can make the Cow of your Dreams: spotted, blue, purple, whatever
Parted the Red Sea	Powered by AMD Threadrippers in (2) PCs
(2) tablets, 10 commandments	(3) 4K recorders
Out of this world beard	Unreal Engine 5 (it doesn’t rhyme, but we don’t care)
Legacy – Led his people out of Egypt	Legacy – Removed physical set building costs
Looks suspiciously like Chuck Heston 🧐	They’ll have to pry this tech out of your cold, dead hands

Want to see our Mo-Sys in person?

Lets talk.

We recently had an opportunity to blow expectations right out of the water, and we wanted to share it with you via a production CASE STUDY.

THE ASK

We got a call at Cobalt HQ from the in-house marketing agency at LG on a Wednesday. You know LG – an international conglomerate that makes everything from TVs, dishwashers, cooktops, monitors, washing machines, vacuums… And so much more.

They had an urgent request: The marketing group was meeting with LG’s CEO of North American operations the following week on a Thursday… and they needed our help.

LG wanted to explore the suitability of Virtual Production (VP) for their entire line of products. They wanted to know if VP was a methodology that would retain their world class style and amazing production value while saving them money in the long term. Would this keep them from having to build, and hold over practical sets every time they wanted to shoot this year? Would Virtual Production obviate the need for cast, crew and clients to travel to disparate locations? All common questions…

The CEO was skeptical that Virtual Production would be able to produce photorealistic results in an abbreviated timeline. Saving money was one thing, but if the work looked fake, then of course, he wasn’t concerned about how much money was saved.

Naturally, we were up for the challenge. One week to make a huge impression on a massive global company at the highest levels? No big deal.

THE SOLUTION

The first thing we did was strategize an impactful approach. We know CEOs are busy, so we decided to take one of their products, create a way to showcase it, and then rewind the film to show them exactly how we did it… all in one neat little package.

The Weekend: We spent the weekend concepting, hiring talent, and assembling the team.

Monday: In the morning, we picked up a vacuum cleaner at a big box store. Then we designed the virtual set comprised of 3 different rooms.
Check out: Unreal Marketplace.

Tuesday (the Pre-Light): We laid flooring, positioned practical props within the virtual set, mounted our camera to our dana dolly, created garbage mattes, and rehearsed. Meanwhile, we pulled together wardrobe, ordered lighting equipment, and all the things you’d typically do over the course of a prep week. After recording a few rehearsals, we were all set to shoot.

Wednesday: While we did shoot through lunch, we were able to nail the spot in just 8 takes i.e half a day… The talent and crew we assembled were out of this world, and naturally, our co-directing team was pretty great, too!

THE RESULTS

Less than a week. It took our production studio less than a week to shoot a dynamic spot that was going to show off Virtual Production for the CEO of LG North America Operations.

By now you’re probably wondering how it was received?Well, it was a smash. The time-pressed CEO was so WOWED, he didn’t think twice. He green lit 12 commercials with our studio on the spot…

YES, YOU CAN deliver an astounding project, quickly and effortlessly, while saving significant production costs.

PLEASE NOTE:

The video you just saw was a direct output from Cobalt’s Mo-sys system. All LIVE composited at 4K.

Call us to discuss!

A: The doors to our soundstage! ❤️

You’ve probably got questions like “Why do you need two 700-pound doors?” and “What makes a soundstage a soundstage?”

And WHY make a soundstage?

Let’s get into it…

Noise! It’s everywhere. Even in what might seem like a quiet room (or your run-of-the-mill stage) there’s noise that the best mics will pick up! Could be the dull hum of a plane flying overhead, a big rig laying on the horn, or just some rowdy birds near a window. These sounds might seem imperceptible to you in the room, but trust us, the mics are gonna pick them up.

So what do you do? And what did WE do?

Simple: acoustic remediation.

Ok, you got me, it’s not so simple at all… It’s a relatively long and involved technical process that involves years of Industry experience to execute properly (not to mention a whole lotta elbow grease and some really cool materials to acoustically isolate a space)…

You might be wondering what any of this has to do with our 700-pound doors. Well, one of the first things we really wanted to do, was to “Cobaltize” our new space… Right away, we got busy adding a sound vestibule with MASSIVE doors. And boy did we ever do that.

We built fully soundproof, custom doors – 14 feet high. Both doors are literally 7-feet wide, and swing open on hinges. You can seriously drive a city bus through them. YES, we are a drive-on soundstage 🙂 We want you, our clients, to load in and load out with ease… and to have the sans sound you deserve!

Our magical doors actually overlap when they close, and feature an astragal (a piece of hardware used to seal the gap between two doors) to eliminate noise intrusion. The bottoms of these doors are also covered in custom sweeps to cut noise. And lastly, since we know not everyone will end up driving a bus into the soundstage, we also added a human size door for cast and crew.

What else did we do to soundstage-up our new space?

You know we don’t do anything halfway here! We took all of our experience working with audiologists to make sure every inch of our soundstage was as soundproofed as humanly possible.

We’re so serious about sound, we even constructed walls to eliminate any errant sounds from the outside world (seriously, next time you’re here, drop a pin – I dare ya.) We framed the entire vestibule with 2″ x 6″s, stuffed the interstitial spaces with acoustic insulation, and lined both sides with Mass Loaded Vinyl.

Mass loaded vinyl (MLV) is the pinnacle of sound barrier tech. MLV barriers block out noises from traffic and street construction, trains, buses and even aircraft. It’s even environmentally friendly. We could have stopped there. But we didn’t. Once the walls were lined with MLV, on both sides, we piled on sheetrock and plywood.

We can’t wait for you to shoot your project at our new space (and for you to hear how wonderful it sounds in there!) Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

When your work becomes your play.

“The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.” – Steve Jobs.

THIS is who we are! Our work has literally become our play! Every day it seems as though a new challenge presents itself with each call, text or email, but we jump in wholeheartedly because storytelling is genuinely what we love to do. ❤️

Ulster County already sounds great, but wait, wait there’s more!

The Hudson Valley, and Ulster County in particular, is home to jaw dropping nature, gram-worthy shopping, vibrant communities, and countless restaurants with farm-fresh food and cozy and exciting spaces.

We’re fond of a little town called Woodstock. Maybe you’ve heard of it?

Called the “Most Famous Small Town in the World,” Woodstock, New York is where the 1969 music festival famously took place. Say “Woodstock” and the legendary Summer of Love concert immediately springs to mind.

The nation’s oldest arts and crafts colony, Byrdcliffe, which dates back to 1903 is in Woodstock. While you can still get Woodstock-era beads, tie-dye, and glitter, these days you’re more likely to find modern art, jewelry, and clothing in the Village Green, at the center of town, as well as restaurants and plenty of live music venues that keep the scene thriving.

Want to pamper yourself a bit between days on location or after your production (or during)? Woodstock has you covered all the way from cute BnBs to the Tibetan Buddhist monastery that is next to our Overlook Mountain trailhead ✨. Anyway, there’s something for everyone in your cast and crew (and YOU of course).

If you’re looking for a snack or a drink, pop into Good Night— one of our favorites and the best in the area. The vibe is après ski lodge meets gin joint lounge (the couches are to die for). We recommend the East Coast oysters for a real taste of old New York in the Hudson Valley, (our personal fav is the Crispy Shrimp with Shishito Peppers).

Let’s talk soon about Ulster County!

Everyone’s talking about heading to Ulster County in the Hudson Valley for financial incentives. Take a peek at the info video above & read, read, read below. 💥💥💥

What New York doesn’t know about Ulster County Tax Incentives

The Hudson Valley is open for business…the Film business. There are many reasons the Industry is flocking northward, but the tax incentives in Ulster County are TOPS.

The New York State Film Tax Credit Program now offers some of the nation’s most stable and successful production and post-production tax credits with as much as 25% on below-the-line costs and up to 40% on post-production.

An additional 10% is available on below-the-line labor for feature film or TV shows budgeted at $500,000 and above.

The Post-Production Tax Credit program can be allocated and used to encourage companies to post their film projects in New York and help create and maintain film industry jobs. Production companies may be eligible to receive a fully refundable credit of 40-45% of qualified post-production costs incurred in New York State.

An additional 5% credit may also be available for costs incurred in Upstate NY.

Great right?
But that’s not all, because Ulster County Rocks 🎸WOODSTOCK STYLE 🎸

The Ulster County Film Finance Program debuted in 2017 to encourage more film, television, commercial production, and post-production within the County.

An initial commitment of $8 million by four local banking institutions may be used to provide cash advances on distribution contracts with top-tier distributors of films, as well as bridge financing on projects that have approved New York State tax credits, but are waiting for the money to arrive.

The program also offers favorable loans for equipment, property, capital improvements, and lease fit-outs for post-production facilities in Ulster County. Finally, there are local bank accounts and debit cards available for qualified production companies.

These are just a few of the reasons Hollywood on the Hudson is booming. Stay tuned to learn even more about the region, Virtual Production (naturally), and more. Want to talk about your project soon? Hit the buttons below.

We love to talk about Virtual Production! We want you all to know about the flexibility, the cost savings and how it can bring your dreams, and your production, to life. With limitless options available in the Virtual World, the KEY is prepping the production properly.

Why are we talking about this now?

Good question! Alex and Cobalt’s Virtual Production Operators spent last week at a workshop, taking a deep dive into the virtual workflow with the folks from Mo-Sys. We want to continue to share the wealth – well beyond the basics…

CG asset prep is key.

Virtual Production is sometimes sold as a quick way to do anything you can possibly imagine. Ummm, not so fast, Habersham… We’d like to point out that while there’s soooo much incredible flexibility with Virtual Production (and big expectations), Virtual Production still needs a healthy dose of pre-planning to maximize its AMAZING potential.

“Decisions must be made in advance of a shoot to maximize the power of the tech. Out of the box, you can certainly maximize production value while saving on production costs, BUT with a little pre-planning and building, you can create amazing synergy between the practical world and the virtual world,” says Cobalt’s onsite tech guru, Alex. Simply put, “With planning you can do extremely magical things.”

You don’t have to be in the city to shoot the city…
(HINT HINT 😉)

Beyond the basics.

Team Cobalt got seriously excited when a little gem came to light… Again, prepping assets is essential, BUT imagine being able to control the lighting of your CG environment LIVE via DMX!! So, if your scene is a club venue with dynamic lights, your on-set DMX OP can simultaneously control the practical lighting AND the CG lighting LIVE. And as we all know, DMX can control tons of VFX devices, like triggering motion control, fog machines, audio, etc. etc. Another example…. A driving shot. Your practical lighting of the occupants in the car, can match the CG street lights seen in the virtual world. Whoa. (see above)

Think about that for a second… Your practical lighting effects can perfectly match your Virtual Set. The possibilities to integrate your practical production elements into the VSet are literally limitless. This flexibility is one of the main reasons we were one of the earliest adopters (first on the East Coast!) of Virtual Production.

Want to talk soon about your Virtual Production? We do too! More little gems to come, stay tuned…