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. ❤️

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.

Hello Friends!

You probably already know that Cobalt was the first to offer Virtual Production to the film community on the East Coast. Getting there first, and doing it right, has always been in our DNA.

Today, we wanted to take you on a quick tour of our Mo-Sys setup and share why we love it, why our clients love it, and why we’re sure you’re gonna love it, too.

So, what is this thing?

Virtual Production at Cobalt, driven by Mo-Sys, is ONE state of the art system that works for BOTH green-screen AND LED applications. Virtual Production means no travel costs, no location fees, no set construction costs or waste—just unrestricted camera movement, amazing production value, and complete creative freedom. The laws of physics are a thing of the past when you work with us.

Love it, but what’s a Mo-Sys?

Good question. There’s Mo-Sys the company, and Mo-Sys the tech. Let’s talk about the company first, and why we’ve worked with them for so long.

Mo-Sys is the global leaders in creating original and highly sophisticated camera technology products for film and broadcast, empowering high-quality AR, VR and Virtual Production. Mo-Sys tech has been used in films like The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Social Network, Life of Pi, The Shape of Water and Aquaman and serial television credits include Stranger Things, House of Cards, Sherlock, Orange is the New Black among many more.

Get it? Nice. Now, let’s geek out on the tech.

Mo-Sys VP Pro is the software that powers our system. Mo-Sys’ Startracker Studio is a real-time compositor, synchroniser, keyer, and recorder that uses real-time camera and lens tracking data to drive all CG assets.

VP Pro has a clever set of tools that simplifies and enhances virtual production workflows, making it simpler to achieve the virtual production illusion you’re after.

StarTracker is the solid solution for unrestricted, real-time camera tracking. StarTracker offers unlimited freedom of movement and gives accurate position, rotation and lens data in real-time. You can rotate the studio camera 360 degrees, and move it to any position in the studio, regardless of whether the camera is on a dolly, a crane or even handheld.

Good question. There’s Mo-Sys the company, and Mo-Sys the tech. Let’s talk about the company first, and why we’ve worked with them for so long.

Sounds very cool, what does it look like?

Here we are, live composited, from one of our recent tech demo streams.

Yep, that’s us on set in a fully virtual environment.

What does all this mean for you and your production?

Three words. Savings, savings, savings, and flexibility. Ok, that was four.

Virtual Production means the days of flying across the globe to different sets for many locations, and using crazy resources (and a large roster of talent) are over. With Virtual Set tech, we’re able to immerse talent in previously impossible environments or environments that would have been very expensive to build. Now, we can achieve this in a highly seamless fashion, in a very cost-effective way. Plus you get ALL the flexibility.

And, no more chasing that golden hour… You can harness the golden hour all day long if you like. And “weather days” are truly a thing of the past.

Let’s talk soon about bringing your production to life with Mo-Sys 💥

Yes ✨

We’re beyond excited to step into Spring with a big announcement. We’re not ready to tell you what it is, just yet, but what we can tell you is what it’s going to mean for your productions in 2023 and beyond:

Are you excited…?? We are!!!

Naturally, all this new stuff comes with over 50 years of combined Industry-leading experience. Nothing’s changing there… You’ll get the same care and attention to your project’s each and every need – as usual.

Keep an eye on your inbox for updates, and tell your friends something big is about to happen at Cobalt.

For decades, we’ve been shooting talent and products on green, and adding photo-realistic 3D graphics in post-production to finalize the shot. This is the foundation of a visual effects shot (VFX). It was (and still is) very much a two-stage process… Virtual production in most cases makes this a one-step process, by enabling the VFX shot to be captured on set, in camera, and in real-time. Virtual production saves time, money, and is much more efficient. But it does require more preparation.

The enablers…
The “enablers” for virtual production are real-time photo-realistic graphics engines (like Epic Games’ Unreal Engine, or Unity’s 3D engine) coupled with precision camera/lens tracking. Using these technologies means that we can put talent or products into any photo-realistic environment we like, whenever we like, and even change the environment at a push of a button.

How costs are cut.
Here’s the bottom line. Content Creators, both big and small, are always looking for ways to reduce cost and maximize efficiency.

Flying across the globe to different sets for numerous locations, and using crazy resources (as well as a large roster of talent) is no longer cutting it. Producers, kiss those days away. Seriously.

With Virtual Set tech, we’re now able to immerse talent in previously impossible environments or environments that would have been very expensive to build with physical sets. Now, we can achieve this in a highly seamless fashion, in a very cost effective way.

Bye-bye physics.
No longer tied to the laws of physics, you don’t have to chase that golden hour any longer… You can harness the golden hour all day long if you like. Ahhhhh… Yes, “weather days” are truly a thing of the past.

As the Coast Guard said to the ship’s Captain…
VADA A BORDO CAZZO!

And we are ready to share.

In case you aren’t familiar… Mo-Sys is an award-winning, world-renowned maker of virtual production solutions. We’ve been watching them VERY closely, and have been headed down the virtual path with them for a while now. We have been learning with the Mo-Sys guys at NAB, Cinegear, and their laboratory in LA. Its now in our hot little hands, and ready for you.

Where is this Mo-sys we have?

The answer is: in our clutches, and anywhere you want it to be. You can come to our stage to use it, or we can come to you – on location or in any studio. Even in Brooklyn. We don’t judge.

Did you ask why?

Because it’s cost effective, and makes your life easier. And the rest of the production world has caught on, and knows its true. It’s ONE state of the art system that works for BOTH a green-screen AND LED application. Virtual production means no travel costs, no location fees, no set construction costs or waste—just unrestricted camera movement, amazing production value and complete creative freedom.

The badass hardware.

The design and form factor is tidy and impressive; the operating system is extremely well designed; and in most cases, it obviates the need for the sometimes problematic ‘Brain Bar’. Cobalt’s NEW virtual production solution enables a wide range of implementation options, from simple camera tracking metadata (used in post), to full up ‘final pixel’ 4K composites, and everything else in between. You really can’t ask for more than that. It is impressive, and is now the Industry standard.

The future of film is virtual.
Virtual is NOW.

Want to composite your high res 4K Live Action into dynamic, photorealistic Unreal environments with precision camera tracking, while shooting? It’s an end-to-end virtual production solution that can combine pre-viz, production, and post. Now clients can choose the workflow that’s perfect for their virtual project. Yes, color correction and compositing can be done onset while shooting. The world of filmmaking has exploded into the virtual realm, and is in Cobalt’s hands, once again.

Proud to announce “The Mission”!

Cobalt is proud to announce our latest success with “The Mission” for our LA Agency client. The results are in, and they speak for themselves. Res ipsa. The clients love the spots; the reviews are all superb; and sales are up, WAY up.  Team Cobalt and co-directing team, Alex Fernbach & Kara Vedder, produced a heartfelt dramatic ‘short’ / commercial featuring a first-time 6 year old actress on a location shoot in California. While Alex created different ‘location looks’ and times of day from a single residence, Kara had fun coaxing a genuine, impishly natural performance from the 6 year old little girl 🙂  Let us know if you like it, or if you saw it when it aired this holiday season 💕

Science in the Service of Art.

And when we bring our laboratory to you…this is what it looks like. Our digital, mechanical, hydraulic and robotic production capabilities extend far beyond any we’ve encountered before. With our decades of experience to guide you and our comprehensive inventory of tools and technology, we can help produce for practically any purpose. From a simple product display to programmable robotics, we’re here to help you, quite simply, elevate your image 😉

On Location with Khaite.

Big challenges are usually pretty obvious—but small challenges tend to emerge at the last moment. Cobalt layers in safety nets to ensure that doesn’t happen to you. When you work with us, we ask lots of follow up questions about your production needs because we have the experience to anticipate some of the problems before they happen. Then, when you’re on set, we have a wealth of rigging tools, so if a problem emerges, there’s often a solution, just waiting to be assembled. For example, just 2 weeks ago… The Khaite runway project asked us to program the articulation of a 120LB light, in sync with music cues and other lighting effects. For the 14 minute long move, along a 60 foot track, our Gazelle did a little diddy while the infamous Khaite and 50 of her top-model peers purposed around it.

On Location with Khaite.

Whether it’s getting the camera precisely perpendicular to a product, or keeping an outdoor motion control rig from sinking into the sod, working with us enables your one-of-a-kind production problems to be solved faster, cheaper, easier and better. We’ve invested heavily in versatile, professional rigging gear. For instance, the Berkey system… an erector set for rig building… With our extensive Berkey inventory at Cobalt, you can custom-configure rigs on the fly to create your ideal solution quickly. But that’s not all. In addition to having great rigging gear to support your production needs, we also stock generous quantities of expendables—the tape, the plexiglass and all the odds and ends that, with some ingenuity, can get your production back on track without wasting time.

Speaking of time…

When we talk about motion control and rigging, you might picture a robotic camera crane. Well, that’s part of it… but, in precision camera work, your frame-accurate timing is just as essential as your camera movement. One shoot’s concept: a model walking onstage with the camera following her, and while she walks, her wardrobe changes—feels conceptually simple, right? Tape marked the floor so she knew where to step, but that only solved for space, not time. So how do you ensure that your talent is in the right place at the right time?? In this scenario, we offered a solution through our motion control operating system. It was a bell, rigged to a digital/ analog converter, programmed to ring at ½ second intervals that enabled the model to replicate the identical cadence. The effect was a success. We have a number of interfaces that enable synchronicity. So, go ahead and choreograph a chorus line of runway models! We’re well-equipped to help you work your magic.

Dear Friends,

Thank you for sharing your amazing talents with us this year, it’s been a joy and a privilege! We wish you a holiday season filled with glorious downtime, inner peace, and getting in touch with what matters most.

We’ll see you on the other side of 2022,
centered and refreshed!

Warmly,