Q&A with Kris Rattner, Dreamline LLC- Video and AfterEffects Post Production Film
http://www.dreamlinecinema.com/
Kris Rattner is the man behind the video for the NTC Awards. He generously donates his time and talent to the Nashville Technology Awards and makes us look pretty awesome! Recently, I got a “sneak peek” at what he has in store for the 2011 “Feel The Beat” Gala. I don’t want to give too much away, but I saw some of the videos he is working on for the NTC Awards Gala, and they look amazing. Needless to say, I was impressed and I wanted to know more about what he does and how he does it.
How did you get started in video production and post production? Was it something you learned on your own or went to school for?
It sounds like a cliché, but things happen when you least expect them too. In 1994 was in college working at a comedy club adjacent to the University of Missouri-Columbia. The club owner needed a way to transition between live television and the stage so I volunteered my time to experiment with video. I got a demo copy of a video editing program, however I didn’t own a video camera, so I ended up flying the club logo in a few times using a different transitions and overlaying some slap bass for a sound track. The club owner loved it and began using it immediately. One night the owner of the area’s top production company was in the audience, saw the simple work I created, and asked me to visit his studio the following week. One week later I was producing intro bumpers for some of his top clients. Within a year, I was trained on Lightwave and Adobe After Effects mixing those post production tools with studio footage to produce full production spots. Finally, by year two I was producing, shooting, and editing national broadcast commercials. I realized that I had a unique ability to generate emotional responses from my clients through my work and decided to form a company focusing on the post production side of the business, though it wasn’t until 2011 that the company officially became a registered corporation known as Dreamline.
The name Dreamline goes back to 1997 when I needed to name my hobby production studio to bid on some work. I had just watched a movie produced by DreamWorks and Newline Cinema, the two leading production houses at the time, and then it hit me. Take half the name of each and combine into one name. Dreamline was born! There was a time when I thought about changing the name to my last name, but a very good friend (we’ll call her T ), really helped me see the uniqueness of Dreamline and the name stayed!
I actually went to school for Computer Engineering and was convinced I was going to develop a microprocessor that would interface with our brains. My lack of interest in differential equations and imaginary numbers helped me see that my future was in my passion, which was in production. Ironically this passion wouldn’t be reached right away either. I spent 17 years in various positions of Sales Management in companies like Sprint, Time Warner Telecom, and Comcast before taking the plunge as a business owner. I think this experience really sets my understand of company branding and messaging apart from traditional production houses and teams. By taking what I learned about my abilities early on and combining them with my corporate understanding, I can create impactful experiences for my clients. That’s a very important trait to have in today’s social branded world.
How did you get involved making the Awards videos for the Tech Council?
I joined the NTC in 2007 as a committee member of the Awards Gala. In the meeting I heard all the “wants” for a new type of tech award program. Past shows had become stale using static PowerPoint as the primary media but I had a different idea. My idea was to turn this into an Academy awards night with graphics and sound that will literally knock your socks off. It was 2 more years (and a dozen name changes later) before that show became a reality. Naturally, I offered my talent up to create the content for the show, but soon realized that in order for the show to display properly I needed control, so I became the show director. This role is similar to the guy or gal who calls the camera shots at an NFL game in the control booth, but as you know the shows are flawless, (knock on wood) we’ve had a 100% success rate with them, plus since the first show, they remain the most talked about event in the NTC history. Unfortunately, we keep getting tasked with raising the bar. This year is by far the best graphical experience you’ve ever seen. I’m not sure what we will do in 2012!
What inspires you when making the videos for the NTC Award Gala and other events?
I’ve been asked many times over the years to help teach our youth to do what I do. That inspires me to continue to look for new ways to create experiences that move people. I believe our passion is what we are here to do, my passion is to create experiences through video. The NTC Award Gala and some of the other events that I produce are game changers in their space.
What software do you use for creating and editing the videos?
In my studio I have what is known in the industry as a mini render-farm. The farm is really an 80 inch rack filled with 9 Intel i7 servers all processing in tandem. This gives me the ability to render at resolutions up to 1080p in near real time. Related to my software the post production animation is created with Adobe After Effects and more recently Cinema 4D. I became master trained in AE in 2007 which opened up more opportunities for me to educate beginners into the business. Cinema 4D is a recent addition to my portfolio which has become a rival to the popular 3D Studio and Lightwave programs of the 90’s, though in my opinion Lightwave and 3DS still produce some of the best Kinetic animation today. I’ve become proficient on the AVID and in Premiere Pro over the years, but found the professional version of Sony’s Vegas extremely efficient. That may surprise a lot of people reading this, that I settled on a prosumer application to render my final videos however I believe one should use the tool that best suits them and the job. Vegas Pro has a lot of features, which when used correctly, can outwit, outlast, and outperform many of the larger fish in the sea. It may also surprise you to know that the Awards Gala is run 100% directly out of Vegas. I was actually contacted by Sony to demonstrate this to a group of their engineers because they never saw anyone operate the program like that, and it’s a piece of cake for the application. It’s like having a 256 channel video switcher at my finger tips for 1 ten thousandths the cost!
The videos I’ve seen all have music or interviews with people. Are there other programs you use for sound recording and editing?
I use Sony ACID to create many of audio tracks that require special effects however most of my audio is purchased through a service to keep our copyright and artist friends happy.
Once again, I have to say that I was impressed with your skills, as I am sure others will be. How can people get in touch with you?
There are a couple of ways. Our website: www.dreamlinecinema.com
Or by email: Kristopher.rattner@dreamlinecinema.com
Or give me a call: 615-887-7141
