Steve Kalalian: Digital Imaging on Steroids
“When we’re on location, we bring tremendous capabilities to the shoot,” Kalalian says. “But the studio is where it really gets amazing. Photographers bring whatever cameras they want, and we give them everything they need to shoot, process and print digitally.”
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For studio work, Kalalian created the DC7 Digital Capture System, a mobile turnkey digital production system. It includes three Power Mac G5s, an Apple 23-inch Cinema Display, Apple 17-inch Studio Display, LaCie CRT monitor, gigabit switch and router.
“We have the absolute best equipment and crew,” says Kalalian, “from the latest G5s full of RAM to the latest digital camera backs.
“Because we’re server based,” Kalalian says, “we can multitask. And because the DC7 is modular, we can keep adding G5 modules to accommodate many users doing different things. As images are being shot to one computer, for instance, they’re immediately available to everybody else for making prints and proofs. Art directors can immediately grab and use the images in layouts, process final high-res tiffs and do some retouching or Photoshop work.
“Clients ask us to handle very large productions because we can provide all of these services at once.”
‘Everybody Is There’
When Escada, the international fashion boutique, wanted to shoot a catalog digitally, Industrial Color worked with several photographers in two studios during a 12-day schedule. Each photographer shot to a DC7 system, so production could coincide with the shoot. “The images are proofed the same day they’re shot,” Kalalian says.
“The art directors do the markups, and the hi-res files are processed. By the end of the shoot, you’ve produced 250 to 300 final high-res images that are already being worked on in high-end retouching.”
“When Ferragamo shoots a campaign,” says Kalalian, “it’s not just a photographer. It’s also the creative director, art director and clients. “The Ferragamo team had flown in from Italy for a week,” he says, “Not only did we get the campaign shot, everything was approved. By the end of the week, the clients flew back to Italy with perfectly-calibrated files, finished ads and catalog layouts and prints — everything they needed for post production.”
“By the end of the week, the clients flew back to Italy with perfectly-calibrated files, finished ads and catalog layouts and prints — everything they needed for post production.”
Master Retoucher
Kalalaian launched Industrial Color as a natural extension of his first company, Impact Digital. It began as a graphic design firm for the fashion industry. Today it handles both film and digital, providing high-end advertisers with drum scanning, color separations, retouching and prepared mechanicals.
“One of the things that has been part of our success,” says Kalalian, “is our mastery of retouching and print. We have 15 years of experience working on important images that have to go to many different types of media, including magazines, billboards, in-store displays and outdoor.
“We were always dealing with traditional files as well as the new crop of digital files, and we kept a very close eye on professional digital capture. When digital camera manufacturers, like Kodak, PhaseOne and Sinar began developing professional camera backs, we wanted to find a way to bring all the pieces together on location or in the studio.
“When we come to the table,” Kalalian emphasizes, “we’re not motivated by any other reason than to help the photographer create amazing images. We are there to serve the photographer.
“Having the background experience with Impact Digital gives clients a comfort level to make the jump to digital with us. And because we have a strong track record within digital capture, we’re able to help first-time clients have flawless digital experiences. They’re really our most rewarding experiences.”
