Viewpoint: Picture Perfect
Having
the images captured on the Macs improves the process in other ways as
well. “The Macs run the PhaseOne Capture software and are connected by
FireWire 400 to the cameras,” says Fortune. “The images can be
inspected for exposure, light balance, composition and so on, and the
set and lighting are adjusted accordingly.”
The setup also brings the company’s clients into the workflow. “They can be onsite, or we can email the image directly from our system for their approval,” says Fortune. “Once the final images have been decided upon, they are posted across our gigabyte network to the Xserves.
“From there the images move further through the process to our premedia division, which does the prepress work, whatever might have to happen to deliver the final product to the client.”
“We are very excited about becoming the largest digital studio in the industry. It provides us with the opportunity to offer our clients a high-tech creative environment, faster turn-around and ultimately better quality control of the images.”
On-Demand Marketing
Viewpoint’s all-digital workflow has also been a boon to sales and marketing. “The sales and marketing teams take images directly off the Xserves and pull them into iPhoto to create on-demand marketing tools,” says Fortune. “Photos relating to a certain industry can be burned to CDs and sent to potential clients, so that they see Viewpoint Studios in light of what they need to accomplish.”
Hair is enthusiastic, to put it mildly. “The iPhoto application has just been absolutely fabulous,” he declares. “It was really simple to learn, and now our sales department can search our database for content. They’re literally putting images in iPhoto, using the Ken Burns effect and creating some really nicely directed presentations. It helps us present a more professional face to the client.
"When a prospect is at least interested to learn more about us, but for whatever reason we can’t meet in person, we’ll write out a fast CD — with maybe a QuickTime movie that’s saved out of iPhoto — and send it to them. We’ve had several prospects receive that particular marketing tool and call us right back and say, ‘Wow, we had no idea. We love these images.’ Then of course from there what usually happens is a tangible meeting.”
Looking Ahead
After investing over $1.5 million for 60 digital workstations, “we are very excited about becoming the largest digital studio in the industry,” says John Pardy, one of the Viewpoint partners. “It provides us with the opportunity to offer our clients a high-tech creative environment, faster turn-around and ultimately better quality control of the images.”
Far from resting on these accomplishments, however, Viewpoint is already looking to the future. “Our premedia services will continue to grow,” says Hair. “Our current core services include file management and storage and color management, since probably 90 percent of the images we produce end up with ink on paper.
“Going forward,” he says, “we will diversify, adding on top of the vertical chain of our product and services. We will offer creative services, with a creative director and art directors to do concept layout and design of brochures, single pages, catalogs, all types of collateral tools for both retailers and manufacturers.
Without hesitation, he adds, “And we know that Mac will be a very, very important tool for desktop design.”
