Varsity extends Emerald's reach: As an industry re-invents itself, so does this entertainment production company - Open House - Brief Article

Post, Feb, 2002 by Ann Fisher

NEW YORK -- With much enthusiasm, Matt Morchower and Dave Kaufman have opened Varsity Entertainment, a Manhattan based entertainment production company, in the existing Emerald City post production facility located in midtown. Varsity offers all services, including program packaging, shooting, post production and original program development.

"Originally, we had set up Varsity for original program development and outsourced work from the networks," says Morchower. "And we saw the opportunity to take our model -- which was the two-guys-sitting-around-the-room-coming-up-with-ideas model -- and actually drop it on top of an existing facility that would have a regular month-to-month business, and be able to service our own programming concepts when we get them sold into the networks.

"It was less of a sale and more of an adoption," he continues, "[Emerald City] needed some leadership/focus and redirection help. They spent some energy, which at the time might have been smart, using the facility to generate a lot of video-driven Web sites -- and I don't want to say they got in trouble -- but it took their eye off the ball a little."

Varsity Entertainment was formed as the operating company for the acquisition of Emerald City Media Services in late August. However, the Varsity founding members had been working together since early 2001, looking for the right opportunity within the television arena.

Morchower and Kaufman, CEO and COO respectively, are optimistic about their role in the industry, even though the company officially opened in October 2001 -- not exactly an upbeat time in the advertising and broadcast markets. However as the industry continues to consolidate and reinvent itself, opportunities do exist.

"We still think that despite what you read in the paper that there is still work to be done by people who are good at it," says Morchower. "The networks and cable networks are still generating their content. One of the things that we have expressly prohibited our staff and ourselves from talking about around here is saying it's a slow day, week, month. If you're having a slow day, it's because you're not getting the word out. People are still out there making shows, their budgets just may be a little lower."

Adds Kaufman, "As a post facility, you have to change a little bit or expand your horizons. [Emerald City] was very niche-oriented before in terms of commercial and longform and corporate. One thing we've done here is open it up a little bit in terms of trying to go after each of those businesses. As times change, your outlook and facility have to change."

The resumes of Morchower and Kaufman certainly indicate that they know what they are doing. Most recently Morchower was special assistant to the president of ABC, a role in which he planned the network's strategic and operation growth and direction. Previous stints include being a sports producer for TNT and TBS, where he produced all studio programming, and being a researcher for the 1992 and 1994 Winter Olympics. Kaufman has sent the past seven years co-founding and developing the retail food chain Xando Cosi -- it is now a national chain of 65 company-owned restaurants. Obviously he has redirected his focus to entertainment.

Emerald City, the facility, was in decent shape when Varsity acquired it. Equipment was in place and there was no need for great capital improvements, though Kaufman says ft is in the midst of some modest facility upgrades. The core staff was set too and it includes Paul Goldberg, an Emmy award-winning producer/editor, who is now chief creative officer and senior editor. Goldberg created, produced and directed the NBA's I Love This Game campaign.

The facility is large -- 15,000 square feet -- which fits right into the marketing plan. Varsity offers longterm editing and office space to broadcast clients, pitching it as not only a comfort and convenience but also a creative plus.

"When I worked in network TV the thing I hated most is you would go do a one-month engagement at a post house and they put you in the broom closet with a screening machine," says Morchower. "We want to make it a little cleaner and easier for the client. They can have the office, they can hook up to cable TV. Having the extra space is a great bonus to offer clients, especially now when it is so competitive and everyone is nickel and diming." The ideal mix is 50/50 short- and longterm clients; the shortterm generates that premium revenue and provides the adrenaline rush of run-and-gun creative while the longterm projects keep the editors busy and involved in the creative process.

Edit row has six edit rooms, including four Avids (a Symphony 1.1, two Media Composer 9000s and a Media Composer 1000), all tied to a central machine room. There are two Digidesign Pro Tools audio suites and two audio recording studios, including a booth large enough to hold a band. A graphics/animation suite includes Discreet Flint and Softimage animation software running on SGI 02s, Intergraph NT ZX-10 dual processor workstations with Wildcat 3D graphics cards, plus Adobe's Photoshop and After Effects on a G4 Power Mac. Morchower says he is looking into a version of Ice for their Symphony 3.5 that will allow them to create effects similar to those used by Fox during an off-air sequence after World Series game 7.