Freelancer Scaglione sees success

Post, August, 2004 by Marc Loftus

NEW YORK -- After 13 years on staff at studios such as Broadway Video and Post Perfect, editor/compositor Ralph Scaglione went out on his own in 1999 as a freelancer (www.ralphworksinc.com), working on broadcast, music and commercial projects through numerous New York facilities. His familiarity with Discreet tools such as Flame, Inferno, Smoke and Fire, as well as with an assortment of desktop tools has made him a go-to guy when studios find themselves in need of creative support.

Scaglione has been keeping busy lately, working on projects through Creative Bubble, Sony, Greene and Grand, and Riot Manhattan. When Post caught up with him, he had just completed work on an MTV redesign and an independent film.

Working through Technicolor in NYC, Scaglione recently provided clean up and rig removal on the indie film California Stars. The project was shot on Super 16 and underwent HD and digital intermediate services at the studio. Scaglione spent two days at Technicolor, using its Discreet Fire system to help post the project.

For MTV, Scaglione spent three weeks working on the redesign for Advanced Warning, a program that looks at up-and-coming artists. Working through Bionic Media (formerly Keyframe Post), he created a new look that includes an open, bumpers, graphics and icons. Scaglione says he employed a Mac running NewTek LightWave and Discreet Smoke to create the digital landscape for the project.

Work, says Scaglione, comes in waves when you're a freelancer. The summer is a little slow, but he expects things to pick up thanks to this year's election, which is creating a demand for more current events programming. His positive relationships with so many studios in New York City and his knowledge of multiple systems helps to keeping him busy.

Studios, he says, are always looking for talent that can work their gear and make them more marketable. "Once they see you're not going to break anything," he jokes, "they'll pretty much throw you the keys."