Notion Pictures expands with new Carrier Circle studio

CNY Business Journal (1996+), Jun 25, 2004 by Dickinson, Casey J

SYRACUSE - Peter Rafalow's work comes into thousands of households each day, but Rafalow isn't a household name. The long-time video editor recently opened his own studio just north of Carrier Circle, but he's still staying behind the scenes making television commercials look their best.

"Everything here is designed to showcase our clients," says Peter Rafalow, owner, president, and editor of Notion Pictures.

Notion Pictures' studio is nestled at the end of Old Thompson Road along the northern edge of the New York State Thruway and adjacent to the Brooklawn Golf Course. The company produces and provides post-production services for film and video. Rafalow celebrated Notion Pictures' grand opening June 24 with a Dinosaur Bar-B-Que-catered open house.

Though Notion Pictures is located in a suburban office building, the interior is anything but office-like. The walls are various colors instead of the standard white, the furniture looks as if it belongs in a home rather than an office, and antiques decorate every room. Some of the antiques Rafalow has displayed around the office include a Victrola record player that sits in the main hallway and a handcranked movie camera displayed in one office corner. The front lobby features a small inspirational statue of a winged pig, symbolizing Rafalow's drive to do what some consider impossible. A row of his professional awards backs up the statue's flight-determination.

In 1987, California native Rafalow came to Central New York with Anne Herron, his Syracuse-born wife. The couple met while both worked in the Washington, D.C. area in the 1980s. After receiving a broadcasting degree from the University of California at San Francisco, Rafalow began working as an editor in the cabletelevision industry.

An editor for another company for many years, Rafalow started Notion Pictures last year, working from his home after striking out on his own. He leased the 2,000-square-foot office earlier this year in order to give the company room to grow. Along with the addition of space, Rafalow hired former co-worker Barbara Cokus as casting director and project coordinator, as well as Christopher Grosso, the company's senior producer. Rafalow spent more than $100,000 of his own money to get the company up and running.

Behind the scenes

The studio's main editing room features a digital workstation for editing video and audio. The room has soundproofing insulation along the walls to block out ambient noise as well as to keep the sounds of editing work from disturbing others.

Behind the editing station, clients sit at a desk equipped with an Internetconnected computer and telephone. The computer has access to several Internet digitalmedia libraries, allowing clients to select media for use in their commercials or videos. The databases, Rafalow, explains, let clients listen to several music selections before choosing one for their projects. Because the files come over the Internet, Notion Pictures doesn't have to store a wall of music tapes or discs, he adds. Once the client has made media choices, Rafalow can directly stream the songs into the editing machine.

The editing station also allows Notion Pictures to add closed captions to each video production.

The room across the hall is awaiting delivery of a second, more advanced editing system. A larger space in the next room serves as a casting stage. Upon entering the heavily insulated studio, outside noises fade away. Notion Pictures will use the studio for "blue screen" work, where background images are added to video. The studio features a hair and makeup station in one corner. Large portable lights stand ready to illuminate an upcoming project.

Another office houses Notion Pictures' summer intern from Syracuse University's Whitman School of Management. Rafalow says the company plans to bring in more interns from both Syracuse University and Le Moyne College.

Notion Pictures' clients include Raymour & Flanigan Furniture and Welch Allyn. Each of its finished Raymour & Flanigan commercials airs on 44 different television stations throughout the furniture retailer's East Coast markets. Currently, Notion Pictures creates 44 copies of each commercial, which are then delivered to the stations for broadcast. Rafalow is researching a cost-effective method to deliver the ads via satellite. Though such a method might ultimately. lower his billings. Rafalow believes it's better to demonstrate innovation for a client than to stick with old methods simply to ensure income.

Award-winning production

Notion Pictures regularly provides editing services for ad agencies and media production houses such as Smith Marketing and former WSTM anchor Roger Springfield's Innovision Film and Video. Rafalow received a 1995 Emmy Award for his work on a Syracuse University football video for Innovision. The award is displayed in the Notion Pictures lobby. Rafalow has also won the Award for Cable Excellence (ACE). Before the Emmy Awards opened to cable television, the industry held its own ACE awards.