Centro undertakes major expansion, diversifies capabilities

<p>Centro Digital Pictures is in the midst of a major expansion drive, </p><p>which aims to underline its position as Asia-Pacific's leading advanced </p><p>digital production studio and provider of digital entertainment. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Amid rumours that the company is gearing up for an IPO in Hong Kong, </p><p>Centro is planning to hire another 50 people over the next few months, </p><p>which would bring its total workforce to about 200. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Chairman and CEO John Chu said: "With more technology and </p><p>multimedia-competent people, we plan to take Asia and Asian culture to </p><p>the world. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>We want to build a brand name around a unique culture. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"The creative roles people undertake in achieving this objective are </p><p>important for workplace harmony as well as being globally </p><p>recognised." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Centro now has more than 200 workstations in place, making multimedia </p><p>targets more reachable. And with faster convergence technology, </p><p>deadlines can be met earlier without compromising on quality. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>For the majority of its 15-year history, Centro has been well-known as a </p><p>place for high-quality television commercial production and a </p><p>cutting-edge provider of animation and digital special effects. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>But what is generally not known is that over the past five years the </p><p>company has embarked on a diversification of its high-tech service </p><p>offering to include digital film effects, interactive multimedia, video </p><p>games and even the production of movies. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>On the movie front, Centro has already co-produced two movies 'The </p><p>StormRiders' and 'A Man Called Hero', both of which were number one box </p><p>office hits in Asia recently. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The company is currently animating one of China's most famous children's </p><p>classics 'The Magic Brush' - a story about a boy who dreams of becoming </p><p>a great painter. Work on the project began after Mr Chu purchased the </p><p>rights to the tale, which was written more than 50 years ago. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>When it is released to the general public in about two years, the film </p><p>will lift Centro to the next stage of its development, which is to be a </p><p>major player in the entertainment and edutainment content arena. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The Magic Brush will help the company branch out to hit the bullseye on </p><p>multiple targets almost simultaneously, such as educational software, </p><p>Internet destinations and merchandising, which altogether will create </p><p>compelling experiences for cross-platform distribution. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The main point to note is that Mr Chu wants to create a world class </p><p>children's content brand for Asia; something like the Asian version of </p><p>Walt Disney. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Meanwhile, Centro was also involved in the co-production of Sony's new </p><p>Chinese language PlayStation game, which was launched recently. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>In addition, it has helped build some of the most high-profile websites </p><p>around, including Microsoft's Chinese language site for Hong Kong and </p><p>Greater China and Nike, as well as providing e-banking consultations for </p><p>Standard Chartered and Dah Sing Bank. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>However, Mr Chu said that the company was not shifting its focus away </p><p>from post-production, an area of expertise long-recognised by </p><p>advertising agencies. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>This is underlined by some of the new campaigns produced by the company, </p><p>which includes a series of TVCs for the Tourism Authority of Thailand </p><p>for which Centro was responsible for computer graphics, compositing and </p><p>online editing. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"In the early days, we were very much a service company. But now we are </p><p>a multi-disciplinary business. We have full capabilities in multimedia </p><p>in terms of content production, such as producing films and animation </p><p>films, producing educational software and designing and producing </p><p>computer games. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"So we are more than just a post-production company although this is </p><p>still an important area in which we will continue to pursue </p><p>opportunities," said Mr Chu. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>However, he stressed that the diversification was important because of </p><p>the opportunities being thrown up by the Internet and the fact that the </p><p>world was entering an era of convergence. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Centro is also looking into launching a facility in China in order to </p><p>cater to a growing demand for his service in the country. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"This actually shows that even in the Internet age, it is important to </p><p>have your own people present inside your key markets. The human touch is </p><p>still important," Mr Chu said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The opportunities now before Mr Chu have not occurred overnight. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Before he founded Centro in 1985, he had a vision to create a multimedia </p><p>business based on content, intellectual property and imaging. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Despite skepticism from his peers, who said he should invest in the </p><p>property market, Mr Chu forged ahead with his plans. Today, he is at the </p><p>helm of a self-financed US$25 million operation which has at its </p><p>disposal the very latest in film and animation production technologies </p><p>and some of the region's top creatives under one roof. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"In the early days, we did not have the technology we wanted and, </p><p>therefore, could not achieve the aims we set out to achieve quickly. We </p><p>had to be patient. The technology could not do what we wanted. Yet now, </p><p>thankfully, the analogue days are behind us," said Mr Chu. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>From Domino, Spirit Datacine, Henry Infinity, EditBox, Flame, HAL </p><p>Xpress, Graphic PaintBox 2, Avid, PC, SGI and Mac workstations, motion </p><p>capture systems to motion control capabilities, Centro's digital </p><p>multimedia pipeline is the most advanced in the region, uniting more </p><p>than six platforms for seamless and resolution independent content </p><p>creation. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The secret to Centro's success does not purely lie with hi-tech </p><p>equipment. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Mr Chu said it was largely due to having creative-minded individuals </p><p>employed in a cohesive work environment. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Centro has walked an independent path since 1985, however, Mr Chu said </p><p>that because the world was becoming a much smaller place, courtesy of </p><p>the Internet, it was now time to start thinking about joint ventures or </p><p>co-marketing schemes. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"We have always been on our own," he noted. "But the way ahead is with </p><p>working partners." </p><p><BR><BR> </p>