Rob Bessette is winning awards and working on his fourth major motion picture in the last twelve months….
The Massachusetts Film Tax Credit is doing amazing things in Boston these days. It is allowing local companies to get in on the conversation when it comes to big budget filmmaking. Companies like Finish Post, located downtown on Columbus Avenue, are leveraging this massively successful government program. Artists and entrepreneurs like Rob Bessette and Tim Montgomery are finding new and creative ways to get involved.
Finish has several edit rooms with many comforts for the client. Photo by Marc Graham.
The Film Tax Incentive is changing the dynamic and the industry is changing along with it. Once all the
talent and facilities were centrally located in NY or LA; they are now spread out across the country and the world including places like Boston. Critics of the Film Tax credit say it’s an unnecessary government subsidy, but no one can debate that subsidies are needed to stay competitive in this global market. Massachusetts’ incentive program is truly working to lift this industry locally.
Luring the movie magic to Massachusetts has always been a struggle for local shops like Finish Post.
Even when films would use the gorgeous backdrops of the Bay State for production, they would wrap
their shoot, put the negative in the can and overnight right back to LA for post. “Hollywood is not
an easy nut to crack,” Montgomery said. “The business of fi lmmaking is risky, the studios have their
pipelines in place and deviation from workflows increases risk. So getting new people or facilities
involved becomes a very difficult decision for them to make”.
That’s where the Film Tax Incentive comes in. “It’s given us a seat at the table and a chance to show
that we’ve got the skills, talent and infrastructure to do it just like NY and LA,” said Finish’s Senior Colorist, Bessette. And that’s not just lip service, Bessette is currently working on his fourth studio film in the last twelve months “They’re starting to know that we’re here… and we’re good.”
After a long day or when you plan a party, there’s nothing like a roof deck just one or two floors up. Photo by Dez Adkins
Color Correction, Digital Dailies and highend digital workfl ows are a few of the ways that Finish is doing it in this ultra-competitive market. Bessette uses tools like DaVinci’s Resolve to ingest camera files, grade the material, and output fully prepped bins for editorial. All the outputs are packed with meta-data and ready for the most robust pipelines in the industry.
Another avenue for growth as a facility is Finish’s has-to-be-seen-to-be-believed screening room. With a Barco DP2K projector casting to a seventeen foot screen and full surround sound; it is high-end viewing to critically analyze footage. “Our clients have put in a lot of time and effort to achieve the look of their footage. They want to see it with a very high level of clarity. Our minitheater is the perfect venue. It’s fun to see clients get excited about what they’ve shot,” Montgomery said.
Want to see how your movie looks on the big screen or rush your dailies, Finish has a room for that. Photo by Marc Graham.
The Film Tax incentive is stimulating the local film business and it is having a major impact on local companies with local employees. It’s a program designed to lure a highly competitive and lucrative industry to The Commonwealth. Oh yeah, they also have one of the top ten roof-decks in Boston. Not a bad way to unwind after a long day at the office.
Check out Finish and their capabilities at www.finishboston.com or email [email protected].
