NZ Last Lab Shutting Down

Harry Laos · March 23, 2013

Heartbreaking news as Park Road Post is shutting it's lab in late June of 2013, effectively ending film in NZ. I can't see myself sending my film overseas for processing :(

Gregg MacPherson · March 24, 2013

When I compared prices a few months ago Park road were charging NZ 0.45/ft (almost US 0.38/ft). There was a lab in LA charging US 0.13/ft and I saw a lab near NY offer someone US 0.11/ft. So I think there has been good motivation to ship film out of NZ for processing for a while. The customs scanner issues concern me a bit. There was some discussion about that in a recent thread.

Are you in Auckland or Wellington?

Cheers,

Gregg

Harry Laos · March 24, 2013

Wellington

When I compared prices a few months ago Park road were charging NZ 0.45/ft (almost US 0.38/ft). There was a lab in LA charging US 0.13/ft and I saw a lab near NY offer someone US 0.11/ft. So I think there has been good motivation to ship film out of NZ for processing for a while. The customs scanner issues concern me a bit. There was some discussion about that in a recent thread.

Are you in Auckland or Wellington?

Cheers,

Gregg

Jeremy Cavanagh · March 24, 2013

Harry,

Park Road was the last mainstream lab (i.e. including 35mm) in both NZ and Australia, is that correct?

Jane Campion's Top of the Lake series was that shot on film and if so where was the processing done?

James Compton · March 24, 2013

There is still Deluxe in Sydney, Shaw Bros and Mandarin Film Labs in Hong Kong and Kantana in Thailand and Imagica & Toei Lab Co.(Tokyo), Imagica West (Osaka), Japan. Still, plenty of options for people in the Pacific Region.

Harry Laos · March 25, 2013

I think they were the last lab in Australasia offering prints.

I don't know about the Jane Campion movie :unsure:

Harry,

Park Road was the last mainstream lab (i.e. including 35mm) in both NZ and Australia, is that correct?

Jane Campion's Top of the Lake series was that shot on film and if so where was the processing done?

Chris Riley · April 6, 2013

Hi guys,

Here is a little news article they shot around our Lab the other day about the closure.

http://www.3news.co.nz/End-of-the-line-for-Park-Road-Post/tabid/418/articleID/292305/Default.aspx

Everyone here has tried coming up with solutions to how we can keep the lab going, from downsizing staff, to limiting services, but the revenue we needed to meet is unrealistic.

The funny thing is lately it has been extremely busy, we've been processing rushes on several commercials and short films, we have a large run of release prints coming up for a NZ film and since the Deluxe Australia annoucement, we've had a bunch of calls from people in Australia interested in some last minute runs.

Archives NZ, our biggest client, has been steady with work and is infact in talks to buy our equipment (and take some of the staff) to set up there own facility somewhere. This would be a best case senario, but I personally can't see it happening as it is a massive undertaking to set up a new lab. They would only take our ECN and Black and White Pos machines I think, so there is a slight chance you could still get Neg developed in NZ...

Anyway, I will let everyone know what happens when I find out, in between job hunting that is!

Harry Laos · April 21, 2013

Thanks for that update Chris. Film is a hard habit to break :rolleyes:

Any new lab prospect would be glorious!

Hi guys,

Here is a little news article they shot around our Lab the other day about the closure.

http://www.3news.co.nz/End-of-the-line-for-Park-Road-Post/tabid/418/articleID/292305/Default.aspx

Everyone here has tried coming up with solutions to how we can keep the lab going, from downsizing staff, to limiting services, but the revenue we needed to meet is unrealistic.

The funny thing is lately it has been extremely busy, we've been processing rushes on several commercials and short films, we have a large run of release prints coming up for a NZ film and since the Deluxe Australia annoucement, we've had a bunch of calls from people in Australia interested in some last minute runs.

Archives NZ, our biggest client, has been steady with work and is infact in talks to buy our equipment (and take some of the staff) to set up there own facility somewhere. This would be a best case senario, but I personally can't see it happening as it is a massive undertaking to set up a new lab. They would only take our ECN and Black and White Pos machines I think, so there is a slight chance you could still get Neg developed in NZ...

Anyway, I will let everyone know what happens when I find out, in between job hunting that is!

Will Montgomery · May 6, 2013

I'm really surprised there are still as many labs as there are in the U.S. Filmworkers in Dallas still processes 16 & 35mm but mostly student films at this point. Hope they can stay open since it's really convenient to just drop off film one day and have it processed and transferred the next.