VTA likes to throw a good party. Hundreds of film and video professionals from the southeast gathered at VTA’s 2nd Cinco de Mayo Party. Instead of trying to vie for time around the busier holiday season in December, VTA decided to celebrate during another holiday.

And to keep on celebrating. VTA scored a first for East Coast post production with its introduction of the new ITK Millennium high definition Telecine. VTA is only the second facility in the US and fifth in the world to offer the Millennium. Unveiling the Millennium site in July at a mock New Year’s Eve celebration, VTA introduced clients with red carpet treatment, plus balloons and champagne. Owner and President Ken Chambliss dressed in party ready wear for the ribbon cutting ceremony in top hat, black tie and tails, and white spats.

VTA is certainly moving forward based on a marked history and reputation in film to tape transfer. Chambliss brought VTA into the world of transfer in 1969 working with an RCA film chain. Not yet satisfied that he had found the best transfer solution, he purchased a Bosch FDL 60 in 1981. With his purchase, he began to focus on refining color correction with the development of the daVinci unified color corrector, which became the world standard. Chambliss, in his unending quest for perfection, also purchased Steadi-Film Corporation in 1989. Steadifilm develops and markets telecine lenses and award winning pin registered and real time steadi-gates.

VTA must be in the mood for change. Maybe that spring soiree put some ideas in their head. Or maybe it was the new millennium. At 32, Video Tape Associates changed its name officially to VTA and sought to graphically suggest the sensory concepts on which the company’s services are based, Vision, Touch, Amplify. With a new name, came a new look. A new high tech logo graces VTA’s marketing and collateral materials. A full scale ad and PR campaign will tout the new look, feel and theme reflecting both VTA’s range of services and the new technology that fosters it.

Chambiss continues to introduce VTA to new equipment and to the people who know how to use it. He appointed veteran Symphony operator Andrew Satinoff as Symphony editor/artist. VTA installed the AVID Symphony earlier this year for its efficient finishing solutions and its unique benefits in conforming non-linear color correction, versioning and mastering. Satinoff was a Beta Engineer for Avid Technology and was involved in the development of Versions 2.0 and 2.1 of the Symphony and is now beta testing Version 3.0. He was the first editor in the states to take delivery of the Symphony from Avid in August of 1998. Satinoff brings a glistening shelf: he has won five Telly Awards, an ACE award for editing and been nominated for several EMMYs.

VTA’s acclaimed Senior Audio Engineer, Dave Wheeler, has reeled in his third EMMY. Number three came in at the Southern Regional Emmy Awards in the “Outstanding Collaborative Achievement: Television Craft Excellence/Audio” category. Wheeler was recognized for audio mixing on a Fox Sports South promo for the Atlanta Braves spring training, produced by Jim Claussen. The Atlanta chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) presented the award at a banquet held at the Atlanta’s Grand Hyatt.

Another VTA winner, Marina Skopinich, a Telecine Colorist in the post production facilities, has been selected as a finalist for the 21st International Monitor Awards. Winners were announced in July at the ITS Awards presentation in Beverly Hills. Skopinich was honored for her work on a spot entitled “NBA Rookies” for TNT Sports, which she transferred with Director Glen Owen and Director of Photography Amy Vincent. Owen is represented in the U.S. by Fireside Films and Wall-to-Wall Films.