Pandora International
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Film post-production technology |
| Founded | 1988 |
| Founder | Steve Brett, Martin Greenwood |
| Defunct | 2016 |
| Headquarters | Greenhithe, Kent , United Kingdom |
| Products | Telecine controllers, colour correctors (DCP, PiXi, MegaDEF, Evolution, Revolution) |
Pandora International was a British company recognized with an Emmy for producing hardware and software solutions dedicated to telecine control and colour grading in film post-production.
History
Established in 1988 by Steve Brett and Martin Greenwood, Pandora International initially operated out of Northfleet.
The company's dual Motorola 68020-based Pogle controllers were designed to operate telecine devices including the Spirit DataCine models FDL 60, FDL 90, and Quadra, as well as managing four videotape decks to enable precise editing with three-two pulldown sequence control. Subsequent iterations incorporated Silicon Graphics workstations such as the SGI Indy and SGI O2.
The DCP external colour corrector supported Rec 601 standards and was among the earliest systems to receive direct digital signals from film or videotape sources, compatible with both NTSC and PAL broadcast formats.
In 1995, Pandora introduced the PiXi colour corrector to succeed the DCP, capable of handling video resolutions up to 1920 by 1080 pixels at 30 frames per second. A specialized PiXi model was embedded within Post Impressions' Picasso system and utilized by Industrial Light & Magic during the production of The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones.
By 1997, Pandora had released MegaDEF, a system comprising two PiXi units connected via a multiplexer. This marked the first commercially available real-time colour correction platform supporting a resolution of 2048 by 1556 pixels. MegaDEF was compatible with Spirit DataCine hardware and, starting in 1999, integrated with the Philips Specter VDC-2000 virtual telecine, all controlled through a Pogle Platinum controller. The film Pleasantville (1998) showcased MegaDEF’s capability to selectively desaturate specific colours within scenes.
For the 2000 feature O Brother, Where Art Thou?, footage scanned on a Spirit DataCine underwent colour grading using a MegaDEF system managed by a Pandora Pogle controller at Cinesite Hollywood, achieving a distinctive Dust Bowl-era visual effect through background modification.
Pandora earned an Emmy Award in 2001 for its innovative contributions to digital intermediate technology.
That same year, the company relocated its headquarters to Ingress Abbey in Greenhithe, Kent; however, it sold this property in 2012 after a legal dispute with developer Crest Nicholson.
MegaDEF systems were capable of interfacing with Quantel iQ via proprietary optical fibre connections; notably, such systems were acquired by Peter Jackson for use during the production of his Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Among Pandora’s final product offerings were Evolution, an advanced Pogle telecine control suite for colour correction, and Revolution, a non-linear colour grading system capable of real-time processing at resolutions up to 4096 by 3072 pixels.
After entering insolvency proceedings in 2013 through an Official Receiver application, Pandora International was officially dissolved in 2016.
See also
External links
- Articles with short description
- Technology companies established in 1988
- Technology companies disestablished in 2016
- British companies established in 1988
- British companies disestablished in 2016
- Technology companies of the United Kingdom
- Defunct companies of the United Kingdom
- Television and film post-production companies
- Film production
- Television technology
- Video hardware
- Greenhithe, Kent
- Film post-production technology
- Insolvent companies of the United Kingdom