AlphaDogs Serves Up Award Winning "Portion" at San Antonio Film Festival

BURBANK, CA, August 01, 2012 (Press-News.org) Burbank based AlphaDogs Post Production is excited to announce that the feature film Portion has been awarded the Grand Prize at the 18th Annual San Antonio Film Festival. The film stars Bruno Bichir who also won the Santikos award at the festival for his outstanding performance as leading actor. Portion tells the story of Mexican illegal immigrant Luis (Bruno Bichir) who is faced with a tough choice when his mother—who lives in Mexico—falls gravely ill right before his final immigration interview. Luis is torn between risking a border crossing to care for his ailing mother, or leaving his wife and child behind in the United States and possibly not being allowed back into the country.

Executive Producer Juan Villarreal was just two weeks away from starting post-production on Portion when an industry peer highly recommended that he use AlphaDogs to finish the film. Villarreal was concerned about the problems he might encounter in post due to the film being shot with two different cameras. Technical issues arose on the third day of the shoot when the Red camera experienced problems due to extremely hot weather conditions. This forced the crew to switch to the Sony F900 for the remainder of the shoot. "This is not something we wanted to do as we knew it could create a problem when matching the color in post, said Villarreal "I was not only happy, but relieved when AlphaDogs colorist Sean Stack was able find the perfect blend of color to smooth out the differences in shots due to using two cameras."

As most independent filmmakers are aware, producing films on a tight budget sometimes requires hiring crew with limited experience. The end result can often be mortifying once you get into post, particularly when it comes to audio. Sound Designer and Re-Recording Mixer Curtis Fritsch was in charge of completing the sound mix for the film. Villarreal comments, "I was extremely grateful that AlphaDogs had the experience in fixing these type of challenging situations with sound and mix that occur on set that need to be fixed in post. Curtis was able to separate and clean the audio channels without any effect on the vocals or sacrificing the sound in any of the scenes."

For the past 10 years AlphaDogs has prided itself on helping independent filmmakers achieve their desired vision on projects. "I was thrilled when Portion won the Grand Prize at the San Antonio Film Festival" said AlphaDogs owner and founder, Terence Curren. "We treat each project that comes through the facility as though it's our own." AlphaDogs also recently expanded their design team division of the company to include Marketing and Branding for projects in addition to their post finishing services now making AlphaDogs a one-stop shop for the independent filmmaker. Villarreal comments, "I found the facility to be first rate with an ample number of bays and mini-studios, all with top-of-the-line and up-to-date equipment with a staff that's on top of their game in helping clients through all aspects of the post process." Villarreal continues, "Our project was as important to them as it is for us as filmmakers. AlphaDogs understands they are holding our baby and we, as clients, trust their judgment and professionalism. I have found a post house with all the elements of skill and experience and fully stand by AlphaDogs for my entire post house needs."

Portion is Written and Directed by Gisberg Bermudez and Produced by 4 Elements Entertainment. For more information visit http://www.portionthemovie.com/

About Alpha Dogs: Founded in 2002, AlphaDogs is an independently owned full service post-production facility located in the center of Burbank's media district. AlphaDogs gifted team brings a combination of both creative talent and technical expertise paying extra attention to detail in delivering projects with a personal touch. State of the art editing bays, color correction, audio mixing, visual effects, production offices and equipment rentals are available. To learn more http://www.alphadogs.tv

Alpha Dogs is a full service post production company. Operating in the heart of Burbank's media district, Alpha Dogs offers state of the art editing bays, color correction, audio mixing, visual effects, production offices and equipment rentals. To learn more http://www.alphadogs.tv