Monday, October 8, 2012

AlphaDogs Post Curbs The Shopping Addiction

Burbank, CA—Shopping sprees.  We’ve all been guilty at one point or another of overspending and making impulsive purchases. But what happens when shopping becomes a main source of escape and entertainment to the point of causing financial distress and problems in one’s personal relationships?  Oniomania, or more commonly known as shopping addiction has become a common problem in America today.  On Tuesday, October 9tt at 10pm ET/PT The Oxygen Network will premiere a new docu-series that takes a closer look at this problem titled My Shopping Addiction. Each hour-long episode will profile two different shopping addicts who with the help of a clinical psychologist delve into the causes of their compulsive spending and learn how to get their lives and finances under control.

Jeff Kuntz, Executive Producer for My Shopping Addiction didn’t hesitate to call upon AlphaDogs once again to complete the post-production finish on the series.  Kuntz has worked with the AlphaDogs team on past projects, always receiving excellent results in the look, sound and delivery of shows.  Now into their tenth year of business, AlphaDogs is more than just a conventional post-production facility providing the same services larger companies offer without the inflated costs.  Working in a collaborative environment with a team of talented artists. clients are made to feel at home with the personal service and attention that has become the hallmark of AlphaDogs Post Production.

Color Correction was handled with use of Avid’s Symphony Nitris DX hardware under the careful scrutiny of President and lead colorist at AlphaDogs Post, Terence Curren.  Executive Producer Kuntz required a rich look and feel for the docu-series to help convey the emotion and tone for the show.  Curren’s tools of choice to bring this look to life included use of the Tektronix WVR7200 waveform rasterizer and the Sony Trimaster OLED evaluation monitor.  Video scopes assist in ensuring the look and legal ranges of the video signal. Color correcting using Sony’s OLED evaluation monitor provides extreme accuracy by using new technology that is superior to LCD monitors. This allows the utmost precision for working with detail in the highlights and shadows. Curren explains, “It’s extremely important to maintain consistency in the color and look of the show.  When color correcting your eyes can have a tendency to drift over the course of the day when spending consecutive hours in the edit bay. With the use of these tools, I can be confident that color is one-hundred percent accurate and within deliverable specs, therefore meeting the clients expectations with the desired look.” 

Marcus Pardo, VP of Audio for AlphaDogs was in charge of all audio aspects for the series. Reality shows present unique challenges in post when it comes to audio.  The majority of footage is shot on location in uncontrolled environments that can be more difficult and time consuming to fix versus shows that are shot within a studio setting. In order to fix problems such as hollow room tones and distracting background noises, Pardo uses the ProTools HD2 system accompanied by Waves plug-ins and Cedar DNS One. Audio plug-ins makes it possible to isolate tracks of audio and allows the mixer to hear specifically what needs to be fixed. “It’s important that the viewer is not distracted by background sounds that can take away from the dialogue. In my years of experience in working with reality shows I have found the combination of Pro Tools, Waves and Cedars DNS One to be the most proficient in fixing these type of tricky audio scenarios in both an efficient and time saving manner.” 

Episode highlights for My Shopping Addiction include a woman who borrows money from friends and family just to fill up her house with items from the 99-cent store, an heiress who spends 30,000 a month, and a woman who refuses to settle for less than designer labels. For more information visit www.my-shopping-addiction.oxygen.com

My Shopping Addiction is being produced by Screaming Flea Productions with Matt Chan, Jodi Flynn and Jeff Kuntz serving as Executive Producers.
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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, visit www.alphadogs.tv