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The origins of Cloud 19 Media can be traced back to a much simpler time: the boutique post-production firm first launched during the early years of DVD, with the goal of giving content owners’ an easy solution for authoring and transcoding in the new format.

More than 15 years later, the Los Angeles-based company has produced thousands of DVD and Blu-ray Disc titles for both major Hollywood studios and indie distributors, been a go-to source for quality control across every corner of home entertainment, and has adapted to tackle the increasingly digital-first needs of content companies.

Scott Boutté, founder and CEO of Cloud 19, spoke with the Media & Entertainment Services Alliance (MESA) about the challenges of quality control for home entertainment today, the increase of new audio and video services required of post houses, and what’s next for his company.

MESA: What was the impetus for Cloud 19, how did the company come about and what gap(s) in the market was it looking to fill?

Boutté: In 1999, before Cloud 19 Media, Inc. came to fruition, I founded Digital Media Solutions (DMS), a Texas-based corporation, whose purpose was to ease home entertainment studios’ transition from VHS to the revolutionary DVD format. As the DVD format emerged in the mid-1990s, studios had to prepare for mass market adoption. We saw that studios would need to adapt their post-production work to complement the new DVD format and DMS provided that solution to Dallas-based corporations, post-production houses, and entertainment companies: DVD authoring, digital video compression, and video transcoding services.

Shortly after founding DMS in 1999, we negotiated a deal with Blockbuster, and its film acquisition subsidiary DEJ Productions, to be their exclusive provider of DVD production services. With a major client and a growing business in hand, the company sought to expand.

With the idea of providing more solutions to the DVD client, the studio expanded its services to include DVD consulting, graphic design, editing, sound design, replication, music composition and 5.1 mixing, as well as an ISO booth for voiceover work. To reflect this change in philosophy from a compression service to a creative services provider/DVD production one-stop-shop, we changed our name to Cloud 19 Media, Inc.

In 2001, we relocated to Los Angeles, local to our biggest clients, to grow Cloud 19 Media into a major Hollywood audio and video post-production player serving home entertainment clients such as Lionsgate, The Weinstein Co., Cinedigm, Magnolia Pictures, MPI Media Group and IFC Films. Today, Cloud 19 Media has evolved into a successful boutique that is known for its exceptional customer service and affordable, high-quality digital media and post-production services for home entertainment studios, television networks, production companies, video distributors and independent filmmakers.

MESA: Cloud 19’s offerings in the digital distribution space run the gamut, from transcoding to audio fulfillment to graphic design. How have the company’s services evolved over the years, and what does the company consider its top service, that stands out vs. competitors?

Boutté: Cloud 19 has evolved from the days of purely DVD compression and authoring services, and now offers a broader range of digital distribution and audio/video production and post solutions across the entire digital media landscape of film, television, video game, web, and mobile. Such services include 4K encoding, 2K/4K DCP and IMF, DVD/Blu-ray compression, authoring, and menu design, QC reports, VOD transcoding to all top tier platforms, and secure high-speed file delivery.

We believe that the customer service and affordable packages we offer to each of our clients is really what makes us stand apart from the competition. We tailor every project and package to our clients’ needs, and go above and beyond to repeatedly exceed their expectations.

MESA: Speak to Cloud 19’s quality control expertise, and how it goes about ensuring content works seamlessly across digital platforms.

Boutté: Cloud 19 has 20-plus years of QC expertise on its team. Our expertise comes from working with some of the leading directors, producers, and distributors in the industry, on some of the biggest (and smallest) titles you may have (or have not) heard of.

We provide a rigorous, thorough, technical analysis of our clients’ projects, down to the pixel level. We inspect video, audio and subtitles with extreme detail by using a combination of software scans and human passes. This process insures that nothing is missed, and we mean nothing.

Cloud 19 QC reports are second to none and can be used to satisfy any deliverable request our clients encounter, no matter how technical. They also serve as the perfect punch list to hand to their editors for fixes.

MESA: Physical disc still remains a major part of the home entertainment space, despite the rise of digital platforms. What challenges is Cloud 19 seeing today in Blu-ray and DVD authoring, especially considering new features like 4K, HDR and Dolby Atmos?

Boutté: When new technological advancements come about within the home entertainment space, Cloud 19 takes a proactive approach by adopting these new features. This ensures that we stay ahead of the game, and most importantly, are prepared to fulfill our clients’ needs as they adapt to rising trends. A little bit of research goes a long way.

MESA: What are some of Cloud 19’s favorite use case examples, where companies have made especially good use of Cloud 19’s services?

Boutté: All our recurring, loyal clients are our favorite use case examples. We take pride in providing our clients with top tier customer service. We can complete any project with a quick turnaround, while ensuring that high-quality standards are achieved. Some our favorite projects include shooting and producing feature content for leading studios to use for their film/show’s home entertainment release.

MESA: What’s next for Cloud 19, what innovations are on the horizon for both the company and the digital distribution business?

Boutté: Cloud 19’s next step is to work with the independent filmmaker community. We’re here to help filmmakers with distribution deliverables, whether it be QC, DCP, IMF, authoring, design, etc. Cloud 19 is the one stop shop for distributors and indie filmmakers, and we are excited to continue to continue on their journey as we expand our services and clientele.