It seems so simple, but there are 800 people working in our facility in Bangalore doing projects for Nickelodeon and for DreamWorks [Penguins of Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda] and for a number of other clients. We have a large visual effects presence there, working on some projects with MPC in London and in Vancouver and our commercials in LA and putting that expertise on projects that we are willing to invest in seems like a natural next step. And it's the time in the industry to do it.

BD: Where are you presently with Pete & Pickles?

TS: We are in the beginning stages of discussing the bible. This comes from Berkeley Breathed's book, Pete & Pickles, which is relatively recent in its release, and Berkeley is off right now with some of our creatives, developing the world around Pete & Pickles and the other characters that live with them. So, we'll ultimately make an animated short that will connect Pete & Pickles to the TV episodic animated world. So I don't have a sale date today on when this will actually hit the air until we are fully behind the storyline that exists for the characters. We are also in initial conversations with other artists and creatives for other projects that Technicolor will put some of its skin in the game. At the same time we're in the business of supporting the rest of the industry to get their visions on screen.

BD: Any changes for Technicolor India that you foresee?

 TS: The company is growing on its own; it is expanding on all fronts of work that we have there, whether it is our visual effects work or animation work, and we're not looking to use this just as a mitigator of under utilization. If it is a project ready to greenlight, then will bring it in as full-fledged partner on it, so that we will expand, if necessary, or use unused space that we would otherwise use for work for hire. To us, it is an available facility that we have spent an enormous amount of time and substantive money developing the talent there and we want to bring that talent to the global market.

BD: Speaking of global, you've been hard at work developing the visual effects business. What can you tell us about that side of the business?

TS: We have grown substantially on our visual effects side. MPC in London is sort of our base -- there are about 580 people there right now and they are the prime house for both Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows movies and Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. They've just finished Robin Hood and Clash of the Titans. We have set up a facility in Vancouver that worked on Prince of Persia and that is growing. It was small when I got here a year ago and that will grow to over 100 people pretty soon and, probably at some point, not much smaller than the facility in London. We have a commercial group in Los Angeles of about 50 people that do visual effects for commercials along with the 200 or so people in London that do it. We have a facility in Beijing that does visual effects for China, and we have about 100 people in India (and still growing), who are supporting much of the work that is coming from London, Vancouver or Los Angeles.