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As London grows in strength as a centre of post-production, there are three big players firmly at the top of the capital's commercials post-production scene.

The Mill, the Moving Picture Company and Framestore CFC are all big facilities with high-end kit, a reputation for good service and top operators. So, for commercials producers with a demanding script and a tight deadline, one of these can oblige.

The head of TV production at Bartle Bogle Hegarty, Frances Royle, says: "At the end of the day, we produce a lot of commercials with different budgets and requirements. MPC, The Mill and Framestore CFC all continue to be very hungry and have great people."

She's not denying that there is other great talent around but, for her money, the best post houses offer great operators for all parts of the post-production process, "as well as being able to service clients efficiently, you do tend to stay with people you trust".

As the playing field for equipment levels out, service and creativity are just as important to a post house as having the right hardware or software. It's unsurprising, then, that it's the same trio that accumulate the most credits in the Advertising Producers Association top 50 ads of the year.

At The Mill, which tops ±±¾©Èü³µpk10's ranking by turnover and comes in second in our peer poll (where rival post houses, production companies and creative agencies named their top post houses), the chief executive and founder, Robin Shenfield, says the company is not so much a facility, more a "creative solutions company". This year it has had the success of PlayStation2 "mountain" to prove its creative mettle. "We do use a ton of technology and primarily software and we buy it all the time," Shenfield says. "But most of it is invisible these days. People assume you've got everything. What's important is how you craft it together in an infrastructure."

Undoubtedly Mark Benson, the managing director at The Moving Picture Company, would agree. MPC, which tops ±±¾©Èü³µpk10's peer poll ranking, and is second in ranking by size, also sees the importance of "creatively driven" client solutions. "But at the same time as ensuring the management of the process is as efficient and helpful as possible," Benson adds.

Benson is echoed by agency heads of TV. At JWT, Nigel Foster, the executive head of TV production, believes "a great post house is one that not only supplies excellent operators, but also a full professional service right down to the last tape being delivered on time". Avoiding horrors, such as tapes going to the wrong agency, is a must.

At Framestore CFC, which comes third in each ranking, the director of commercials production, Helen Stanley, is singing from the same songsheet as her rivals. But the significant difference between itself or MPC and The Mill is the degree of specialisation.

The Mill was launched 15 years ago and has always focused on commercials.

It has flourished on this formula, opening "mini Mills" within agencies where there is high-volume production and opening an operation in the US, which is already 40-strong.

Boutique operations, such as Golden Square, Glassworks and Finish, have followed the same pattern, almost exclusively working on commercials.

Others count commercials as only part of their workload, although the majority of our top ten take on a smaller amount of other work, allowing commercials to dominate. Smoke & Mirrors, Red, Condor, VTR and Rushes all fall into this category.

Framestore CFC, like MPC, only has several divisions, including features and broadcast. Commercials make up 50 per cent of its business. Benson says this gives MPC "a phenomenal advantage" and Stanley understandably agrees that this gives "the best of both worlds". While it maintains a tightly run commercials department, there's room for a cross-over of resources and creative inspiration between divisions. High-profile tasks, such as Framestore CFC's Hippogriff in Harry Potter, are likely to motivate the whole company.

And it always helps to have clout. "Size does matter," Stanley says.

"People are under growing pressure to fit in with clients. If you've got ten Inferno suites, or can run 24/7 for a bit, it can really help. We have 100 or so animators here. You can juggle people."

There can also be a direct use of expertise picked up in another area. MPC, which had its own hit with Harry Potter's Whomping Willow, was able to transfer the know-how to feature in Frederic Planchon's Tetrapak ad.

So what does that mean for the medium-sized facilities and the boutique post-production houses in London? Both VTR and Rushes fall into a middle ground when it comes to commercials post-production, both offering a range of services but not pulling in quite the volume of the top three.

VTR's managing director, Kate Sturgess, insists this is "a very positive and deliberate positioning". As with Rushes, there are a number of highly respected operators at the facility and VTR's telecine department, led by Tareq Kubaisi, has a particularly creative reputation. "Our staff pride themselves on quality of service," Sturgess says."And our size enables us to retain a boutique-style service level with sufficient capability to deal with jobs that the smaller houses can't, but we don't lose our clients in the vastness like the larger companies."

One of VTR's selling-points is its fully integrated post-production service, something the smaller companies can't provide. The company does work on a lot of more routine ads, but Sturgess argues that it also does a good quantity of leading-edge work for top directors such as Tom Carty, Jamie Thraves or Ringan Ledwidge.

Glassworks, on the other hand, has a reputation for high-end, but doesn't deliver a complete post solution. It is half the size of Rushes, but gets more votes in our poll. Its chief executive, Hector Macleod, describes it as being "like David and Goliath" when pitching for work against MPC, Framestore CFC or The Mill, "but we produce work absolutely in line with them".

Macleod is planning expansion, the first stage of which is building a telecine department. So is its smaller rival Clear, which represents an investment that usually tops £1 million.

Glassworks has support on its side from plenty of enthusiastic big-name directors, who choose to work with the facility and can influence where the agency spends it post budget.

The boutique post-production houses largely rely on this element of director's choice. Several such boutiques were recently started by key operators leaving The Mill. Lola, which started up four years ago with the renowned FX artist Rob Harvey, has remained strong, despite only a minority of its work being in ads. It owes its place in the ±±¾©Èü³µpk10 top ten peer poll to production companies, not to other facilities or creative agencies.

Dave Smith is another ex-Mill FX artist to set up a facility in the shape of Absolute Post. And Jason Watts set up Finish just last year and is already in our peer poll.

It's not just directors and production companies that often prefer smaller-sized post outfits. Fallon's head of TV, Charlie Orr, says although she will go with a director's choice and doesn't deny the capabilities of the larger houses, she still prefers small. "You get more one-on-one at smaller places and don't feel you're being lost. It's easier to get through when you phone up." She's a fan of Glassworks, but also singles out Big Boy as a small but excellent operation.

What Orr and almost anyone else in the commercials production world will tell you is that wherever they go, they do a deal. The economy might have bounced back from where it was three or four years ago, but budgets haven't followed. According to Foster: "Budgets are still as tight as they were in the recession. Nobody ever goes back to the previous years when it comes down to costs."

±±¾©Èü³µpk10's top ten show growth in turnover and staff, with one or two exceptions, but most facilities houses are having to keep the lid on prices. "The majority of post houses are now far more competitive when bidding," Foster says. Royle points out that smaller houses are always waiting in the wings if the dominant players weren't to come off ratecard.

Benson goes so far as to say: "The market has been redefined, the way we work has been redefined. We're all under much more pressure. There has to be much more transparency - we have to box very clever and think about executions in much more sophisticated ways."

The other change has been in the international arena. The flow of work between countries has increased and London has come out with a great reputation. Stephen Davies, the chief executive of the Advertising Producers Association, says: "The UK has done well getting film work over the past three or four years and has built up a reputation, and that feeds commercials. London is seen as a centre for post-production."

THE UK'S LARGEST POST HOUSES BY TURNOVER FROM ADVERTISING

Rank Company 2004 2004 total 2003 total Business

turnover from turnover turnover from

advertising (pounds m) (pounds m) advertising

(pounds m) (%)

1 The Mill 23.37 24.60 22.00 95

2 Moving Picture Company 22.25 44.50 29.00 50

3 Framestore CFC 17.87 35.74 29.55 50

4 VTR 7.50 10.00 9.00 75

5 Rushes 6.79 7.90 6.90 86

6 Golden Square 3.65 3.80 3.20 96

7 Glassworks 3.55 3.63 3.42 98

8 Condor 2.80 4.00 3.50 70

9 Red 2.66 3.50 4.00 76

10 Smoke & Mirrors 2.63 3.77 3.10 70

Rank Company Staff Staff Business Business Do you

2004 2003 from from have a

overseas overseas telecine?

2004 (%) 2003 (%) How many?

1 The Mill 218 197 34 27 3

2 Moving Picture Company 265 230 20 10 3

3 Framestore CFC 410 330 20 15 2

4 VTR 77 65 8 6 5

5 Rushes 77 74 5 5 3

6 Golden Square 32 27 5 3 No

7 Glassworks 36 40 40 30 No

8 Condor 32 28 25 18 1

9 Red 30 25 2 24 1

10 Smoke & Mirrors 45 39 35 20 No

Methodology: Post houses were contacted in February 2005, most via the

Advertising Producers Association, and asked to complete a

questionnaire, giving financial information.

THE UK'S TOP POST HOUSES BY PEER POLL

Rank Post house Total votes Rival Production Creative

poll votes company agency

poll votes poll votes

1 Moving Picture Company 117 23 36 58

2 The Mill 110 12 49 49

3 Framestore CFC 89 24 37 28

4 VTR 72 0 36 36

5 Glassworks 36 7 19 10

6 Rushes 30 6 6 18

7 Clear 9 2 3 4

8 Smoke & Mirrors 6 1 2 3

9= Condor 5 0 5 0

9= Lola 5 0 5 0

9= Finish 5 2 0 3

12 Absolute 4 1 3 0

Methodology: Post houses were contacted via the Advertising Producers

Association, asked to complete a questionnaire and name three rival post

houses they most admire. Production companies and creative agencies were

also asked to name their top three post houses, telecine colourists and

Inferno (or equivalent tool) artists.

Three points were awarded for a number-one ranking, two for second, one

for third.