Darius Family

History of Post Lab IO

Early in his career, Darius established himself as a sought-after editor in advertising, working with some of Australia's top agencies, including Clemenger BBDO, Whybin\TBWA and Saatchi & Saatchi. However, his heart had always been set on film and television. In 2016, he decided it was time to pursue that path and found himself at a crossroads: put his savings into making a web series that could be his career breakout, or establish a post-production business. And so Post Lab IO was born in November 2016, out of the spare bedroom of a Brunswick share-house.

In 2017, the first cabs off the rank were Corrie Chen's breakout SBS mini-series Homecoming Queens (produced by Katia Nizic) and the debut feature films Strange Colours (Alena Lodkina) and West of Sunshine (Jason Raftopoulos). Both features had their world premieres at the Venice International Film Festival, and all three titles were released in 2018.

The success of these foundational productions established Post Lab IO as the post-production home of independent Australian feature films. Over the next decade, Post Lab IO would complete more than 30 feature films and feature documentaries, many of which premiered at the world's top film festivals, including SXSW, Tribeca, Venice, Berlin, MIFF and SFF.

Darius has personally post-produced a significant number of these projects and is well known for being a decisive and uncompromising advocate for the work. Never afraid to call it as he sees it, Darius is a strategic thinker and problem solver who sees the whole picture, from shoot to delivery.

Background & Experience

Darius began his career at 16 in community broadcasting through the Student Youth Network. Despite the tension it caused with his high school teachers over truancy, the experience was invaluable and led to a full-time role as a Motion Graphics Designer. During this time, Darius also attended VCA Foundations night school, further honing his creative and technical skills. On the nights he wasn't at VCA, he was editing, grading and creating VFX for short films, gaining hands-on experience and building his reputation in the industry.

In 2015, Darius transitioned to freelancing, becoming the go-to guy for tight deadlines, loose briefs and projects that needed someone who could deliver on point and in record time. Known for his ability to take a brief and turn around an edit with precision and speed, he built strong relationships across Melbourne's advertising scene. Adding to his reputation for reliability, Darius rode a motorcycle, allowing him to be anywhere, anytime, fast. This multifaceted experience laid the foundation for Post Lab IO.

Eyesight

In 2019, Darius was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), a genetic disease that causes the cells in the retina to take an early retirement. This led to rapid vision loss in his late 20s, and he is now legally blind. He still has enough vision for emails, spreadsheets and sending calendar invites, but his facial recognition is shot. So if you see him and he doesn't recognise you, it's not a diss! Just tap him on the shoulder and say your name.

Darius went public with his diagnosis and has become known in the industry as a champion for disability, having successfully transitioned into a new role in an industry where vision or hearing loss can be considered career-ending.

Industry Advocacy

Darius is known for his commitment to growing the Australian film industry and volunteers his time to help shape industry strategy and policy. He was also one of the driving forces behind The ReelGood Film Festival, a Melbourne short film festival that spotlighted rising Australian talent. You can find Darius on industry dance floors in tropical attire, and sometimes even behind the decks.

Recent Career Highlights

Late Night with the Devil

Darius was post-producer and an executive producer on the internationally acclaimed Australian horror film Late Night with the Devil (directed by Colin and Cameron Cairnes, produced by Mat Govoni and Adam White). Post Lab IO was critical in establishing the film's distinctive 1970s talk-show look.

Chroma Film Lab

Recently, Darius played a key role in establishing Chroma Film Lab, a motion picture film processing laboratory. Its landmark project, the upcoming Sony Pictures horror Skeletons, was the first 35mm feature shot in Australia in over a decade, with the lab processing and scanning more than 180,000 feet of 35mm film, including VistaVision. While other boutique film labs exist in Australia, Chroma is the first high-throughput lab capable of serving large-scale Hollywood and domestic productions. Although Post Lab IO and Chroma Film Lab are separate companies, Darius also serves as Chroma Film Lab's Executive Producer of Film Services.

‍Background & Experience

Darius began his career at 16 with community broadcasting through the Student Youth Network. Despite the tension it caused with his high school teachers due to truancy, the experience was invaluable and led to a full-time job as a Motion Graphics Designer. While working as a Motion Graphics Designer, Darius was also attending VCA Foundations night school, further honing his creative and technical skills. On the nights he wasn’t at VCA, he was editing, grading, and creating VFX for short films, gaining hands-on experience and building his reputation in the industry.

In 2015, Darius transitioned to freelancing, becoming the go-to guy for tight deadlines, loose briefs, and projects that needed someone who could deliver on point and in record time. Known for his ability to take a brief and turn around an edit with precision and speed, he built strong relationships in Melbourne’s advertising scene. Adding to his reputation for reliability, Darius rode a motorcycle, allowing him to be anywhere, anytime, fast. This multifaceted experience laid the foundation for Post Lab IO.

Side Projects

• Producer — The ReelGood Film Festival
• 1/2 of bedroom DJ duo Hotline DJs.
• Executive Producer on Jude Perl's SugarHope Records.
• Executive Producer of Film Services at Chroma Film Lab.

Appearances

• 2023: Speaker at the Women in Film and Television’s Lifecycle of Film event
• 2022: Speaker for Drama Victoria’s Drama Matters campaign
• 2021: Speaker on Adobe’s annual ANZ Roundtable event
• 2021: Speaker on Digistor’s Adobe Premiere Pro Productions And Lucidlink Cloud NAS webinar
• 2019: Host of the Post-production management roundtable at Screen Forever
• 2019: Presented Productivity Hacks for Freelancers and Producers (Talk) at St Kilda Film Festival

Awards & Nominations

• Your Call Is Important To Us, Editor — Winner Best Editing, Canberra Short Film Festival(2019)
• Your Call Is Important To Us, Editor — Nominated Best Editing, St Kilda Film Festival (2019)
• The Flower Girl, Editor — Nominated Best Editing, St Kilda Film Festival (2017)
• Pint, Producer — Best Short Film, Melbourne Underground Film Festival (2014)
• Pint, Producer — Best Short Film, Los Angeles New Wave International Film Festival (2014)