Unifying Global Preproduction, Production and Postproduction •

MAY 2011 Universal Virtual Stage 1 (USV1) Photo credit: Gory Krueger

n1893,Thomas Edison built the first movie movements in from interior to exterior or exte- Olympic tourist travels that will be in London," studio in the United States when he con- rior to interior," explains Dave Beanes, Universal says Perry Husman, VP of studio operations at Istructed Black Maria, a tar-paper-covered Studios' SVP of production services. "The key Warner Bros. studio facilities. structure near his laboratories in West Orange, was to give the production, directors and the G-Star Studios is based at G-Star School of N.J. He then distributed the images he shot on cinematographers a lot more options on how the Arts for Motion Pictures and Broadcasting in film at vaudeville theaters, penny arcades, wax they could use camera placement to enhance Palm Springs, Fla., and it has recently announced museums and various fairgrounds. By the mid- the shot that they needed." the completion of its new soundstage. G-Star's 1920s, a few American production companies The company also converted one of its stages motion-picture production complex has over developed into wealthy film-industry conglom- into a full green-screen stage. "Universal Virtual 100,000 square feet, and the entire movie studio erates that owned their own studios, distribution Stage 1 (UVS1) opened at Universal Studios last and new soundstage are offered to filmmakers divisions and theaters, along with contracts for December," says Aaron Rogers NBC Universal at no charge. It was constructed and engineered performers and other filmmaking personnel. director, advertising & publicity. "The pre-rigged, as a soundstage for feature films, TV produc- This dynamic eventually led to the studio system. pre-calibrated facility offers motion capture, tions, commercials, music videos, and as a the- Today, there a multitude of studios and stages camera tracking, editing bays, artist work sta- ater that will hold an audience of 1,150 for live scattered around the planet, and modern-day tions and more." Beanes says that Universal performances, such as concerts, world premiere film, TV, commercial and music video produc- is pushing to go green by using digital back- films and red carpet events. tions are after state-of-the-art equipment, pro- grounds, props and sets in order to keep waste Over 2,500 Czech and international films have duction services, backlots and postproduction out of landfills. chosen Barrandov Studios for their produc- facilities. P3 Update takes a look at some of the Warner Bros. is home to many top televi- tions since 1931. One of the oldest and larg- 21st-century studios and stages that are leading sion shows, such as "The Ellen DeGeneres est studios in Europe, with close proximity to the way. Show," "Lopez Tonight," "Conan" and the "The the center of Prague and the Prague Ruzyne NBC Universal Studios reconstructed their Mentalist." The studio has purchased Leavesden Airport (both about 15 minutes away by car), New York Street lot, which included building Studios, located about 20 miles northwest of it currently runs a total of 14 soundstages and higher facades, in some cases up to 10 to 15 feet. central London. Boasting about 500,000 square an extensive backlot (about 160,000 square Over 40 productions have used the newly reno- feet and a 100-acre backlot, Leavesden has been meters). Barrandov continues to attract top film vated lot since its opening last May. "We took the filming destination of the Harry Potter films, projects and recently hosted the productions into account that productions really like to have and two of the stages will be dedicated to tour- of Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (starring free span and open space inside the facades, so ists wanting to visit the film franchise's original Tom Cruise and Jeremy Renner), the French they could be able to build particular sets on the sets. "We want to have the studio reopen in the film Philibert (with Jeremie Renier) and Red Tails interiors, and that way they could tie the camera spring of 2012 so that we can capture a lot of the (produced by George Lucas), just to name a

24 MAY 2011 Warner Bros. in Burb.a PhotocourtesyofWor"e' = ~_=--,,~:;--err

Fool's Gold then enabled us to attract the feature film Nim's Island, a U.K. production of Triangle, [The Chronicles of] Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and, more recently, Sanctum, which also required [us] to dig out the floors in two of our stages," reports Studios President Lynne Benzie. Silvercup Studios is home to the TV shows "30 Rock," "Gossip Girl," "White Collar," and "How to Make It in America," as well as the new HBO movie Girls. Recent feature films shot at Silvercup include The Sitter (starring Jonah Hill), New Year's Day (with Ashton Kutcher) and Tower Heist (starring Ben Stiller). The overall size of the facility is 420,000 square feet (in two loca- tions) with a variety of stage sizes, and the lot few. "2010 was a year of the big 'reanimation' production, the studio offers telecine and opti- for our company," says Jan Hlubek, marketing cal special-effects services. is equipped with subway lines, parking and the ability to hail a yellow cab when needed. manager for Barrandov Studios. "In mid-2010, is just 20 min- Silvercup also has a location lighting/grip/gen- the Czech government and European Union utes from 's stunning Gold Coast in erator division called Silvertrucks Lighting. have approved the Czech national Film Industry Australia. It is comprised of eight soundstages, On the east coast of the U.S., Kaufman Support Program. Thus, the foreign produc- three water tanks and 10 production offices. Astoria Studios (KAS) is a full-service studio tions can apply for the 20-percent rebate of their Additionally, it has editing suites, carpentry and in New York. They offer 500,000 square feet of expenses spent in the Czech Republic - for paint shops and a main outdoor water tank office and service space for long- or short-term Czech services, of course." Barrandov works with that has a surface area of 12,915 square feet usage for budgets large and small. KAS' ver- Panavision for the provision of cameras and and holds six million liters of water. "Building satility and emphasis on service has made it motion technology, and, when it comes to visual the main tank for the Warner Bros. feature film

WWW.P3UPDATE.COM 25

------~---- CONTACTS Barrandov Studios: www.barrandov.com

G-Star Studios: www.gstarstudios.com

KAS Music & Sound: the studio of choice for countless productions, for filmmakers. "We are now ready and avail- www.kasmusic.com serving as the long-time home of PBS' "Sesame able to help grow this burgeoning business in Kaufman Astoria Studios: Street" and hosting recent productions like The Mississippi," says Jeremy Hariton, a partner at www.kaufmanastoria.com Manchurian Candidate, The 5tepford Wives and Road Town Enterprises, Ltd. "The great thing Mississippi Film Studios: the Emmy and Golden Globe winner Angels in (. about Mississippi Film Studios is that our facility www.cantontourism.com America, as well as numerous independent films is priced more like a warehouse than a sound- and smaller projects. At the core of Kaufman stage, but [it] affords all of the comforts, conve- NBC Universal Studios: www. Astoria are six column-free stages, including a nience and technology of any large Hollywood universalstudioshollywood.com mammoth 26,000-square-foot stage. Also on the production facility. This means that independent Panavision: www.panavision.com premises is the acclaimed KASMusic& Sound, filmmakers, low-budget features and commer- a mixing and recording studio that features cials can utilize a soundstage facility while not Silvercup Studios: a stage large enough to accommodate a full busting their budgets." www.silvercupstudios.com 70-piece orchestra. The new crop of studios and stages being Village Roadshow Studios: ississippiFilm Studios is the state's only built allover the world are luring productions www.movieworldstudios.com.au/ p rpose-built production facility capable of left and right. Indeed, we've come a long way resources.html serving major television and feature film produc- since Edison's first vision while furthering the tions. A 36,000 square feet, clearing 40 feet to dreams and igniting the passions of many film- Warner Bros.: www.wbsf.com the ceilings, the studio is very accommodating makers. I~

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26 MAY 2011