UK The soundstage building boom means more post-virus production – variety

Most film and TV studios are being built in the United States in response to increased production and a lack of stage space.

Last year, total spending on film and high-end TV productions in the United States was £ 3.62 billion ($ 4.49 billion), an annual increase of 16% and the highest figure ever recorded.

25% tax exemption for production, a strong and growing studio infrastructure, a rich VFX field and talented veins in front of and in front of the camera, informs Under

Real estate consultancy Lambert Smith Hampton estimated last year that an additional 1.8 million square feet of studio space would be needed in the United States by 2025.

The sites being developed include a production studio and a digital creative hub in Reading, 30 minutes from the west end of London. Ryan Millsup’s Blackhall Studios, which produces mostly Hollywood majors in Atlanta, is leading the way, with Nick Smith, former executive commercial director of Pinwood-Shepperton Studios, heading the new company in the role of president and head of the UK. Operating officer

The Reading Complex, which is expected to open in early 2022, will create up to 3,000 jobs, including 1,500 employed in studios. It will be integrated into the Thames Valley Science Park, owned by Reading University, on the M4 Highway, which connects London’s Heathrow Airport. The initial investment in the construction will be 7 187 million.

The studios will have 20 soundstages, a total of 500,000 square feet, including a movie theater with site-post-production facilities, digital media hubs as well as visual effects, augmented reality, animation and e-gaming companies.

Smith said the studios were “designed to attract internal investment from among the biggest players.” He estimates that there will be three to four movies a year.

The location was chosen because most of the existing large studios are in that area – on the west and north-west end of London – and so the best crew live here, and want to stay close to the talent capital.

“We’re taking a big advantage for the first time there where crews can’t wait to tell the crew to travel,” Smith said.
“Clients and crew want to stay mainly in the south-east of England. If you move out of the southeast, you can “

He wants it to be a “center of excellence” – people can gather somewhere and you know you’re going to have the best talent. It’s not just a matter of opportunity, he said, “the people you bring with you; This is the quality of the crew. Smith added that training new crews in partnership with the university – “much will be at the center of what we are trying to do.”

Another major development is planned in partnership with Comcast-owned European pay-TV operator Sky, in partnership with sister company NBCUniversal. Sky Studios Elstree plans to build a 28-acre TV and film studio in Borehamwood, 20 minutes north of the heart of London.
It will have 12 soundstages, a total of 200,000 square feet. In addition to the stages, there will be two production support buildings, which will accommodate the production and storage of props and sets, and five production office buildings, post-production facilities and screening rooms. The studios are expected to open in 2022 and create more than 1,500 jobs.

In addition to the series produced by Sky Production Arm, Sky Studios and NBC Universal Content Studios, the studios will host movies with Universal Pictures, Focus Features and Action titles. It will also be available for rent to third party producers.

Sky says the 2 242 million will be spent on building the studios, which will generate an estimated 7 907 million in production costs each year. The financial services agency will develop the legal and general site and provide funding for the project.

The new studios will be a separate entity from the nearby historic Historic Elstory Studios, it was for movies like “The Shining” and “Star Wars” and it is the basis for the production of the Netflix series “The Crown”. Elstree Studios has seven steps and plans to build two more.

Meanwhile, Creative District Improvement Co., led by Pierce Reed and Jeremy Rainbard, in Ashford, southeast of England, worked with Queen Estate to build a TV and film studio worth Ash 312 million, known as Ashford Intel. Studios. The UroTunnel high-speed train between Paris and London will be a 38-minute journey from central London. The studios are planned to open in early 2022 and will focus on premium single-camera TV production.

The 15-acre project involves the reconstruction of five historic buildings – formerly the Railway Locomotive Manufacturing Center – and 60,000 square feet of TV and film studios, 60,000 square feet of ancillary production space, 500,000 square feet and a 30,000-square-foot workshop. The Squarefoot Media Village, as well as the Future Media Center, is an educational center that is more than one The plan is to become a partner of the Edemic organization, which will be linked to what is claimed to be the largest film school in the UK. The plan includes a hotel, service apartment, a conference center, a gym and a restaurant.

Renbard, who co-founded the production company Mormon with his wife Sharon Hargan, said that “all my life was spent making fences – next to the fence – you know how hard it is to find a suitable studio space”, and the “streaming boom” issue Complicated. ” Another obstacle to the industry identified by him and Read is the lack of skilled labor.

“What we realized was the dream of being able to connect studios with education to flexible workplaces, which doubles as production offices and ancillary spaces.”

A high quality food and drink will also be offered in the mix.

“We started to create a vision where we as producers knew all the things we wanted to see,” we said.

TCDI Co is investing $ 62 million in the development of Twickenham Studios in London and another studio in Liverpool.