Tech & Facilities News

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FROM CAMERAS TO STUDIOS, THE LATEST IN PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGy NEWS

Image: Game of rones © Home Box Office, Inc.

Belfast filming hub Titanic Studios is up for sale. The 42,000 sqft unit is currently under licence to HBO and is famously a location where hit show Game of Thrones (above) was filmed. The space comprises two large clear span studios which are connected by a large acoustic door allowing for a combined use as one large space. Specialist commercial property consultants Riddell McKibbin is handling the sale.

germAn inDustry lAunChes green ProDuCtion initiAtive

Leading German broadcasters, streamers and producers have made a joint pledge to embrace more sustainable production methods.

The Green Shooting initiative includes production companies such as Constantin Film, Bavaria Film and Studio Hamburg, as well as ZDF, Netflix Germany, RTL Germany and Sky Germany and Austria.

They have committed to a set of standards for sustainable productions. Projects produced according to the initiative’s standards can then be marked with a “green motion” label in their credits or promotional materials.

The standards including switching to LED headlights, more train journeys, more environmentally friendly vehicles and more vegetarian foods.

They also include the avoidance of diesel generators, short-haul flights and disposable dishes. The initiative has set out 21 must-have specifications. For a production to be awarded the green motion label, at least 18 of these requirements must be met.

The Green Shooting working group plans to re-evaluate the minimum ecological standards after one year, adapting them as new technical methods for sustainable production emerge.

The initiative is also supported by German funding agencies, as well the German Film Academy and producers association Allianz Deutscher Produzenten.

Carl Bergengruen, MFG managing director and head of the Green Shooting working group, said the initiative was “a first, important step” toward creating a common ecological standard in Germany for all film, TV and streaming productions.

netFlix exPAnDs uK PresenCe

Netflix is expanding its studio presence in the UK with a deal to lease Longcross Studios.

The streamer is partnering with the studio’s owners Aviva to operate and significantly expand the Surrey facility.

The Longcross deal comes two years after the streamer took a long-term lease at Shepperton Film Studios to create a dedicated UK production hub including sound stages, workshops and office space. Netflix has ramped up UK production in recent years, filming shows such as The Crown (pictured right) and Sex Education.

Image: e Crown © Netflix.

Image: 1899 © Rasmus Voss & Netflix.

FrAmestore oPens mumbAi stuDio

VFX house Framestore has opened a 30,000 sqft purpose-built studio in Mumbai. The studio currently houses 120 VFX specialists working across titles such as The Matrix Resurrections, His Dark Materials, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore and Spider-Man: No Way Home. The company says it is still hiring in areas such as compositing, tracking and CFX, and aims to achieve its first phase of a 300-person team early in 2022.

This will be followed by a phase two build-out, which will see the studio double in size the following year.

The Mumbai studio will work with Framestore on films and high-end dramas. It is located in the Goregaon area of Mumbai in the Nesco IT Park in the heart of Filmi Nagari, near many of the city’s tech, film and TV production companies.

Framestore has worked on recent and upcoming titles including: Red Notice, The Suicide Squad, No Time To Die, Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness, His Dark Materials, 1899, The King’s Man and Cowboy Bebop. The company also has offices in London, Vancouver, Montreal, Melbourne, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York.

Fiona Walkinshaw, Framestore’s global managing director of film, says: “We have more projects on our slate than ever before, and Mumbai is a vital addition to our global offer given the wealth of formidable talent in the area.”

sited close to berliN’s city ceNtre aNd airport, the studio has 21 souNd stages, flexible backlots aNd large productioN facilities oN a 42-acre lot.

us reAl estAte Firm tPg to ACquire germAny’s stuDio bAbelsberg

TPG Real Estate Partners (TREP) is to take a majority stake in Germany’s Studio Babelsberg (pictured below), one of Europe’s largest film studio complexes.

TREP, the real estate division of investment firm TPG, will acquire the stake from Studio Babelsberg’s main shareholder, Filmbetriebe Berlin Brandenburg GmbH, which is controlled by Dr Carl L Woebcken and Christoph Fisser, CEO and COO of Studio Babelsberg, respectively.

Woebcken and Fisser will maintain ownership in Studio Babelsberg.

As part of the deal, TREP plans to launch a public offer to acquire all outstanding shares in Studio Babelsberg.

Located close to Berlin’s city centre and airport, the studio has 21 sound stages, flexible backlots and large production facilities on a 42-acre lot.

Studio Babelsberg has recently hosted shoots including Warner Bros’ The Matrix Resurrections, Columbia Pictures’ Uncharted, Lionsgate and Summit’s John Wick 4.

In July, Studio Babelsberg opened one of Europe's largest, permanently installed LED studios for virtual film productions, the Dark Bay Virtual Production Stage.

Founded in 1912, Studio Babelsberg attracts a large number of international shoots, which are attracted by the studio’s facilities as well as Germany’s locations, experienced film crews and competitive incentive programmes.

The Matrix directors Lana and Lilly Wachowski have shot several films at Studio Babelsberg over the past 15 years, including V For Vendetta, Speed Racer, Ninja Assassin, Cloud Atlas and the series Sense8.

nFts to oFFer First virtuAl ProDuCtion Course

The National Film and Television School (NFTS) is to launch a part-time certificate course to service what it says is an unprecedented demand for virtual production skills within the screen sector.

Virtual production is rapidly transforming the capabilities of the creative industries, offering filmmakers a real-time method of making movies and TV with actors, lighting and VFX all shot live in-camera in a studio. It has most famously been used on Disney+ streaming series The Mandalorian and season three of HBO’s Westworld.

sCreen queenslAnD stuDios to oPen

State film funding body Screen Queensland is to inject AUD6.8 million towards the construction of a new studio facility in Cairns, at the northern end of Queensland, Australia. The Screen Queensland Studios complex will house a sound stage and support facilities, and will complement Screen Queensland Studios in Brisbane and Village Roadshow Studios. The Far North is known for spectacular landscapes that include tropical rainforests, white sandy beaches and remote island oases. Recent productions in Far North Queensland include This Little Love of Mine, which rated number one on Netflix in the UK.

vFx Firm PixomonDo to oPen in lonDon

Pixomondo, the Oscar-winning VFX Studio, is launching a London division that will offer virtual production services.

Alex Webster has been appointed as head of the London site, with a focus on growing the company’s virtual production services in Europe. Pixomondo has three LED volumes in Canada, and has set its sights on building a UK facility, with potential locations under review. The company also has operations in Germany’s Frankfurt and Stuttgart. Alex Webster joins Pixomondo from Framestore, where he was managing director of pre-production.

Elisabeth Murdoch backs VFX start-up BeloFX

Elisabeth Murdoch has backed new visual effects company BeloFX, which has been launched in Canada and the UK by former senior leaders of VFX giant DNEG.

The company has been set up by Matt Holben and Alex Hope, two of DNEG’s founders, Ellen Walder, former COO at DNEG, and Graham Jack, former CTO at DNEG. BeloFX will be based in British Columbia, Quebec, and the UK.

They are joined by director of operations Hannah Cook and managing director for VFX Matt Plummer who will lead the VFX team alongside supervisor Joel Green. Mike Brazelton also joins as supervisor in early 2022.

Murdoch is executive chairman of Stacey Snider and Jane Featherstone’s production outfit Sister.

Operating with a remote first structure, the team behind BeloFX say the start-up will be able to incorporate tech such as game engines into its pipeline right from the start.

Murdoch said: “BeloFX’s dynamism positions them perfectly to seize the exciting opportunities the global VFX industry offers. From personal experience, Matt, Alex, Ellen and Graham have a deeply held commitment to creativity and innovation which are critical to delivering exceptional partnerships with the world’s greatest film and television talent.”

Alex Hope, BeloFX co-CEO, said, “I loved working with this group of people for so many years at DNEG and I’m excited to have a fresh start with a fresh approach to how a VFX company can operate”. BeloFX is currently looking for staff for its artistic teams in Quebec, British Columbia and the UK.

“belofx’s dyNamism positioNs them perfectly to seiZe the excitiNg opportuNities the global vfx iNdustry offers.”