International studios: a world of opportunity

Broadcast 

Global demand for production space is fuelling a boom in the sector both in the UK and abroad. Adrian Pennington looks at what the most in-demand overseas operations have to offer.

http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/features/international-studios-a-world-of-opportunity/5094845.article?blocktitle=Top-Stories&contentID=2298

GERMANY

Studio Babelsberg
Studio space 300,000 sq ft
Sound stages 20

Situated across a 39-acre lot, Studio Babelsberg is one of Europe’s largest production complexes. A staple of world feature films since 1912, it was recently home to series five of Showtime/21st Century Fox’s Homeland, plus Steven Spielberg film Bridge Of Spies (DreamWorks Studios) and Marvel Studios’ blockbuster Captain America: Civil War.

“We position ourselves as a production service provider and a one-stopshop for German and international film producers,” says Studio Babelsberg head of communications Eike Wolf.

Subsidiary Studio Babelsberg Motion Pictures delivers a wide range of production services. “The crews are internationally experienced and support producers with services ranging from location scouting to location and production management; crew and equipment support; setting up a co-production structure; securing subsidy and financing; and handling the accounting and payroll for the German portion of the production,” says Wolf.

The studio, a couple of metro stops from central Berlin, features Germany’s largest indoor water tank and permanent sets including a Boeing 737 aircraft gimbal. Set construction subsidiary Art Department Studio Babelsberg continues the studio’s grand tradition of film architecture, which stretches back to classics such as Metropolis and The Blue Angel. A partnership with Rotor Film Babelsberg can be tapped to provide sound mixing and colour grading.

Investment plans include a new backlot set, Neue Berliner Straße, featuring moveable classical façades, streets and pavements, “along with the combination of digital camera points for background visual effects, all of which will make the backlot more flexible for film-makers”, says Wolf.

The German Federal Film Fund (DFFF) offers an annual ¤50m (£35m) to stimulate production activities. International co-producers can apply for a rebate of up to 20% for their spend on the ground. In addition, several regional film funds provide efficient support to productions of any budget. Many German states also grant funds and additional soft money, depending on the regional spend.

BELGIUM

AED Studios
Studio Space 177,600 sq ft
Sound Stages 16

Located in Antwerp in Flemish-speaking Belgium, AED is the largest media complex in the Benelux countries and France. It boasts a 3,000 sq m water tank and several of its stages are equipped with ceiling rigging to speed up production.

Black box studios 2 and 3 are large enough to accommodate up to 1,500 people and are the home of live shows such as Belgium’s Got Talent (Fremantle Media) The Voice Van Vlaanderen (Endemol) and So You Think You Can Dance (VTM). Feature films that have shot there include The Fifth Estate and Grace Of Monaco.

“Many foreign production companies have positive experiences working with Belgian crews, which are predominantly bilingual,” says communications manager Filip Van Vlem. “Crew rates and conditions are negotiated per production and there are no unions. Other local services offer aerial shooting, underwater shooting, pyrotechnics and SFX.”

Through a recent investment of ¤8m (£5.2m), the studio changed 7,000 lights to LED technology, while a new main entrance and a larger parking lot will be ready by the end of the year. “In the near future, we will improve our infrastructure by creating extra workshop areas for costume, props and SFX departments,” says Van Vlem.

With the Belgian Tax Shelter, producers can fi nance 40-48% of their local eligible spend. To access the credit, a co-production with a Belgian production company must be established. AED Film Group, located on the studio lot, specialises in structuring foreign productions and uses the tax shelter, equity and sales deals to lower the cash risk.

IRELAND

Ardmore Studios
Studio Space 40,000 sq ft
Sound Stages 5

Between The Tudors, which shot there from 2006 to 2010, and the arrival of Penny Dreadful (below) in October 2013, Ireland’s most venerable studio was in danger of going out of business. Now its stages, plus 120,000 sq ft of ancillary facilities, are fully booked, with more capacity needed to soak up the extra demand.

“Practically everything we have here until Q1 2016 is taken up by Penny Dreadful,” says Ardmore chief executive Siún Ní Raghallaigh of Showtime’s horror drama, currently shooting its third season at the studio.

The Ardmore Film Factory opened in June as an extension to Ardmore’s primary location five minutes away. “We’ve converted warehouses into 30,000 sq ft of studio space and 11,000 sq ft of office space to accommodate overspill,” she says. There are plans to build a 20,000 sq ft stage on the main lot, which will require the studio to close temporarily, and it has pumped £1.4m into improving existing services such as workshops.

“There is a capacity issue,” says Ní Raghallaigh, who has been “vociferously” lobbying the Irish government to fund greater studio capacity in the country.

“Without infrastructure, you are not going to scale up the industry,” she argues. “That is both Ireland’s challenge and its opportunity. As with any European country, there are rules limiting the direct subsidy a government can make, but the Irish Film Board is very supportive of where we want to get to as an industry.”

A change in tax regime at the beginning of 2015 was a significant move in this regard. Incentives were swapped from an investor scheme to a tax credit worth 32% of eligible spend, putting Ireland on a par with the UK.

“The government is to be applauded for creating the right environment to attract productions,” says Ní Raghallaigh. “However, it is falling short by not addressing the need to incentivise and accelerate the creation of vital studio infrastructure to cater for these productions. Without this support, growth will be limited.”

Established in 1958, Ardmore is the only fullservice facility in Ireland, complementing its sound stages with the props stores, dressing rooms, hair and make-up rooms found on a typical studio lot. Tenants range from electrical companies and camera suppliers to sound facility Ardmore Sound.

“We have great crewing expertise on the doorstep plus castles, lakes, seaside, mountains, woods and period houses in striking distance. That makes us very attractive for productions,” says Ní Raghallaigh.

Plans are afoot for a new production hub in Limerick, backed by the local council, which agreed to buy a 350,000 sq ft former Dell factory for around £3.8m with a view to leasing it to Ardmore. The facility at Plassey Technological Park, near the University of Limerick, is twice the size of Ardmore’s Bray studio.

PINEWOOD INTERNATIONAL

Pinewood has capitalised on the strength of its brand with an international strategy that has extended its footprint globally.

“We don’t just want to put a flag in the ground for the sake of it,” says commercial director Nicholas Smith. “There has to be a justifiable business reason for going to a territory. If you want to go to Malaysia, for example, you could work with Pinewood or go with a standalone independent set of facilities in the middle of a relatively untried and untested country. For producers, Pinewood stands for quality and an established business that knows how to get movies made.”

He adds: “We’re not in a rush to establish elsewhere because there are some significant opportunities in places we already have.”

Pinewood Malaysia
Studio space 12,000 sq ft
Film stages 5

A joint venture with Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah, the £84m Pinewood Iskandar Malaysia Studios opened in 2013. The 80-acre site is a small part of the multibillion-pound 2,000 sq km metropolis Iskandar, which the state is building over the next two decades to house 10 million people. The two HD studios have an audience capacity of 1,260 and The Weinstein Company’s Netflix series Marco Polo is shooting there.

The location boasts all the advantages of its connections to Singapore, which is just 10 minutes away across the straits, plus Malaysia’s lower-cost labour force, and is designed to attract Asian productions. These include Asia’s Got Talent, which is filmed separately for 10 countries, including Thailand and Indonesia.

“Producers would need to fly out key heads of department but that is often the case – even in Atlanta,” says Smith. “Lower crew levels are readily available on the ground and there are a lot of local training initiatives too.”

The Malaysian government offers a 30% Film In Malaysia incentive for qualifying production expenditure. This incentive is offered for domestic and foreign production, for production and post-production approved activities. The minimum TV series spend is US$120,000 (£78,000) per hour.

Pinewood Atlanta
Studio space 12,000 sq ft
Film stages 5

This site was “literally a wheatfield” before Pinewood descended in 2012. A 30% production tax incentive influenced the studio’s choice of Georgia over Louisiana and North Carolina. After placing Ant Man there, Marvel will use it to shoot part of Captain America: Civil War.

Pinewood Toronto
Sound stages 12

When the Ontario government trimmed the city’s production incentive from 25% to 21.5% earlier this year, it might have risked the US$700m (£450m) of production that Toronto hosted in 2014, with fears that productions might switch to Vancouver.

But Smith claims the attraction of shooting in Toronto remains “very strong”, while the Canadian dollar remains lower in value than the US currency. Recent studio pictures housed there include Sony Pictures’ Pixels and Legendary Pictures’ Pacific Rim.

Of the dozen stages, the 45,900 sq ft Mega Stage is North America’s largest. Studio 54 is a 32,450 sq ft multi-purpose space that can be used for workshops and as an effects stage. Nine acres of backlots feature an unobstructed view of Toronto’s city skyline.

Pinewood Dominican Republic

Built to service the Latin American market, the Caribbean facility boasts a 60,500 sq ft water tank – the world’s largest. Opened in June 2013, the studio was designed with input from Diving Services UK, which consulted on Skyfall and also runs Pinewood Shepperton’s underwater stage.

The Horizon water facility comes with tip tanks, wave machines, water tank tractor, camera rostrums, SFX rostrums, blue screen, metallic walkways, and movable stairs.

The Dominican Republic offers a 25% tax credit with a minimum spend of US$500m (£325m).

CHINA

Wanda Qingdao Studios
Sound stages 30

Pinewood was paid to consult on the design and build of the studio and film city under construction in the Qingdao seaport in China. There are no plans to brand it Pinewood China. “Part of the attraction [for venture partners] is to get that seal of approval associated with the Pinewood name and to help market the facility as fit for the global market,” says Smith. Chinese real estate giant Dalian Wanda is developing the multibillion-dollar complex spread across 494 acres and due to open in 2017. Planned to be the world’s largest film and TV studio, it will house 30 production stages and an underwater stage, plus China’s largest exterior water tank. Wanda and the Qingdao municipal government have stated that they will collaborate on a film and TV fund, and offer tax rebates.

ABU DHABI

TwoFour54
Studio space 32,000 sq ft
Sound stages 6

Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens recently filmed scenes in Abu Dhabi but the desert locations of the emirate are far from its only attraction.

State-backed media group Twofour54, based in the UAE capital, works with the Abu Dhabi Film Commission to lure productions to the area with a 30% rebate. It also serves as a tax-free zone that strives to nurture entertainment content creation in the region, and offers a campus bristling with studio and postproduction facilities.

“Our main focus is to encourage TV productions to hub out of Abu Dhabi,” says Paul Baker, executive director of film and TV services. “A unique factor is that our 30% rebate isn’t just for drama but for all TV, from entertainment to commercials.”

After Top Gear and CBS drama Bold And Beautiful shot episodes there, Iftah Ya Sim Sim, the Arabic version of Sesame Street, and Sony PlayStation reality show GT Academy are basing production at the studio.

“The broadcast market in the UAE is very mature,” says Baker. “We shot 300 hours of Arabic drama here last year. Twofour54’s freelancer scheme, which has 500 registered people, allows incoming producers access to a fast-growing pool of skilled TV and film talent.”

To access the rebate, productions are required to employ UAE nationals as interns. “

Given our proximity and direct access to Bollywood, we are able to use their very experienced and cost-effective crews,” says Baker. “This was the case for Star Wars VII. We brought in a Bollywood construction team from Mumbai to build the sets.

“We believe these diverse international crew relationships, along with a TV-friendly environment, will help Abu Dhabi attract more drama and entertainment producers.”

Playout facilities have been managed by Ericsson, owner of Red Bee Media, since February.

“This deal gives producers the confidence that their information can be moved around by one of the most respected global connectivity companies,” says Baker.

There are plans to increase the capacity of its existing 11 studios.

“Major LE shows such as Arab Idol have tended to shoot in Lebanon, but we’re now starting to engage in more detailed conversations about those shows coming to us. Ultimately, what we’re trying to achieve is to increase the quality and quantity of Arabic content so that these stories reach beyond the region and the diaspora to the wider market.”

The success of Danish drama The Killing and South Korean cultural exports like K-Pop are held up as a model.

“We are also looking for opportunities to work with producers in developing hit international shows,” says Baker. “We have diverse locations here, from desert islands to futuristic cityscapes, and the support of the government in opening these up to production.”

HUNGARY

Korda studios
Studio space 161,170 sq ft
Sound stages 6

When Ridley Scott was scouting for a place to build Mars for 20th Century Fox movie The Martian, he landed in Hungary and occupied the world’s third-largest sound stage for six months. The 64,310 sq ft space at Korda, located a short drive from Budapest, is part of a complex that boasts 10 hectares of backlot, standing sets representing New York, the Renaissance and Medieval times, a water tank, a private forest, rivers and lakes. Netflix’s Marco Polo season two and Carnival Pictures’ The Last Kingdom took advantage of the tax discount of 25% of eligible Hungarian spend. NBC Universal’s Emerald City is a current tenant.

“Foreign feature productions will typically bring in their own services for visual and special effects and post, mainly to overcome the language barrier of our local crew,” says managing director György Rajnai. But local services are also in demand. Key providers include camera kit and lighting hire firms Visionteam and Sparks, grading and dailies specialist Color Front and post house Fox Focus.