STUDIOS INDUSTRY.
Sandstorm Films
Nestled on the edge of the Cotswolds in the UK, and less than a minute’s drive from a major motorway, is Sandstorm Films. Its studios have three versatile stages and the latest range of kit. There’s also on-site crew, full post-production facilities – including grading – and a cinema. The cherry on top is the Director Club, where you’ll find meeting rooms, lounges, a bar, barista coffee, massage therapy and a sauna. Studio 1 has a 1360 sq ft area and was the first studio built at The Old Dairy in 2009. This is endlessly configurable and versatile. You name it, it’s shot in there: vehicle exteriors and interiors; room sets with one, two or three walls; live action with sync sound; Technodolly; photography; multicam live studio – plus large- and small-scale product shoots. Studio 2 is 860 sq ft and built to do everything you couldn’t do in Studio 1. They shoot all kinds of special effects here, including pyro. It’s also equipped for motion control, live action, smaller sets and stills. Studio 3 is the big one at 5100 sq ft. With seven-metre-high double-decker access, this sound stage boasts a full overhead lighting gantry, hoists, cherry picker and scissor lift, a huge floor space and extraordinary head height. Take everything you can do in Studios 1 and 2, combine it and times it by two, and soon you’ll realise why this is one of the best production stages in the UK for the money.
Pinewood Studios ILM StageCraft, the production-hardened technology that gave the world the seminal VP series The Mandalorian , has opened up a new stage at Pinewood Studios. The company currently occupies two lots at Manhattan Beach Studios, and is looking to expand in a number of key creative production centres, including Atlanta and Vancouver. The new stage improves on the volume used in the Disney+ series. It
is larger, utilises more LED panels, offers higher resolution and smooth wall-to-ceiling transitions – resulting in better lighting and more in-camera finals. “With StageCraft, we’ve built an end-to- end VP service for key creatives – directors, production designers, cinematographers, producers and visual effects supervisors,” explains Janet Lewin, SVP and general manager at ILM.
37. AUGUST 2022
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