Studio round-up – Jan 2016

Pinewood Studios: Universal Pictures’ Steve Jobs, from Academy Award-winning director Danny Boyle, was recently mixed at Pinewood Post Production. The team carried out sound editorial, mixing and foley work for the film, which stars Michael Fassbender as the pioneering founder of Apple.

Pinewood has launched, in partnership with The Open University, a free on-line course called The Business of Film, looking at the business-side of filmmaking. The course provides a practical and in-depth exploration of the key business decisions in film production and the complexities of development, distribution and finance. As well as providing step-by-step guidance on the main processes, the course will also help students to answer critical questions such as why films fail, why do films get public funding and what is the relationship between marketing, box office returns and overall film success?

Double Emmy Award winning foley artist, Pete Burgis, has joined Pinewood Post Production. Burgis has worked on over 150 titles including the Oscar-winning The King’s Speech, Gosford Park and Slumdog Millionaire and others including, Band of Brothers, Atonement, Children Of Men, Quantum Of Solace, Captain Phillips and the Harry Potter films. He is also a triple Golden Reel Award winner. His most recent credits include Pan, Legend and Everest as well as The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Cinderella, The Game, Exodus: Gods And Kings and Edge of Tomorrow.

Pinewood continues to invest in its foley and editorial services, recently renovating Theatre One and Theatre Two at Shepperton Studios, to complement UK sound teams in film, television, video games and audiobooks.

The Bottle Yard Studios: BBC One’s popular, 18^th-century drama, Poldark, has returned to Bristol’s The Bottle Yard Studios for its hotly-anticipated second series. Poldark’s eight-part first series, which attracted on average eight million viewers per episode, filmed at The Bottle Yard between April and October 2014. Sets were built within the Studio’s Tank House 2 to create key settings featured in the drama, including The Red Lion pub and ‘Nampara’, Ross Poldark’s home.

This year, sets will once again be built on-site, and the production will expand its studio footprint by using additional build space. The team is coordinating the shoot from the studios production offices, and basing a comprehensive costume department on-site, complete with sewing, dying and fitting rooms. The seven-month shoot, for the ten part series, will feature locations across Cornwall, Bristol and Wiltshire.

Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden: Academy Award-winning actor Eddie Redmayne has been cast as Newt Scamander in Warner Bros. Pictures’ much-anticipated wizarding world adventure – J.K. Rowling’s Fantastic Beasts And Where to Find Them. Making her screenwriting debut on the film, Rowling developed the character of Scamander, and his eponymous book, from her globally beloved Harry Potter series. David Yates, who directed the last four Harry Potter films, will direct, with producer David Heyman, who produced of all eight of the blockbuster Harry Potter features. The cinematographer on the show is Philippe Rousselot AFC. Warner Bros. Pictures has slated Fantastic Beasts And Where to Find Them for worldwide release in 3D and IMAX on November 18, 2016.

Elstree Studios: a brand new book, entitled ‘Elstree Studios: A Celebration Of Film And Television’, pays tribute to 90 years of film and TV production at the world-famous site. Elstree Studios was, and still is, home to some of the most successful and enduring films and TV shows produced in the UK, from the original Star Wars and Indiana Jones trilogies, to The King’s Speech and Paddington, and from The Saint and The Avengers to Strictly Come Dancing and Big Brother.

The book has an exclusive introduction written by Tom Hooper, the Oscar-winning director of The King’s Speech. With contributions from actors, directors and behind-the-scenes personnel, the book traces the studios’ history starting from humble beginnings in 1926, through the golden age of film, tough times and the threat of closure, to becoming London’s go-to film and TV studio today, lavishly illustrated with over 250 photographs and film stills.

The Yorkshire Studios: ITV’s Victoria, a major new drama series from Mammoth Screen, is the first tenant to take up residency at The Yorkshire Studios, with filming for the seven-month shoot now underway. The ambitious eight-part drama, starring Jenna Coleman, follows the early life of Queen Victoria, from her ascension to the throne at the tender age of 18, through to her courtship and marriage to Prince Albert.

Screen Yorkshire announced the major new film and TV studio space in Church Fenton, between Leeds and York, in June. Comprising three aircraft hangars (each over 30,000sq/ft and 36ft to beams) plus office space, garages, workshops, extensive parking, roadways and runways, the site is ideal for large scale productions such as Victoria.

With additional support from the British Film Council and Creative England, Screen Yorkshire is working to bring the next major production to The Yorkshire Studios. The remaining available space includes two expansive hangars and over 400 acres of backlot.