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London and its immediate
surroundings are becoming a hot
bed for production. With studios
closing down and the amount of
productions rising, the remaining
studio spaces have many
opportunities in this environment.
Location is still key for producers,
not just outdoors but also when it
comes to working within the walls
of a studio.
As Christiaan Harden, client
services director at Spectrecom
Studios, puts it: “With the amount
of studios closing down or getting
smaller, I definitely think being in
Central London is key, especially
for international clients.
“They want to be close to their
hotel and their amenities, they
don’t want to be outside London
travelling all over the place after
long shoot days.”
Richard Lewisohn, managing
director at Mount Pleasant
Studios, says he notices the same
sentiment. “Europe is the centre of
filmmaking, the transport links are
so good and we’re just down the
road from St. Pancras, so people
can come from Paris and just walk
down the road to get to the studio.
“People like being in the middle
of town rather than an industrial
estate off the motorway.”
And looking at the amount of
drama and commercials shooting
in the capital at this very moment
this seems to be true. Compared to
10 years ago, drama productions
shooting in the capital alone have
increased by no less than 50%.
At a recent event held at BAFTA,
there was much discussion on the
question of studio space in London
and indeed, the growing shortage
thereof. Lewisohn says: “A lot of
studios have closed down because
real estate has got so expensive
that it ultimately makes sense for
landlords [to turn studio spaces
into flats].”
And it wasn’t just the closure of
actual studio spaces alone that is
challenging location managers and
producers. It seems that, since
the easing of the credit crunch,
developers are also ploughing
their cash into building luxury
apartments and offices on spaces
such as car parks, warehouses
and wasteland - used for
productions such as Luther
and Spooks. These are now
becoming like gold dust for
productions seeking affordable,
often unusual, London
locations. It is quite common
nowadays for one film or TV unit
to move into a sought-after site
a matter of hours after another
has shipped out.
At the event, the drama
producers did agree, however,
that the shortage was forcing
them to start thinking even more
‘outside the box’ for new ideas
in terms of interesting locations
within the capital. It remains
to be seen what kind of quirky
locations we will see on our
screens in months to come.
Creatingreality: What
London’s Filmstudios
canoffer filmmakers
Production, although fun, is almost always a strenuous, time consuming process. But the right studio
and its facilities can make all the difference. This guide is designed to make it easier and highlight what
to look out and prepare for when shooting in London.
by Josh Wilson
Pinewood Studios remains
one of the leading film
studios in the world and
their London branche is
bursting by the seems with
big drama productions
It’s quite common
nowadays for one film
or TV unit to move into
a site only hours after
another has shipped out
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