UK in Focus - page 65

From established studios to expanding facilities and alternative spaces, the UK has a wealth
of filming real estate.
Geoffrey Macnab
takes a tour around the regional production landscape.
Land of
OPPORTUNITY
T
he UK’s film studios have rarely been
busier. The combination of world-class
technicians and facilities with tax relief
for film and high-end TV drama has fired a pro-
duction boom that shows no sign of abating.
Recent projects made in the UK include Mar-
vel’s
Doctor Strange
,based at Longcross/Shepper-
ton; Warner Bros.’
Wonder Woman
,which has been
in residence at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden;
Star Wars: Episode VIII
(Disney/Lucasfilm), back at
Pinewood Studios, as well as other high-profile
projects such as
Justice League: Part One
(Warner
Bros.),
Kingsman 2
(20th Century Fox/Marv Films)
and
The Hitman’s Bodyguard
(Millennium Films).
While established studios such as Pinewood,
Shepperton, Elstree and Leavesden remain
sought after by local and international produc-
tions, one recent trend has been the use of the
UK’s plentiful new, alternative, expanded and
non-traditional studio spaces.
Adrian Wootton, Chief Executive of the Brit-
ish Film Commission and Film London, points
to the “huge demand” for UK creative talent
both in front of and behind the camera. This is
matched by the demand for British VFX and
post-production services, and by the clamour to
use UK studio space.
In response to this demand, there has been
expansion in studio facilities across the UK,
with Pinewood, Shepperton and Leavesden all
enhancing facilities or adding studio space.
High-end TV dramas, says Wootton, do not “nec-
essarily want space” that is as technically
sophisticated as the top studios— their produc-
ers need sites they can control and customise.
“Two types of development seem to be happen-
ing,” adds Wootton.“One is to take an old indus-
trial space, and also people are looking at ware-
house space.” This movement, in turn, has
guaranteed that filmmaking is taking place
across every region of the UK.
PEOPLE ARE
LOOKING AT OLD
INDUSTRIAL SPACE
ANDWAREHOUSE
SPACE
Adrian Wootton, British Film Commission and
Film London
In the south east, the competition for studio
space remains intense. Big US movies and
high-end TV dramas do not just have to rely
on traditional sites, however, with other
options now including the popular Longcross
Film Studios in Surrey, the old Gillette build-
ing in Brentford, west London, and West Lon-
don Film Studios in Hillingdon.
The Gillette building has hosted major
productions such as
Miss Peregrine’s Home for
Peculiar Children
and
24: Live Another Day
,
and Locate Productions’ Eddie Standish cites
the building’s exclusivity as one of its key
attractions.“[The producers] have control,” he
says, “as there is no other production in the
site at the same time. It is not a studio; it is
more of a location that can be used as a
film space and a production space.”
While the 10-acre Gillette site may not
offer the facilities found at the
likes of Pinewood Shepperton,
productions can control eve-
rything at the site, from the
phone lines to the cleaning.
“That makes it much more cost effective,”
says Standish.
Nearby, West London Film Stu-
dios is also attracting more pro-
ductions.The site has been given
a makeover since coming under
new management in 2014.
“A lot of investment has gone
into making what was
a fairly unimpres-
sive site into a much
more functional stu-
dio,” says Charlie Fremantle, General Man-
ager of the fast-growing studios, which is
owned by businessman Frank Khalid.
As a result, high-profile films including
The Imitation Game
,
Burnt
and
Bridget Jones’s
Baby
have used the site, as have many TV
dramas and comedies (in early 2016 it was
home to the shoot for ITV drama
The Hal-
cyon
). And, like the Gillette building, the
studio benefits from its location within the
M25 motorway and striking distance from
central London.
LONDON AND SOUTH EAST
West London Film Studios
Bridget Jones’s Baby
REGIONAL UPDATE
SPOTLIGHT
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