A new “Hollywood grade” state-of-the-art sound stage and virtual production studio primarily funded by non-profit video games and film educator Academy of Interactive Entertainment (AIE) will be operational in Canberra early next year.
The virtual production sound stage will measure 24 metres in diameter, 6 metres high and will comprise a “giant curved green screen” described by AIE chairman and CEO John De Margheriti as “what you’ll see in a rock n’ roll concert”.
The commercial grade studio will allow filmmakers to create “any backdrop imaginable” via the Unreal game engine.
“This will bring pretty much state-of-the-art technology to Canberra for film and video games,” Mr De Margheriti said.
The $10 million project will receive $839,400 funding from the ACT Government.
Screen Canberra CEO Monica Penders said the infrastructure will allow the ACT to be nationally competitive with “much needed studio space”.
“It’s a simple equation, the package of studio space and a location incentive means we are now competitive in the Australian screen landscape,” she said.
The sound stage and virtual production studio will be housed at an interim location until December 2024, at which point the necessary renovations will have been made at AIE’s Watson site to accommodate the infrastructure.
The interim site will be announced later this year, with Mr De Margheriti hyping the location will be “front page news” when made public.
“It will be political, it will be front page news in Canberra, people will be shocked,” he said.
“It will be somewhere in town … even the Chief Minister doesn’t know, they’re all asking, and we can’t tell them.”
The virtual production studio equipment is akin to what’s been used on Thor God of Thunder and in Disney’s Mandalorian TV series.
ACT Minister for the Arts Tara Cheyne said the investment in this facility will grow career opportunities and promote Canberra as a screen destination.
“I’m excited to see how this investment grows our screen production capability and nurtures our local talent so we can produce amazing film and TV right here in Canberra,” she said.
Studio infrastructure part of ‘grand vision’
Describing this sound stage as “one piece of the puzzle”, this infrastructure is an early component of Mr De Margheriti’s grand vision to establish a “$200 million” development in Canberra; outlined in the AIE’s Draft Campus Master Plan.
By 2040, the vision is to have multiple sound stages and water tanks on a bustling, dynamic and modern university campus at Watson complete with accommodation, and a thriving film and game industry in Canberra.
In August 2020, AIE and the ACT Government reached agreement on the terms of a direct sale of part of the Canberra Technology Park site in Watson following extensive community consultation.
The AIE was established over 20 years ago as a not-for-profit community organisation focused on games, film and visual effects education.
Widely renowned as a pioneer of the Australian video game industry, Mr De Margheriti said he established AIE to create a legacy and give back to his hometown, Canberra.
“I was a Hawker College student with dreams who found it hard,” he said. “I don’t make any profit from it; I’ve already made my money.”
Mr De Margheriti said he established AIE to invest his wealth in growing Canberra’s film and video games industries.
“A lot of people think AIE is a for-profit entity … we run it, but its purpose isn’t to make us lots of money, it’s to give away money to causes we believe in.”
Ultimately, he wants to create a strong film and game industry in Canberra that employs 50 to 100 people fulltime by educating the next generation and establishing the facilities and infrastructure for future productions to utilise.
“Photography, producers, gaffers, grips … we want enough infrastructure so when a project comes to Canberra, they don’t have to import talent,” he said.
“We’re trying to train up the next generation for film makers that can work in a Hollywood studio environment.”
Having already invested in six locally produced films including Blue World Order, Me and My Mates Vs The Zombie Apocalyse, and The Furies, Mr De Margheriti’s plan is to continue producing local films utilising the new facilities as they come online, while making them available to the wider industry.
“This production facility is commercial grade and will be used for large feature films AIE will produce and finance,” he said.
“We’re going to build and stage and going to use it and then people might come; Screen Canberra’s job is to catch them.”
AIE is hosting a virtual open day tomorrow, Sunday 15 August; register here.
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