A massive warehouse in Laurel, Maryland, is being transformed into a high-tech film and TV production facility that company and county leaders said will make the area a magnet for major film, commercial and streaming projects.
“Welcome to the future of filmmaking in Maryland,” Revolution VP Studios co-founder Zach Guerra said at an event Thursday. “When we open our doors this October, our VP studios will be the most technologically advanced virtual production studio facility in the world. Not in Maryland. Not on the East Coast. In the world.”
Prince George’s County Executive Aisha Braveboy was on hand to celebrate the project.
“Hollywood’s going to be worried about folks wanting to come here,” she said. “We are actively positioning Prince George’s County as a leading center of technology, innovation, and entertainment.”
Virtual production uses video walls as backdrops, unlike the often fake-looking studio backgrounds seen in old movies.
“You know when you’re watching James Bond. He’s driving … and it looks like he’s just in the car,” Guerra told WTOP. “Or Dorothy when she’s running from the tornado in Wizard of Oz.”
Virtual production technology, he said, makes it look like actors and props are in that environment.
“When the camera moves, the background moves in accordance with it. So it’s really an infinite world. Anything that you want to make, you can do inside the stage, which is revolutionary,” Guerra said.
Lights that wash the screens out is one of the telltale signs of a virtual production. This studio will use LED wall panels designed to be more filmmaker friendly.
Guerra expects Revolution VP’s services to be in high demand, and Braveboy said it will be a catalyst for economic growth.
There are only four other stages like this one in the entire country, and perhaps seven worldwide — and they’re already booked out, Guerra said.
“Every time you bring a production in, it’s an army,” Guerra said. “And we need a lot to make an army run.”
That includes catering, hotels, electrical work — “just a vast amount of things,” Guerra said.
Potential customers include Netflix and other streaming services, independent filmmakers, and Maryland companies like Epic Games, which is already using the technology, but has to leave the state to do so, Guerra said.
“We’re going to be a national brand,” Guerra said.
So many of the movies and TV shows associated with Hollywood are shot elsewhere that it’s become an issue in California politics. County officials were confident this facility will overcome efforts to bring more production back to the West Coast.
“The demand for time in the studio is huge, so we think that we’re going to be extremely competitive. In fact, we’ll probably be the place to come on the East Coast,” Braveboy said.
Guerra said virtual production has several advantages over that location-based shoots.
“A lot of the costs for production are moving bodies. Feeding them and moving bodies, transportation, things like that,” he said. “We can shoot five different locations in a single day here, which is really is wildly helpful. So it doesn’t matter the time of season. What’s most important is the technology.”
Officials talked about a partnership with Bowie State University and its immersive media, entertainment and gaming program, focused on game design, animation, and visual effects.
The partnership will give students hands-on work and access to facilities they would otherwise find Atlanta or New York City.
“We’re looking to make a huge impact in the area,” said Guerra.
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