Sound stage and build shop for Indie projects

I am an entrepreneur with a passion for film projects. It has occurred to me that there are few if any professional sound stages that are specifically geared to indie films/ series. This potential professional sound stage would have a scenery shop attached that would be able to take on building sets, props and more for the shoots. The sound sound stage and shop would be located in NYC.

How many indie producers would find something like this valuable vs. shooting on location as most films seem to do? What would a 5000-10000 square foot be worth to you producers?

In NY? Not much at all to me. Too far away.

Like anything it would depend on price . But yes in principle I'd be interested. Having parking for camera trucks etc would be a consideration too.

The problem with NYC - or any other major metro area - are the high rents plus high taxes, permits, fees and other expenses, depending upon the specific municipality. Even the big networks are shipping things out to "satellite" areas.

Stamford, CT, (about 60 mins from mid-town Manhattan) has a small but bustling media neighborhood. Several syndicated daytime shows, some Network regional news, Network "in-house" shooting for promotional and other purposes... You get the idea. There's also a few game developers, several flavors of graphics and animation houses, internet types, etc.

That would be the type of neighborhood (or relatively near-by) that you should think about. So you've got a lower rent. Taxes, permits, zoning won't be quite as onerous. Remember your target client - small budget indie filmmakers, with the emphasis on small budget.

The other obvious part is you need a way to keep costs down, but, in addition to our shop, you'll need a lot of storage space for props, and lighting/electric and.. well, you probably know better than I do.

The problem is not opening your business, it's paying the bills and having the funds for serious marketing and networking for the first 12 to 18 months, plus having just a little more "in the sock" for the unexpected.

indisoundstage said:

How many indie producers would find something like this valuable vs. shooting on location as most films seem to do? What would a 5000-10000 square foot be worth to you producers?

Click to expand...

Here in Los angeles there are dozens of professional sound stages that
are specifically geared to indie films/series. A scene shop is nice, but most
sets are built directly on the stage unlike a theater. Make sure there is
office space, dressing rooms, equipment staging areas and adequate power.
I know NYC is different than LA but here parking is essential.

The issue is, of course, cost. If your stage is less expensive than shooting
on location indies will use it.

Consider the tax benefits to indie producers of adjacent out of state cities reasonably close to NYC.
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=40055



Developing something in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, or Massachusetts may make more business sense to indie producers.

My 2 cents. Paying for a soundstage in low budget filmmaking won't pencil out.

HOWEVER, building a movie set in a garage or basement that cost you very little to use and that you can have continued access to for a year or more will pencil out. You can write your script so that a bulk of the action takes place on that set you build (whatever it is, an apt, restaurant, dungeon) and it can be left as-is between shoots for months or years, even. I did this and kept the set the same for 3 years -- re-shooting scenes with better actors I found well into production and "killed off" the ones that couldn't hack the work.

I did include a dressing room, too.

Of course, my ideas are so outside the box, expect APE to condemn it.

Fact: Most indiefilmmakers barely scrounge up enough money for half decent video gear.
Fact: Most indiefilmmakers have hardly any money left after they buy the half decent video gear for any decent audio gear
Fact: Most indiefilmmakers don't really have "budgets"

Now, why on earth would you start a business that caters to people who don't have enough money left to pay for things?

I'm just being facetious . A lot of indie films have budgets. But a lot don't. Just something for you to consider.
Cheers

Thanks for the responses. The idea is that we are targeting the productions above those who are shooting out of a garage. Things like indie series that need to shoot on the same location many times over and dont want it to be outside subject to the weather. We are also exploring having post production areas at sound stage. This would be located in New Jersey just outside of the NYC as there are plenty of high priced studios in NYC.