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A
Weekend at Wallace Studios |
| by Shawn Postoff
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| I had long assumed that the
benefits of shooting in a studio were out of my reach, both
from a financial standpoint and from those nagging voices in
the back of my head that tried to convince me that only "professionals"
shot in studios. But in November 1999, I was finishing up a
short script that called for one lonely on-screen actor in one
tiny room, filmed with lots of perfectly controlled camera motion.
In other words, it became clear that if I wanted to shoot a
high-quality film, I would need to shoot in a studio. Needless
to say, I was a little daunted. |
| As a member of WIFT-T, I was
already aware of Wallace Studios through their regular newsletter
ads and generous sponsorship initiatives. So with the help of
WIFT staff, I set up a meeting with Lillyann Goldstein at Wallace.
I did some homework by visiting the Wallace website and taking
a virtual tour of the facility, so by the time I met with Lillyann
my questions were already half answered. We chatted a little
bit about the studio, about my vision for the film, and what
I wanted to accomplish. I wanted to know whether Wallace was
the right place to shoot. Lillyann's answer was simple: "Let's
take a real tour." For the next hour, I explored the three
studios at 258 Wallace Avenue (all with cycs, grids and power),
and was informed that there were also several other properties
that were geared to the entertainment industry: there was another
one on the same block and there were others in the east and
west ends of the city |
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| While making our rounds, I
was introduced to some of the 20 or so tenants who run their
offices and operations out of the 56,000 sq. foot building.
Made up of various craftspeople, entrepreneurs, and production
companies, the Wallace tenants offer a wide and varied range
of talents, including puppet makers, sound recordists, photographers,
casting companies, web design firms, catering services, interactive
multimedia developers, a carpentry shop, and several professional
associations. It quickly became clear that Lillyann considered
these people and organizations a part of the Wallace "family,"
and she was obviously proud of the "one shop stop"
that made Wallace so user-friendly |
| One of the people I chatted
with was Steve Bratton of Bratton Scenery and Display. Knowing
that I would need to have a set built, Lillyann made sure that
Steve was one of the first people I shook hands with. His workshop
operates out of a large space adjacent to the studios, and it
was immediately obvious to me how convenient such an arrangement
could be. So by the time I left, I had locked a date for my
three-day shoot at Wallace Studios, and Steve was told to expect
a floor plan for the set I would need to have built. |
| I was excited by the fact
that by choosing to shoot in a studio I was eliminating an incredible
amount of logistical uncertainties. After all, the Wallace facilities
included simple things that I could easily see myself forgetting
in the chaos of pre-production, things like a photocopier, fax,
and phones, a large cafeteria, dressing rooms, make-up rooms,
and a film load room. |
| Wallace also featured a drive-in
loading bay, and a control room. But despite all these conveniences,
I remained nervous about the magnitude of it all: up until that
point, my films had been done with a Super-8 or a Bolex, most
of the time guerrilla style. Yet as pre-production intensified,
and my questions started accumulating, the staff at Wallace
and Bratton were always helpful, patient and friendly. And before
I knew it, that once far-off weekend on the calendar was suddenly
here and now... |
| From time to time during the
shoot I found myself wanting to stop and catch my breath. I
would look around at the set, and the lights and the cables
and the camera equipment, and the crew that was making it work
and the cast that was making it come alive, and I would think,
"This is my shoot." It was an amazing sensation, and
a bit overwhelming.. |
| When I walked out of the studio
on that Sunday night, with my film safely in the can and my
budget well within its limits, it occurred to me that of all
the people who deserved to be thanked, Wallace was at the top
of my list. |
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