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11/9/1998
Irvine architect to design world's largest soundstage
Irvine, Calif. architect Gary L. Bastien, AIA, who has become known for contributing his studio expertise to bringing new studios to strategic locations, is announcing
that Bastien and Associates, Inc. Architecture and Planning will design the largest sound stage in the world. It will be one of several stages comprising the studio component of a development planned by
Wayne Mooneyhan of Mooneyhan Entertainment Corporation for the Nashville, Tenn. area.
The $1 billion full-featured entertainment complex, planned to fill the void left by the departure of Opryland, will include sound stages, a new state-of-the-art theme
park, restaurants, and lodging. Mooneyhan's concept is to provide all related production services to the booming film, television, cable, and video production market. The 3,000 acre development will
include a range of sound stages sizes from 20,000 s.f. to the world's largest, a 120,000 s.f. "superstage." Production support offices, dressing rooms, make-up rooms, green rooms and a
cutting-edge computer center will provide all production needs in a close working environment.
While older Hollywood sound stages can be as small as 8,000 s.f., the typical size for newer ones is about 18,000 s.f., with clear spans of 120 feet and clear heights of
35 to 45 feet. The Mooneyhan "superstage," by comparison, will be a structural feat of 120,000 s.f., with a clear span of 225 feet and a clear height of 70 feet. It will offer a section of
retractable roof for natural light shooting and a water tank inside. Larger sound stages are considered desirable by production companies because of increased flexibility and a more controlled setting
than the alternative of shooting on location.
Mooneyhan will also offer an extensive backlot to compete with location shooting, providing street scenes of New York City, England, London, Paris, Any City U.S.A., Small
Town U.S.A., and Western Town U.S.A. All street scenes will be modular and interchangeable.
Phase I of the studio component will consist of two clusters of four stages each. A cluster of moderately sized stages will pair with a seven-story core production support
building. The cluster of larger stages, including the 120,000 s.f. superstage will pair with an eight-story production support building. Each support building will house a state-of-the-art computer
center for special effects, animation, editing, music, etc. With the move by the FCC and broadcasters to HDTV and the landmark shift of the entertainment industry to digital media of all sorts, the
computer center will play a key role in servicing the evolving needs of cutting edge production companies.
In fact, while some industry experts predicted a short time ago that the increased use of computer graphics for production would decrease the size and the need for sound
stages, the business has seen a surge in the quantity and size of new sound stages.
According to Michael Klausman, President of CBS Studio Center and an expert in the move to the High Definition Television (HDTV) format, there is no inverse relationship
between computer production and the need for sound stages. The decision to use computer animation and simulation is made to expand the possibilities for a producer to create a scene, not to replace one
method for another. Outdoor and sci-fi scenes that are impossible to create for the camera (like scenes from "Titanic" and the dinosaurs of "Jurassic Park") are the best candidates
for simulation, giving artists another creative tool to choose from.
Mooneyhan's project and Icon Studios in Glendale, Ariz., both testify to the fact that the market is pushing developers to propose larger studios. The projects are
seen by many as continued indicators of the enormous economic growth taking place in entertainment, and of the push for better and larger production facilities.
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