With their 6,000 square meter daylight studio, MMC Studios in Cologne offer an extraordinary filming location. For Stargate, the VFX specialist from the USA, the studio was even an important argument for the opening of Stargate Studios Cologne.
The combination of unique daylight studio and international VFX know-how now available at MMC is particularly exciting for fiction producers, as it offers ideal production conditions for the high-end series that are in such high demand.
Total volume of over 250,000 m³:
MMC Studios in Cologne has one of the largest and most modern studio landscapes in Europe. In addition to 19 TV and film studios, MMC also offers the largest daylight studio in Europe, which is a very attractive shooting location especially for producers of feature films, series and commercials.
The daylight studio "Coloneum Mall" has a total area of 6,000 sqm and a total volume of over 250,000 m³. Nico Roden, Director Sales & Production of MMC Studios explains: "We combine the plannable environment of a studio with the lighting conditions of outdoor motifs. Thanks to a continuous glass roof, it is possible to work in the studio with real daylight over the entire area - and this is guaranteed without rain or storms. Due to its size, construction and lighting conditions, the studio is an excellent shooting location, which in this combination is unique in Europe."
For VFX specialist Stargate Studios, this is a real USP:
This year, Stargate Studios, one of the leading international providers of virtual productions and visual effects (VFX), has joined MMC Studios.
MMC's exceptional daylight studio was an important argument for locating the company, which was founded in California in 1989 and now has VFX studios in Los Angeles, Vancouver, Toronto, Atlanta, London, Malta, Cologne, Berlin, Dubai and Mexico City.
Thomas Knop, Managing Director of Stargate Studios in Cologne, explains: "By locating Stargate Studios at MMC Studios, we are once again opening up a wide variety of filming locations for our customers. At MMC, they will find the best possible production conditions for film and TV projects of all kinds. MMC's large daylight studio is a real USP for us."
Virtual Backlot: Cost-effective alternatives to the classic outdoor shoot:
In particular, the "Virtual Backlot" process developed by Stargate Studios has ushered in a new era in VFX: The largest Virtual Backlot stock footage library in the world replaces almost any background of a game location. Unlike classic green screen techniques, Virtual Backlot allows a comprehensive virtual environment with unlimited shooting angles for the camera.
The process has already been used in numerous well-known productions, including the TV series THE WALKING DEAD, CALIFORNICATION, 24, GREY'S ANATOMY, HOUSE OF LIES, HEROES and RAY DONOVAN, as well as in cinema and TV films such as TAXI, DER MINISTER and NACHT ÜBER BERLIN.
Thomas Knop explains the advantages: "The VirtualBacklot process is one of the best, cost-effective alternatives to the classic outdoor shoot: Once produced, the material in our library can be used to its full extent as a play environment - from e-shots to turbulent tracking shots. This is because the footage serves as a 360° playable and motion-flexible environment."
Motifs from all over the world can be shot at MMC Studios:
Stargate Studios' Virtual Backlot Library currently contains more than 300,000 clips from more than 3,000 locations plus countless 3D models.
Thomas Knop: "We already have photorealistic virtual environments from the most important cities and regions around the globe, and we are constantly expanding the library. In this way, we are bringing the world to Cologne. For example, we can shoot scenes set in New York, Washington DC, Moscow or Cape Town here in MMC's daylight studio."
Philip Borbély, Managing Director of MMC Studios, on the new production facilities at MMC: "We are very pleased that we can now offer fiction producers another attractive location with our unique daylight studio. By locating Stargate Studios, we now also have the VFX know-how from a large number of international series productions at our disposal. Our daylight studio in combination with Stargate Studios' production methods, which are also attractive in terms of price, is a highly exciting combination, especially with regard to high-end series, and one that will certainly be reported on more often soon."
The demo reel "Virtual Backlot @ MMC" with shoots in MMC's daylight studio can be found here: www.stargatestudios.de
