Production is kicking off at ATM Studio, ATM Grupa S.A.’s newly opened film and television production center.
ATM Studio, which has just been opened in Wawer, Warsaw, is the most state-of-the-art facility of this type in Poland and in this part of Europe. “We are ready to produce television shows with live audiences, series, feature films and major artistic events”, says Robert Mościcki, Member of the Executive Board of ATM Studio, citing advantages over the competition: “Fiber-optic cables allow us to broadcast HD television programming to all stations in Poland and around the world. The facility was designed and built as a film and television production complex, not rebuilt or converted from old factory warehouses or radio headquarters. It is the first studio in Poland that allows shooting without electric power generators. Power is supplied by two transformer stations, 2 megawatts each. Apart from several soundstages – the biggest has a floor space of 1500 sq.m. – the center includes make-up rooms (each with hairdressing areas), fully equipped dressing rooms, storage areas for sets, costumes, shooting equipment and lighting, postproduction studios, and office spaces. The building complies with class A+ office requirements”, stresses Mościcki.
The first production at the studio will be Rochstar’s “The Voice of Poland” for TVP 2. The installation of lights and sets has just begun. Then the “Battle” stage will be taped and the “Live” stage will be first broadcast on October 29. In addition, Rochstar will move its headquarters to the center. “ATM Studio operates the biggest television studios in Poland and we’ve been producing the biggest television shows for years”, explains Rinke Rooyens, head and owner of Rochstar, “so it’s only natural that we want to work at ATM. We’re starting with “The Voice of Poland”, but in the future we hope to expand our collaboration to include joint productions and make many fantastic shows together”, adds Rooyens.
A new season of “The Ranch” is about to start taping at the Wawer studio. Janusz Sosnowski – the series’ set designer and creator of sets for such popular movies as “Quo Vadis” and ATM Group’s new co-production “Siberian Exile” (“Syberiada Polska”, scheduled to open in 2012) – believes that Warsaw had long needed a studio like this. “I think I know all European film studios”, says Sosnowski. “Some of them were established almost 100 hundred years ago. Many are now extended, usually with the addition of single soundstages. New ones are rarely opened, and if they are, they tend to be far from capital cities, which makes them less attractive. All the studios have backlots where you can build outdoor sets. They also include workshops and storage areas. In this the new ATM studios are truly unique. They are all housed in a single well-designed building in a very good location. There is also extra space for new workshops, storage areas and outdoor sets. The facility is very attractive for creators, crews and accountants”, adds Sosnowski.
The center is also open for film production. Brasil Agency and Propeller Film Production House are currently shooting a Eurobank commercial here. “The size of the soundstages is impressive”, says Justyna Trzeciak, production manager for Propeller Film. “There are no soundstages as big as these in Warsaw. There are smaller ones but there are times when they are booked solid and it’s hard to squeeze in. This is often a problem in advertising where production times are tight. What’s more, ATM studios are professionally designed and equipped. Their acoustics are very good, and the whole upper sections of the soundstages are suited to suspended lighting, which is not always the case with other soundstages. And good lighting is key”, says Trzeciak.
The building will also house headquarters of some ATP Group companies: ATM System, which offers advanced technology support for television production and event management; and ATM FX, a company specializing in special effects for film (it has just completed special effects for Jerzy Hoffman’s latest feature, “Battle of Warsaw 1920”).
ATM Studio’s capabilities also include staging big concerts and events. In addition, the center will boast a restaurant, bar and café.
The center has already ten corporate tenants. A Hilton hotel, which is currently under development in the neighborhood, is scheduled to open in the fall 2013.
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The film center in Wawer is a 14,000 sq.m. complex comprising offices, soundstages, television studios, production and postproduction facilities, cinema room and catering facilities. The biggest, 1,500 sq.m. soundstage will be used for big television shows with a live audience and major film productions. Four 800 sq.m. soundstages will host game shows, films and series. The development also includes a 500 sq.m. soundstage for shooting commercials and TV theater productions. Auxiliary facilities include storage areas for sets and equipment, and power supply transformer stations (2 megawatts each). The center’s IT and communications infrastructure enables live HD broadcasts from each stage to all television stations.
