Where did Robert Pattinson, Keanu Reeves and Anthony Hopkins all shoot films in the recent years? The answer is Budapest. Productions this big need exceptional tech support, which can be hard to find locally in Central/Eastern Europe. Budapest, however, is lucky enough to be the only European location of Raleigh Studios, the world’s leading full-service film studios. This month’s letter will highlight some many advantages of shooting in Hungary and at Raleigh. To help us inform you about both, we have enlisted Artist Robinson, Head of Raleigh Studios, Budapest.
But before we begin, a little about the studio itself. Raleigh features no less than eight sounds stages, which range in size from 12,000 to 47,000 square feet. The 47,000 square foot super stage is 60’ high, in case your production features flying pterodactyls, or the odd high rise. The back lot is a full ten acres in size. Not to mention, Budapest itself serves as a kind of back lot, and it has almost infinite and diverse locations. The technological and support services offered at Raleigh are unparalleled. But we will let Artist tell you more.
PPM: Why did Raleigh found a studio in Budapest, as opposed to another Central/Eastern European city?
Artist Robinson: The 20-25 percent Hungarian film rebate, 80-year history of film making in Budapest offers strong and deep levels of crews with a strong work ethic, the diversity of possible looks within the city: modern to baroque to WWII to apocalyptic to farmland – all are readily available either in the city or the suburbs. Also, the excellent infrastructure that makes Budapest very available to other sites (mountains in Austria, seascapes in Croatia, castles in upper Slovakia and Poland. Excellent set construction crews at a good value. Also our site is 20 minutes to the 5-star hotels on the Danube. Budapest is a world-class city that offers 5-star hotels and restaurants, making it a pleasant place to park yourself while making your movie.
PPM: What was one of the shoots that stretched your capabilities to the maximum?
Artist Robinson: We just finished hosting a film called “47 Ronin” which was a big 3D project. This production used just about every inch of the studio stages, back lot, support buildings and post area. It gave us a chance to run at full capacity.
PPM: What sets Raleigh Studios apart?
Artist Robinson: A modern facility built for the 21st century in a convenient and secure campus environment, soundproof stages with good adjacent support and office space, fiber networks, built-in ventilation and air-conditioning systems on all stages, extensive weight-bearing stage grids for unlimited rigging possibilities, plenty of parking, 20 minute travel time from the center of the city, and it is off two major motorways – we are easily accessible from most parts of the city, and accessible by mass transit, an Arri operated camera department, full-service lighting and transportation departments, and state-of-the-art post-production department with all the newest toys.
PPM Film Services is a Budapest-based film company offering an inspiring and creative work atmosphere for its host of clients from around the world. Since our inception, our focus has been providing the best of the best in terms of local production resources, locations, cast and technical teams to ensure that whatever the production we’re charged to create, we do it with no compromise. To sign up for the PPM Hungary newsletter, have a look here.
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