SCAD’s new Hollywood-style backlot is ready for student creations
Written by Madisyn Welborn. Photo by Madisyn Welborn.
The Savannah Studios has officially expanded, and students will have access in the near future.
Phase one of three of SCAD’s Hollywood-style backlot, located at 2315 Louisville Rd. Savannah, Georgia, has been completed in all its glory with its very own bakery, barbershop and more.
Historically, backlots supply an array of exterior and partial interior sets in a single location available for filming movies and television. In many instances, backlots include hospitals, banks, corporate environments, houses of different architectural styles and occasionally full neighborhoods. Some infamous backlot sets include the home of Norman Bates from Psycho at Universal Studios, most of The Big Bang Theory’s sets at Warner Bros. Studio and Back to the Future also at Universal Studios.
Apart from its new additions, the Savannah Film Studios is already home to many impressive (and industry-standard) resources for student use. The LED Volume Stage towers at 40’ x 20’ x 17’, is decked out with Stype RedSpy, an optical tracking device, and is powered by Unreal Engine, an advanced 3D graphics game engine. The Studios are also home to green rooms, recording facilities, screening rooms, soundstages and more. Students have access to an equipment checkout that can be accessed by entering the Student Toolkit Channel in the Workspace tab of MySCAD.
Starting after October 30th, students will officially be able to reserve time slots in 8-hour increments Friday-Sunday between 8 a.m. and 11 p.m. Following its initial opening, Film Department students will have priority access. However, students across all disciplines will gain access later in the school year.
