Dubai Studio City unveils master plan for film and broadcast production community

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The development, to be spread over an area of 22 million sq. feet, will provide an environment for film professionals to maximise their creative and technical potential.

The main components of the Dubai Studio City master plan include studio complexes, a social centre, a commercial zone, a residential district and a film academy.

Dubai Studio City was launched in February 2005 to foster the growth of the broadcast and film production industry in the region. To be built within the Dubailand complex, Dubai Studio City aims to build a large cluster of companies from across the industry value-chain. These include production companies, support service providers offering production and post-production facilities, animation studios and services like dubbing, makeup, costume designing, stage designing and building, casting, telnet agencies as well as telecine and lab facilities.

'In Dubai Studio City, we are seeking to create the kind of unique environment and infrastructure that the leading film studios in the world are known for,' said Dr. Amina Al Rustamani, Executive Director of Media, TECOM Investments. 'The master plan has been designed to develop the ideal atmosphere for people from both the creative and technical sides of the industry to interact and work together to produce outstanding cinema and television.'

The hub of activity in the Dubai Studio City cluster will be a world-class film studio complex. It will house film, television and audio production and related facilities, including sound stages, warehouses, production support spaces and backlot facilities.

The core production area of the complex will accommodate 14 sound stages (15,000 sq ft to 40,000 sq ft), support facilities and a backlot area of 3.4 million square feet, within a walled campus. The infrastructure has been designed to international standards and equipped to meet the needs of major Hollywood film and television productions. The core production area will be built in phases. The first phase, set to be completed in the first quarter of 2007, will have three sound stages (total stage area 65,000 sq ft), warehouses and support offices.

Dubai Studio City also offers boutique studios - small, independent buildings, which can be customised by companies to create their own studio and office facilities. Phase 1 of the boutique studio cluster, scheduled to be completed by January 2007, will comprise of 20 boutique studios, each of which will have their own street addresses.

At the heart of Dubai Studio City will be the Village Centre, the public focus of the development. The Village Centre will have restaurants, festival retailing, movie theatres, an IMAX theatre, black-box performance theatres, two outdoor amphitheatres built around a central water feature (one 3,500-seat and another 1.500-seat), a large 10,000-seat indoor amphitheatre and two hotels, all within an exquisitely landscaped park-like setting. The huge theatre capacity is expected to make Dubai Studio City the city's premier entertainment hub.

Dubai Studio City will be a place for aspiring film professionals to hone their craft. A Film Academy that will provide training in every aspect of film making, including acting, directing, editing, cinematography and sound engineering, will be built in the centre of the zone.

A Commercial Zone in Dubai Studio City will accommodate more office, retail, hospitality and other business facilities. This zone will have a hotel, a business centre and a host of commercial plots for long-term lease. Two residential districts have been incorporated into the Dubai Studio City masterplan to provide easily accessible accommodation facilities for the people working in the cluster.

Dubai Studio City aims to tap into the rapid growth of the film industry in the region. The Middle East region produced 115 films in 2003. Out of them, 76 came from Iran and 22 from Egypt. India produces more than 1000 movies every year. Over the last year, Dubai Studio City has evoked strong interest from film and broadcast companies across the world.