ABS-CBN to complete 2 new sound stages in 2017

MANILA, Philippines – ABS-CBN’s films and TV shows could be getting a lot more slick beginning 2018.

The media giant is currently building two sound stages or massive warehouse-like facilities that entertainment studios use to provide sets for films and TV shows.

It’s these facilities that dominate Hollywood’s Warner Bros or Paramount lots and where the bulk of the movies they produce are shot.

ABS-CBN’s sound stages will measure 1,500 square meters each in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan. They should be ready by the 4th quarter of 2017, according to the firm’s chief strategy officer Raymund Miranda.

These will be the first new sound stages in the Philippines in a very long time, said Miranda, and also the first sound stages built in Southeast Asia in quite a while.

“We’re pretty excited about it because it really changes the game in terms of production quality and production efficiency,” Miranda said following ABS-CBN’s annual stockholders’ meeting late last week.

“The reason for the sound stages is because when you shoot [films] on location, you’re subject to a whole lot of external variables. Just moving from location to location is quite difficult. A real sound stage system will help us increase efficiency,” he added.

“It will allow us to shoot more, be able to be protected against the elements, and avoid having to move whole production teams and equipment around.”

The chief strategy officer noted that ABS-CBN is targeting at least a 20% increase in efficiency, which would lead to more savings and eventually translate into higher quality shows and films.

Learning how to use sound stages

ABS-CBN has been training its people how to make the best use of sound stages.

“It is [one] thing to build sound stages. It’s another thing to learn how to use it because then you also have to change how you shoot and how you start producing films,” Miranda pointed out.

“We’ve sent quite a number of people already to the US to learn over the past 2 to 3 years because it’s a change in production techniques. Learning how to produce in sound stages takes time. The Hollywood trainers will also be flying into the country this year to work hand in hand with us on the production that we are doing,” he added.

ABS-CBN hopes to add even more sound stages, but Miranda said the firm “wants to take it slowly, finish the two, see how we operate there, and then move on to the next step.”

The cost of producing the facilities is already factored into ABS-CBN’s P8-billion budget for this year, he added. It was earlier reported that the two sound stages combined would cost P2 billion.

ABS-CBN ended 2016 with a net income of P3.35 billion, up 39% from 2015. Its film production arm Star Cinema alone brought in revenue of P1.5 billion, while the movie The Super Parental Guardians set the record for highest grossing Filipino film at P600 million.

Eighteen of the top 20 highest rated TV shows for 2016 were from ABS-CBN as well, according to Kantar Media.

“Building sound stages is just the tip of the iceberg. It’s really what you do inside of them that’s the key,” Miranda said. – Rappler.com