Wednesday, August 31, 2011

The Advantages Of North Carolina Sound Stages

By George Harris


North Carolina sound stages have over thirty sound stages and seven major studio complexes. North Carolina is actually the number 3 filmmaking state, following only California and The Big Apple. Screen Gems Studios, found in nearby Wilmington, North Carolina, has been in existence for over 20 years and has produced over 300 film, tv, and commercial productions. Most likely this is the reason why Southport, North Carolina appears in a lot of motion pictures. Or maybe it is just Southport's tree lined streets, historic settings as well as beautiful scenery which makes filming in Southport very popular.

North Carolina is one of the most busy states for shooting films and tv outside of California and New York. Actually, it has the most soundstages (1,000,000 Square Feet's worth) and production sites of any state in the union beyond the borders of California. Over the years it has played host to over seven hundred feature film productions and 14 major television shows. Do not be surprised if 1 day while strolling down the sidewalk in Southport, North Carolina you pass Tom Cruise. Why? Southport, North Carolina is a very popular spot for films. Many motion pictures have utilized Southport as their main location. There are also many films which use Southport for a portion of their scenes.

Now how can you get involved in the thriving acting scene in North Carolina? The first and most practical step you can actually take is to move to Charlotte. It's a great city which has a large community of actors and entertainment experts, and it is within driving distance of any production or audition in the state. It is also near to many other major Southern Cities. Charlotte also has the most production companies and also advertising agencies of any city within the Carolinas, which do a big volume of commercial and model casting. You can also find several professional Equity theatres in the city that run stage shows all year round which are sustained by a professional and amateur acting group referred to as First Friday.

Many of the roles and jobs available for actors in North Carolina are non-union, which has both advantages and disadvantages. On the plus side, non-union work are easier to acquire, more abundant, build up your curriculum vitae, and enable you to side step cumbersome union rules and work qualifications. The main downside is that these types of roles do not pay union scale, and will not necessarily help you to get a SAG membership.

North Carolina sound stages in which motion pictures such as Being There, Forrest Gump, The Fugitive, The Last of the Mohicans, Firestarter, Cold Mountain, Dirty Dancing, and The Patriot have been shot mostly or entirely in North Carolina. Dawson's Creek, probably the most successful show ever to air on the present defunct WB network, was shot in NC for 6 years. One Tree Hill currently is in production there too. In all these cases lots of roles were cast from the local populations, and almost all of the background actors were pulled from local neighborhoods. This really is a wonderful opportunity for natives of the Carolinas. Independent production also is ramping up significantly; since 2001 more than 100 independent films and shows have been shot in-state. The Science of Cool, featuring Scott Bakula, currently is in production in North Carolina, and is a high-profile High definition feature.




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