Mels Studios Announces Expansion, Epic MegaGrant
The company will complete a new, 160,000-square-foot studio in spring 2023. It will also use an Epic MegaGrant to grow its virtual-production initiatives.
Mels Studios will expand with the construction of Mels 4, a 160,000-square-foot production facility in Montreal set for completion in spring 2023.
The new facility will include a 60,000-square-foot soundstage divisible into two smaller stages. The project earmarks $53 million for infrastructure and $23 million that will be spent on equipment over a 10-year period. The government of Quebec, through Investissement Québec, will extend a $25 million loan to support the construction of the new facility. The city of Montreal has also pledged support, including assistance with obtaining LEED certification.
With the new studio, Mels will comprise 21 facilities totaling more than 500,000 square feet of production space. Some of the major international productions filmed on Mels stages are Transformers, X-Men: Apocalypse, The Day After Tomorrow, Life of Pi and Catch Me If You Can.
“We have already built a worldwide reputation for first-class facilities, expertise and services, and with this new studio we will be able to offer an even more attractive package that meets the growing needs of the big-budget film and TV industry,” says Mels President Martin Carrier. “In tandem with the technological shift we undertook in 2020 — most notably the launch of our new virtual-production stage — this project will be a differentiator in a fiercely competitive market.”
Mels Studios also recently announced it has received an Epic MegaGrant from Epic Games, and it will use the support to further the ongoing development of its VP initiatives.
“Since we developed our VP platform, Unreal Engine has been integral in taking the innovation to the next level,” says Carrier. “This Epic MegaGrant strengthens our collaboration with Epic Games and will help us build on our platform as we seek to replace greenscreens with cutting-edge technologies.”
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