NYU Tish School of the Arts has selected Industry City for the Martin Scorcese Virtual Production Center. The location has a current ecosystem of film and media businesses operating in the multi-building campus on the Brooklyn waterfront. This position will allow the university and its graduates collaboration, internships, and interaction with the production life-cycle as equipment, lighting, set design, live-streaming service providers and more work out of Industry City currently.
"Congratulations to NYU Tisch School of the Arts on the establishment of the Martin Scorsese Virtual Production Center, the first of its kind on the East Coast, cementing NYC's role as the premier center for cinema studies and film production," said NYC Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment Commissioner Anne del Castillo. "We are thrilled with this exciting addition to the Industry City campus, which is a fast-growing hub for creativity and innovation."
The 45,586-square-foot Virtual Production Center will be housed on the top floor of Building 8 at Industry City. It will feature two 3,500-square-foot double-height, column-free stages, two 1,800-square-foot television studios, state-of-the-art broadcast and control rooms, dressing rooms and makeup areas, a lounge and bistro, scene workshops, offices, and training spaces.
Virtual production encompasses a range of technologies that are transforming the art and craft of filmmaking. Using game engine software, graphics cards, camera tracking, and AR and VR, it allows actors and directors to work in a virtual environment to create visual effects in real time, rather than in post-production. Actors can respond naturally to their surroundings and directors can plan out scenes and shots with precision, visualizing the final product in-camera. Virtual production reduces post-production costs and the need to film on location, making projects more sustainable.
The center was made possible by a major gift announced in 2021 from the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation, led by Mellody Hobson, co-CEO of Ariel Investments, and filmmaker George Lucas. The donation established the Martin Scorsese Institute of Global Cinematic Arts, which includes the Virtual Production Center, the Martin Scorsese Department of Cinema Studies, and support for student scholarships. The gift is the largest in the Tisch School's history.
Scorsese earned two degrees from NYU: a bachelor's degree in 1964 and a master's in 1968. He received an Honorary Degree in 1992 and is a member of the Tisch School of the Arts Dean's Council.
The Virtual Production Center will further the creation of leading talent from the University. The center is planning a 2024 opening.