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studio facilities
Three Mills is
Three Mills is
a-Booning...
a-Booning...
How East London’s luring them in
Abustling new complex that offers a real alternative to the lure of more estab- lished facilities, Three Mills Island Studios has come a long way in a short time. Converted from industrial units, including several warehouses and an old gin distillery, the 17 acre East London site currently comprises 18 studio spaces, loosely known as Three Mills.
Of these, the most dynamic and fast changing is Three Mills Island Studios, headed by Edwin Shirley and run by Shirley and his colleagues Rosa Maggiora and Emma Pascoe. The studio, situated within easy reach of London City Airport, the Bromley-by-Bow and West Ham tube sta-
tions and the busy A11,
also has the distinction of
being, arguably, more
accessible than most of its
competitors. But then, so is
the man running it.
Shirley has worked in
theatre and cinema, but
found greater success
devoting his talents to
logistical enterprises such
as providing transport for
major rock tours. From
that he developed a busi-
ness supplying and build-
ing stages for live music
performances – including Live Aid. And it was while seeking a space where one of his clients could rehearse on one of his stages, seven years ago, that the seeds of his next big idea were sown.
“This island has a lot of things going for it,” he explains enthusiastically. “The nearest residents are quite a long way away, so you can make as much noise as you like. It’s completely self contained. The water insulates a lot of the ground noise and there are two electricity sub stations here too. Also,
because it was bombed during the war and subse- quently rebuilt with these high flat rooves and truss- es, you have large load bearing capabilities, which is essential for rock events.”
Shirley’s contact in the music business were not slow to take notice, but other branches of the enter- tainment and advertising business soon began to come around too. One of their early clients was the Carlton daytime drama London Bridge.
“They had two studios which together came to a ten thousand square foot space. They needed a lot of ancillary space too, but while they were here they never ever employed less than a hundred people. That’s one job per hundred square foot, which is a
figure that very few indus- tries can match. So there are loads of other spin offs to there being a studio here. And there are loads of other things. Lighting com- panies have set up here, generator companies, indi- viduals who do hair and make up.
“Now we are without doubt the biggest studio in London, because Pinewood is in Buckinghamshire and Shepperton is in Middlesex. And if you’ve ever tried to get to either of those by
public transport you’ll know it’s a nightmare. All our staff can get here by public transport.”
These days Three Mills Island cheerfully com- bines film projects, TV programmes, pop promos and commercials amongst its bookings. There is also rehearsal space, something that director Mike Leigh took advantage of during his painstaking preparation of the Oscar-winning Topsy-Turvy. Soon the studio may offer even more. A couple of grants from the City Challenge initiative has provided a useful cash
injection, with the funds being earmarked for essen- tial upgrades to the studio infrastructure. Top priori- ty is a high speed fibre optic link to Soho.
“One thing we have struggled to keep here is post production,” adds Shirley. “People have an Avid machine, they’ll do a rough cut while they’re shoot- ing, but they’re gone the day they finish. That’s either because the bloke they use works at Pinewood, or more likely at Soho - both perfectly very valid rea- sons for them not being here. But post production houses in Soho tend to be rooms of people working at computers that are all linked up. I believe the going rate is 50 pound per square foot. We’re offering space here for five pound per square foot.
“If we’ve got this link, which we will have, we can say to people in Soho why don’t they have a satellite operation here. And because that link is grant funded that link can be very cheap. Then I think it’s very important that we get a dry hire Avid company here, with a dozen machines and a ser- vice engineer. They can be based here, and can hire them all over London if they want, as long as they’re based here.”
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