It’s a big month for Big Sky Studios in Manitoba with the completion of the second of two phases of construction, making the motion picture production centre now fully operational.

After two years of construction, Big Sky Studios opened two purpose-built soundstages earlier this month, following the launch of two sound-proof production stages last September.

The state-of-the-art, fully integrated facility spans more than nine acres in central Winnipeg with four large soundstages, along with production offices, meeting rooms, all-support service rooms and a partnership with Canadian equipment provider William F. White International. The complex also houses common spaces, including an internal courtyard atrium.

Big Sky Studios has 187,000 square feet of space and is fully equipped to support large-scale film and TV series productions, said Ed Kolic, CEO of Big Sky Studios, in a statement.

The facility includes 60,000 square feet of soundstages, with half being new, purpose-built, 40-feet-height ceiling, clear span. Creative production offices comprise more than 100,000 square feet, including art department and support space such as a mill and paint shop, wardrobe with laundry and dye, set decoration and props.

The facility offers “a competitive advantage that will appeal to production teams from around the world,” said Kolic, citing a convenient location close to downtown and the Winnipeg International Airport, direct flights to Los Angeles and equal distance to New York, and the Manitoba Film and Video Production Tax Credit of up to 65% of eligible salaries covered for Manitoba labour, or up to 38% on overall production costs.

Rod Bruinooge, interim CEO and film commissioner at Manitoba Film & Music, said the completion of phase two “brings Manitoba into a new era of film production by tripling our province’s clear-span studio space overnight.”

“Our goal of reaching $1 billion in production volume over the next decade is reliant on having access to professional studio space such as Big Sky. As we get closer to that number in the coming years, we will look back to this moment as a key milestone for our province,” Bruinooge added.

Earlier this week, Winnipeg-based producer and studio owner Juliette Hagopian announced plans to build Jette Studios, a full-service, state-of-the-art film and television studio village in Niverville, Man.

Members of Manitoba’s film and TV industry, along with government officials and various stakeholders, took part in the province’s first-ever mission to Los Angeles last fall to promote the local sector as a destination for production.

Image courtesy of Big Sky Studios