NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / September 9. 2021 / GUM Studios is a one-of-a-kind soundstage facility for film and photography located in New York City. CEO Carrie White founded the company - initially called Factory Studios in 2009 - with the intent to break into a male-dominated industry and carry it into the future. Most soundstage facilities throughout history (and many of those still in use today) have been owned and operated by men; GUM Studios is one of the few companies leading the charge to change that. Despite the industry's stark inequality, GUM Studios is proud to be one of the few female-owned soundstages in the nation.
The business managed to carve out a name for itself amid the 2008 financial crisis. Through hard work, amity, and optimism, Carrie White managed to bring in some pretty big names in entertainment, from Frank Black to Ice-T and Ludacris to Kanye West. After surviving the recession, White sought to grow the company by giving it a complete makeover; and thus, the new and improved GUM Studios was born.
With a new name and a new warehouse location, GUM's flagship Stage A facility opened in Long Island City in 2015. The renovation of Stage A paved the way for GUM's success, as they immediately began to receive bookings for major TV shows such as "Project Runway" and other film and photo productions, filling their calendar for over a year.
Since that time, GUM has seen significant expansion by adding seven additional locations in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, totaling 66,000 sq ft in addition to their original 21,000 sq ft stage in Long Island City. The Sunset Park complex has allowed GUM to grow exponentially, attracting several top photographers such as Steven Klein, Mert & Marcus, Fabien Baron, William Vanderperre, and Steven Meisel. GUM offers state-of-the-art lighting, grip, and electric equipment for in-house rentals. As their impressive collection of gear grows, they hope to own the most extensive lighting rental inventory in NYC one day.
In 2020, GUM Studios brought production in NYC into the 21st century with the unveiling of their new Virtual Production XR Stage dubbed "The Volume." With major studios like Warner Bros (NYSE: TWX) dipping their toes into virtual production, Miss Carrie White also saw an opportunity to get in on the action. "When we first heard about this technology, we knew it would play a major role in the future of the industry," says White. GUM Studios jumped on the opportunity, making them the first Soundstage in NYC to offer webinars and schedule tours for top industry clients.
Featuring a 42 ft x 15 ft semi-circular display of LED screens, adjustable ceiling positions, and a responsive 3D environment with camera parallax in real-time, it may be the most exciting technological advancement to grace the industry since cameras went digital.
Disney (DIS) famously used Virtual Production in The Mandalorian; the curved central screen and adjustable ceiling screen allow for a unique blending of real and computer-generated environments. Investors in the entertainment space will want to keep an eye out for these kinds of technological advancements; equipment like "The Volume" can make filmmaking and photography much cheaper than shooting on-location and more realistic than traditional green screen photography. Studios that offer virtual reality (such as the XR Stage at GUM Studios) will attract much attention from those eager to use this innovative and highly efficient form of technology.
As Carrie White explains, "The future of filmmaking lies in the virtual world. It's now possible to film scenes against an LED Volume set up with an alien world, or in the Mongolian desert, right here in the heart of Brooklyn. The new generation of computer programmers and filmmakers are creating innovations that merge the worlds of Virtual Reality, Gaming, Music and Film." This era of technological discovery represents a fascinating opportunity for a new generation of filmmakers and photographers, and GUM is excited to help make their dreams come true.
CONTACT:
WEBSITE: gumstudios.nyc
Instagram: @ Gumstudios
Email: [email protected]
Office phone number: 718 350 8694
SOURCE: GUM Studios