Film Facilities in Budapest

6 soundstages may not seem that many, as let’s say the largest Czech rival Barrandov Studio’s 13 soundstages, but it is certainly worth taking into account the details of the Czech studio’s facilities. Among its 13 soundstages, 4 are actually in locations outside of the main complex and are currently reserved all year round for local productions. Furthermore, if one would like to use their largest studio (4100 square meters (44 132 sq. ft)), then 3 other studios have to be combined, thereby decreasing the number of studios available simultaneously. In contrast, the Korda Studio’s 6 soundstages are housed in completely detached buildings, among which is one of the world’s largest soundstages, Stage 6 with 6000 square meters (64 583 sq. ft). It has traits worth mentioning, such as its 20 meters (65 ft) floor-to-ceiling height,  a 11 x 8 meters (36 x 26 ft) large elephant door and 10 catwalks. Its suspension system connects the entire studio featuring 150 suspension points with the carrying capacity of 500 kilograms (1102 lbs), and last but not least, Stage 6’s NC35 soundproofing, that required serious planning for a stage of such size.

The sizes of Korda Studio’s other five soundstages vary from 1000 to 2400 square meters (10 763 sq. ft to 25 833 sq. ft), all of which were built according to the same standards as Stage 6’s mentioned above. All have a significant amount of catwalks and suspension points, and due to their smaller sizes, they have higher rated soundproofing. Furthermore, Stage 1 provides a 10 x 10 x 4-meter (32 x 32 x 13 ft) pool with underwater windows that enable easy underwater shots. However these kinds of pools are not unique in this area, as the Romanian Castle Film Studios also houses a 20 x 10 x 4-meter pool, while the previously mentioned Czech Barrandov Studio does not provide such services.

The Korda Studios’ New York set was built for the production of Hellboy 2 and has since been altered and expanded to meet further requirements. Currently, it consists of a 120 meters (393 ft) long main road (which is 14,5 meters (47.5 ft) wide, with 3 and 4 meters (9.8 ft and 13.1 ft) wide pavements) and two 60 meters (196.8 ft) long crossroads. The Renaissance set’s 1 hectare (2.4 acres) was designed by Francois Seguin for the TV series The Borgias, since some of its seasons were shot in Hungary. This set consists of 19 named buildings (Central Building, Rome Palace, Brothel, Bell Tower, etc.) and countless additional alleyways and general buildings. Next to a lake and a forest these is also a 13th-14th century village, which is worth mentioning, with its 12 000 square meters (129 166 sq. ft). The majority of these buildings even have finished interiors.

Alongside the filming areas, there are also production support spaces located within the studio’s area, with nearly 2800 square meters (30 138 ft) of VIP and normal dressing rooms with personal restrooms, makeup rooms and costume storages, offices, conference rooms, break rooms and communal makeup rooms. If all this would not be enough, an additional 720 square meters (7 750 sq. ft) of container offices can be rented. Of course, storage rooms and workshops can be found in the Korda Studios, as well as catering being provided for 150 people in an area of 1000 square meters (10 763 sq. ft), but there are facilities for 75 people’s catering in another building. A fully equipped post-production studio is also part of the complex, which is ideal for sound and video editing, accompanied by a screening room able to seat 49 people. This is one of the best equipped on-site post-production studios in the region, only paralleled outside of Hungary with the Czech Barrandov Studio.

Since the Origo was also newly built, they too strive to fit modern standards. Let it be heating, acoustics, soundproofing, catwalks or the size of doors, even the layout of the site was developed so that the service buildings surround the sound stages in order to absorb as much exterior noise as possible.

With its 4 hectares (9.8 acres) of backlots, the Origo falls behind the previously mentioned studios in size and in permanent sets too. As mentioned, its location is most similar to Barrandov Studio’s, although the latter has more than four times larger backlots and available sets left over from previous productions (for example the streets of an Italian Renaissance city). However, the Origo’s empty backlot area of 4 hectares (9.8 acres) is perfectly sufficient for a production needing a newly built set. This was the case with the production of the Blade Runner 2049 in 2017, for which a metal waste yard was easily built there.

In contrary to the Korda Studios, the Origo provides a wide-ranging rental service. They do not only rent out lighting and grip equipment, but there is also a wide selection of trailers. From VIP artist trailers to production, wardrobe, make-up trailers, one can even find golf cars and catering vehicles among their fleet of options. With this diversity, they are unique among Hungarian studios, but not in the region, since the Romanian Castel Film has more than 100 special vehicles to offer and an even wider range of equipment rental. It is worth mentioning that Budapest’s official ARRI Rental office is located in the same street as the Origo Studios, so the absence of on-site camera rental services can be easily remedied.

As one can see, the equipment rental in Hungary is generally not coordinated at the studios, so Origo’s rental services form an exception. Regardless, the latest technological innovations are always available in Budapest. Since these studios are relatively young and are specialized in renting out their property, the largest rental companies operate independently from the studios in Budapest, providing a broad range of cameras, grips, lights and all other equipment.

Part of their services mentioned above, they have Hungary’s largest costume collection to offer, with more than 100 000 pieces, which are located in the 23 000 square meters (247 569 sq. ft) large site in Fót, although this comes in second after the Czech studio’s impressive 260,000 piece costume selection. On the other hand, Mafilm can boast with Central Europe’s largest weapon deposit with thousands of pieces. One can find here First and Second World War guns, pistols, rifles, revolvers and machine guns from various eras, of different types and brands (for example Mauser, Walter, Thompson, AK-47, etc.).

Mafilm neither has to offer in-house film equipment rental, but the reason for this is that equipment is hired from and handled by the company Visionteam, which is one of the country’s largest rental companies. This connection is advantageous for both partners since Visionteam can also provide all further equipment for productions not needing soundstages, next to those that do.

Next to its vast costume and prop collection, Mafilm’s largest strength are its backlots located on the site in Fót. Here a permanent home is provided to countless sets, that are unique to the entire region, enabling Mafilm to compete with both Korda Studios and the Romanian Castel Studios. The Medieval settlement is the most significant, used for such successful productions as The Raven (2012), The Cathedral series or NBC’s Dracula series. This 5000 square meters (53 819 sq. ft) area’s popularity is not accidental with its main square, windmill, cloister, prison, castle’s courtyard, throne room, canal with a boat and even its complete castle wall with a drawbridge. Next to these, there are also such exceptional sets as 1800s London or Nazareth in the era of Jesus. Finally, one can find a Western town of the 1900s, although that is not so unique since the Romanian Castel Studio has such to provide. This is completed with 6.5 hectares (16 acres) of green area, which is larger than Origo’s, but not that so significant internationally.

As one can see, not only do soundstages in the various countries differ highly, but even those located within Hungary. It would be complicated and unappropriate to create a general ranking among studios, even when counting with all the aspects collected above. Every production has its specific requirements and conditions, therefore one studio can not be chosen as the best for all projects, but there is a specific perfect choice for each production among the region’s range of studios. Central Europe’s diverse and wide range of options is exactly what makes this region so outstanding in the film industry.