Expansion at Van Nuys Studio Meets Filming Needs

With the entertainment industry’s demand for more sound stages and production facilities continuing to grow locally, one Van Nuys facility has recently put itself ahead of the pack among the independent studios trying to fill this need. The Avenue Six Studios facility in Van Nuys has built a permanent New York City backdrop out in its parking lot. The row of brick buildings mimics a neighborhood in the Big Apple. The backdrop is not just facades but has working soundstages behind it and is decorated out front with foliage, exterior lighting and parking meters. Avenue Six is busy these days, so busy that there is no space off limits to the production companies filming there. That includes the office of Paul Reitzin, the founder and president. “Just as long as they don’t mess up my stuff,” Reitzin said, seated at his desk behind a collection of Lakers and other sports memorabilia. In a region filled with soundstages and filming spaces, the operators of independent studios do all they can to stay in front of the production companies they can bring in as clients. Filming at the major Hollywood studios carries a certain cache but is pricey. The independents like Avenue Six offer an alternative at a more reasonable cost. The versatility of Avenue Six’s three soundstages is one benefit of filming there. Another is making all the space as accommodating as possible. What had been parking was converted into a craft services areas, with tables and chairs for crews and casts to have a bite to eat. A few months back, soundproof doors were put on of the stages to cut down the noise from the nearby 405 Freeway. That Reitzin is always making improvements hasn’t been lost by Dal Wolf, a freelance director who has done multiple projects at Avenue Six. “I don’t think a lot of stages always do that,” Wolf said. “They get satisfied with what they have.” Demand for space Location: Van Nuys President: Paul Reitzin Studio Manager: Samantha Cruz Founded: 2009 Number of Soundstages: 3 No matter how many soundstages are spread around Los Angeles and neighboring cities, it never seems to be enough. A shortage of studio space is behind The Walt Disney Co.’s proposal of a 56-acre soundstage and production facility at its Golden Oak Ranch property in the Santa Clarita Valley. A long-planned studio complex in Moorpark is expected to break ground this year. The project by Triliad Development Co. will have 12 sound stages, studio support buildings, secured parking and class A office buildings. The main sound stage would have the capability to film water scenes. This activity takes place as the issue of productions leaving the state is still very much a worry for Hollywood. Avenue Six, however, finds its stages and filming areas in constant use with reality series, cooking shows, talk shows, even a feature film. Last year, there were more than 200 filming days. The raised-floor, glass-walled conference room on the south stage has been seen in commercials for DirectTV and Bud Light. An AT&T commercial filmed there was shown during the Super Bowl. Oscar Bassinson, a vice president and creative director at Inter/Media Advertising in Encino, has come to Avenue Six to film commercials for Neutrogena SkiniD and Car Cash Loans. Easy shoot Shooting there is not a complicated affair. All Bassinson needs is a director of photography and a gaffer. There is no prohibition against reconfiguring the existing sets to get the look needed. “They have so many different looks we avoid shooting on location,” Bassinson said. Wolf started coming to Avenue Six last summer and has done numerous projects there since then. He plans to shoot a pilot at the facility this month. The intimate surroundings are comfortable to work in and the facility is often the first one he will call. “Other places offer the same (set ups) but there is a familiar energy they bring,” said Wolf, whose work has appeared on the Funny or Die comedy video website.