ABS-CBN unveils new sound stages

MANILA, Philippines — ABS-CBN Corp. recently inaugurated its brand new sound stages in Bulacan, kickstarting an ambitious plan to build a Hollywood-level production facility.

ABS-CBN president and chief executive officer Carlo Katigbak said the two sound stages were built to support the company’s efforts toward expanding its audience and content output beyond the Philippines.

“We want to bring ABS-CBN content to the international stage, and having a state-of-the-art facility and a world-class production team is a big step for us toward that direction and dream,” Katigbak said.

“What I’m most proud of about this project is that we’re creating Hollywood-level sound stages which puts us at par with the rest of the world,” ABS-CBN chairman Mark Lopez said.

ABS-CBN said the sound stages represent the beginning of a plan to establish a production hub that include sound stages, backlots, production and post production facilities and offices that will allow both the company and Philippine-based productions to match production facilities found elsewhere in the world.

The project was regarded as the brainchild of ABS-CBN chairman emeritus Eugenio “Gabby” Lopez III, who saw that building the studios is the best way to keep in step with the world’s top entertainment companies, which shoot bigger percentages of their programs and films in sound stages and not in remote locations.

Moreover, the sound stages are expected to enable the company to manage production costs more efficiently.

“Completing the sound stages represents a very major step for ABS-CBN in terms of our ability to create much better production. Through this we can show the world the best of the Filipino,” Lopez III said.

Phase 1 of the production hub includes two 1,500-square meter sound stages with a floor to grid height of 30 feet, a breezeway with dressing rooms and various support rooms and the technical facilities in aid of production.

Sitting on a 7.7-hectare lot, the facility includes a visitor’s center, parking facilities and various support buildings. The sound stages also boast of solar panels that help support the energy requirements of the whole facility.

The sound stages were designed by California-based architecture firm Bastien and Associates together with Filipino firm AIDEA and consultants from Hollywood-based Manhattan Beach Studios.

 Work on the sound stages started as early as 2010 with various members of the executive and production teams visiting facilities in South Korea, Mexico, North America, Europe and Asia to understand the nuances of sound stage work.

The project proper started in the first quarter of 2014 with construction commencing in May last year.