Musical artists and bands, filmmakers, producers, and videographers take note: SoFlo, a video production company in Florida is reaching out about their easily available standing sets. Having worked with and written about many indie filmmakers, it’s an interesting concept: sets that are available for controlled production aesthetics at a reasonable rate.
As a rule, most indie filmmakers and musicians use as “sets” the street, a home, or a business they’ve cajoled into allowing them to film there. Often they do this for verisimilitude, but equally often they do so because sets are out of line with their budget.
According to film producer and manager Kim Brown, “In-studio sets are much simpler and cleaner to work on. The problem for many filmmakers outside the studio system is how much it costs to rent a studio space, and then frankly, you’re usually dressing a studio yourself. By the time you’ve done that, the costs really add up. So, you usually go with just hit or miss location scouting, and make do.”
She adds “The quiet, space, and privacy of a studio set would be great, but in most cases it’s simply out of line with what filmmakers can afford.”
SoFlo is something different: the company offers standing sets as well as every prop that you would expect to be in the scene, and lighting equipment – in a controlled and comfortable shooting environment that’s directly aimed at independent film makers, bands, music video directors and the like.
We took a Skype-tour of the sets and were impressed. The Sunrise, Fla. company has an interrogation room with a two-way mirror; a hospital room that could also be used as a doctor’s office – having finagled my way into doctor’s offices and empty hospital beds for shoots long past, this one looked particularly valuable to me; and a locker room, prison cell, and padded cell among its sets.
One of the most detailed sets is the company’s police station, that comes with a full prop set, just ready for the guys and gals in blue to show up. And once they’ve locked up the perp? There’s a prison studio set, too. With a highly detailed, old-school classroom set, a fairly elaborate hotel lobby, and a graffiti-covered hallway, the company has plenty of options. And they also have a green screen room, which means you can be anywhere you want to be just about seamlessly.
Outside the in-house stage sets, SoFlo also owns their own nightclub and restaurant filming location for an authentic look in a controlled environment.
And then there’s the lighting. As well as being provided in the studio set of a filmmaker’s choice, it’s also deliverable off-site. Set or no set, the company also has a robust prop list available for filmmakers to rent, as well – exotic cars, too.
“When you add in downtime and re-shoots at random locations due to noise or lighting changes, the cost of permits, transporting gear, and the comfort of the actors, having a studio set option like this available is a great choice,” Brown says.
- Genie Davis; Photos courtesy of SoFlo
