Russian World Studios (RWS), hosted the All-Russian Conference on Cinematography on Oct. 7, attended by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, at its brand new full-scale production facility. RWS has invested $100 million in the St. Petersburg facility and plans to invest another $150 million in the second and third construction stages, which will be made as business-plans are approved.

The St. Petersburg facility will have an official launch later this year, in conjunction with the 10th anniversary of the company, which has achieved major success in the CIS market and collaborated with companies including Sony Pictures Television, HBO Films, Hallmark Entertainment and Beacon Pictures.

Features of the St. Petersburg studio include:

 *   Over 118,000 square feet
 *   6 sound stages
 *   Dolby Premier Studio, designed exclusively for RWS by Harris Grant Associates
 *   Soundproof elephant doors, unique patented technology, that can withstand external levels of sound pressure up to 120 dBA
 *   Electric top-lift hoist systems, designed by ARRI exclusively for RWS
 *   OB Vans, allowing the production to arrange the conditions for multi-camera filming in any location
 *   Real-time ingest server for audio and video digitizing
 *   Rental house, featuring an extensive offering of production equipment
 *   Full range of production and post-production services

The next phase of construction for the St. Petersburg facility will include a 21,500 square foot stage, special effects studio and film processing lab, among many other features.

As part of the All-Russian Conference on Cinematography, participants including Mr. Putin, who also spoke at the event, were treated to a tour of the brand new facility featuring:

 *   Sony demonstration of state of the art Sony F-23 camera
 *   ARRI demonstration of the high-end ARRIFLEX D-21
 *   Motion Capture system demonstration, to be used in the upcoming RWS production of “The Humpbacked Horse”
 *   OB Van
 *   MovieBird Crane
 *   Dolly vans, lighting trucks, camera vans, production trailers, makeup trailers, etc.
 *   Television production of a show for Sistema Mass-Media’s “Hunting and Fishing” channel