Warehouse/Studio NJ/NY

[xmephestox]

Helping out a friend with her student thesis film. Anybody got an idea or a place where one can build a set with ample space and enough security to leave it built for a night? Budget 200/day, pref less as it is student, and would like to build a set there as for mentioned. If anybody has any ideas for the NY NJ area please pm me.

key is good/spacious, and not a dangerous area...

[xmephestox]

anybody?

[Deniz Coker]

There are a lot of places in the Greenpoint/Long Island City area in Queens. Astoria as well. These are however higher end. I couldn't tell you if they would fit your budget, they very well may not, but it's worth looking into. The more major ones are Kaufman, Silvercup etc.. In regards to safety, these types of places will usually be in gritty areas. Expect industrial areas and loading docks, railyards and such. But they'll have security and if you're driving there you'll most likely be parking in their lot anyway. The tradeoff is you're away from the hustle and bustle of manhattan. During the day it may get noisy from all the trucks and such in the area so if you do look around there keep that in mind. Past business hours it is a ghost town however. But they're all close to the subway and buses. Nothing to go crazy about, I know the area well and could go into detail. I do fear they may cost a lot however. Manhattan is most likely out of the question as they'll want an arm and a leg. The boroughs are most likely cheaper but this area has an established film/tv community and you'll find rental houses and expendables nearby. I'm not all that sure about NJ. Perhaps you could cut a deal with someone who has an event space. They may be more forgiving to a student picture than a major studio full of multi million dollar projects. Look up storage places in the phone book, you might be able to talk one of them into giving you some short term space as well. I guess it depends on how large the set will be but you can expect that budget to be stretched by the more "industry" places here.

[Ted Spencer]

Do you know what kinds of rates Silvercup charges for one of their smaller spaces and what's included?

[Deniz Coker]

Ted, honestly I'm not sure! Some places in the city throw in a basic grip package and offer lights a la carte. I'm pretty sure they'll just have standard rentals unless you wind up with a grid or cyc. If it helps, East Coast Lighting and Kits and Expendables are right there so you'll have a bunch of options for support. Kaufman does full support as well.

[Mark Harris]

I know a place in Bushwick, but they are more like $1200/day, I think. But it's a full on studio and secure to leave things overnight.

Honestly, you're best bet is likely to try some NJ real estate. I know when I'm driving around I see empty warehouses all the time. Look for the rental numbers and see if you can cut a deal with them. the downside is they are going to want insurance.

How big is the set? can you build it in someone's garage?