Monday, August 29, 2011

North Carolina Sound Stages And Being Active In Its Acting Scene

By George Harris


North Carolina sound stages have more than 30 sound stages and seven major studio complexes. North Carolina is the number 3 moviemaking state, following only California and The Big Apple. Screen Gems Studios, found in nearby Wilmington, North Carolina, has been in existence for more than 20 years and has produced more than three hundred movie, television, and commercial productions. Perhaps this is the reason why Southport, North Carolina appears in a lot of movies. Or perhaps it's just Southport's tree lined streets, historical settings as well as lovely scenery that makes filming in Southport so popular.

North Carolina is one of the most busy states for shooting movies and tv outside of California and New York. In fact, it has the the majority of soundstages (1,000,000 Square Feet's worth) and production sites of any state in the union outside California. Over the years it has played host to over 700 feature movie productions and fourteen major tv shows. Do not be amazed if one day while walking down the sidewalk in Southport, North Carolina you pass by Tom Cruise. Why? Southport, North Carolina is a very famous spot for movies. Numerous movies have used Southport as their primary location. Additionally, there are many movies that use Southport for a part of their scenes.

Now how can you become involved in the flourishing acting scene in North Carolina? The first and most sensible step you can take is to relocate to Charlotte. It's really a great city which has a big community of actors and entertainment experts, and it is within just driving distance of any production or audition within the state. It's also in close proximity to many other major Southern Cities. Charlotte also has the most production companies as well as ad agencies of any city within the Carolinas, which do a big volume of commercial and model casting. Also, there are several professional Equity theatres in the city that run stage shows all year round that are sustained by a professional and amateur acting group referred to as First Friday.

Most of the roles and jobs for actors in North Carolina are non-union, which has both advantages and disadvantages. On the good side, non-union work are easier to get, more abundant, build up your curriculum vitae, and enable you to side step cumbersome union rules and work qualifications. The main downside is that these roles don't pay union scale, and won't always assist you in getting a SAG membership.

North Carolina sound stages are where movies such as Being There, The Fugitive, Forrest Gump, The Last of the Mohicans, Cold Mountain, Firestarter, Dirty Dancing, and The Patriot have been shot mostly or fully in North Carolina. Dawson's Creek, the most successful show ever to air on the now defunct WB network, was shot in NC for six years. One Tree Hill currently is in production there too. In all these cases a lot of roles were cast from the local populations, and almost all the background actors were taken from local neighborhoods. This is a great opportunity for local people of the Carolinas. Independent production is also ramping up considerably; since 2001 over one hundred independent movies and shows have been shot in-state. The Science of Cool, featuring Scott Bakula, is currently in production in North Carolina, and is a high-profile HD feature.




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