26 Miami ’s Product ion Faci l i t ies Studios. “We still have to prepare a rate card and a website,” explained Juan Carlos Sosa, the studio’s EVP of Operations. “After recently renegotiating our agreement with Univision, we were left with some capacity to house independent productions,” he said. Until recently, Cisneros Studios (formerly Venevision Studios) — owned by the Cisneros family, which also runs Venevision TV network in Venezuela —was tied up to deliver 240 hours a year of production for the U.S. Spanish-language TV network, Univision. Now that the studio is left with a commitment to Univision for only nonscripted programs, that extra capacity will be brought on the market. “With Univision we’re on a project-by-project basis,” detailed Sosa, “so, we can now accept the overflow work from other networks, such as Telemundo and Viacom.” Considering the large number of productions that take place in Miami, accommodating the overflow is a practice used by most studios, like, for example, Cinemat, which has all of its three soundstages fully occupied by productions for Nickelodeon, both in Spanish and English, and has to rent extra space at other soundstages to fulfill its obligations. Similarly, when Telemundo needed a soundstage as part of the show for its super-series Dueños del Paraíso, it rented Caracol America Productions’ site (the protagonist of the telenovela was a studio mogul). “There is need for more studios because Miami is becoming a strong player in TV production,” stated Caracol America Productions’ MauricioCruz. “Even networks that have their own studios rent from third parties, as they’re in full capacity,” he said. Of the aforementioned 18 studios in Miami, a few belong to the related TV networks, such as Univision and Telemundo, and are not rented out since they provide exclusive services, but because of increased network productions, an overflow is to be expected, and Cisneros hopes to capitalize on it. There are other major independent soundstage studios, one of which, Imagina, is just next door to Cisneros. Opened in 2007, the studio, part of Imagina of Spain, is run by Jorge Vaca and has seven soundstages between two buildings connected by a sky bridge. Other Miami studios include Blue Dolphin Studios in LATAM could be even less expensive than Miami, but Cinemat VP and co-owner Eduardo Scheuren pointed out that Miami is safer. “In certain parts of LATAM there is also an issue with safety for the talent and the production crew,” he stated. A distinction can be made for studios that offer turn-key operations, with carpenters who can build sets onsite, staff that take care of the paperwork to obtain proper city shooting permits and file for state and city incentive applications, and are able to hire any technical support for either film or television productions. At Cinemat, Scheuren said, they also provide clearances from store owners if shooting requires them to be in their field of view. In addition, Cinemat, which stands for CineMateriales, even offers onsite schooling for children starring in the productions, which is accredited in every state or country where the talent comes from. Then, there are studios like Miró Productions, which rents just their two soundstages, requiring production companies to hire or bring their own staff and equipment since the facility only offers lighting and a control room. Miró Productions, which is also housed in the Doral area, similar to other studios, is a perfect example to show — contrary to Latin Americans and North Americans — how few European companies take advantage of Miami’s facilities, low costs, qualified personnel and incentives. However, Cinemat’s Scheuren is confident that Europeans will come on their own once “the [Florida] government comes up with tax incentives, which are not available at the moment.” Miró is run by Evaristo Cobos, founder of ATM Broadcast, a company based in Spain with offices in Madrid, Barcelona, Saville and Valencia, which with three soundstages, Ice Palace Studios with five stages, Miró, M3, HD House, Greenwich and Comitel, with some of them offering all services under one roof. They are located in the same general area. The proximity is due to a strategic position in the Miami metro area, since they’re at a crossroad of many highways. Plus, the nearby Doral town district offers ample hotel accommodations to house talent coming from far away, including apartments that can be rented weekly or monthly with housekeeping services. One studio that instead chose to be right in Miami is the newly built Natcom Studios at Mana Wynwood, in the center of Miami’s design district. The studio is owned by moving service magnate Moishe Mana and it is to be completed at the end of this year. The studio is managed by Robert J. Rodriguez, founder of NatcomGlobal, a multi-platform global network in which Mana recently became an investor. Natcom Studios will have three medium-sized soundstages and two large studios, all 4K-ready. But why produce in Miami and not in Hollywood? “Miami is 25 percent cheaper,” answered Sosa, and savings could run as high as 30 percent, according to Caracol America Productions’ Cruz. Compared to Europe, costs in Miami could be even lower at about 50 percent. Explained Sosa, “Florida is a non-union state, which makes our labor force less expensive. Plus the state and the city offer production incentives and we have below-the-line workers [who are] as talented as [those] in Los Angeles.” (Continued from Cover) At Caracol America Productions, from l. to r.: Javier Olave, Mauricio Cruz Onsite carpenters at Cisneros Studios At Cinemat, from l. to r.: 7A Media’s Cesar Diaz (who organized VideoAge’s studio tours in Miami), Eduardo Scheuren, Jose V. Scheuren At Cisneros Studios, l. to r.: David Quijano, formerly of Cisneros Media, VideoAge’s Dom Serafini, Cisneros Studios’ Juan Carlos Sosa (Continued on Page 28) “There is need for more studios because Miami is becoming a strong player in TV production.” – Mauricio Cruz June/July 2015 C M Y CM MY CY CMY K
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