Athens movie and television studio opens soundstage and learning center for UGA students
A group of visitors on Friday took their first steps inside Athena Studios for a dedication ceremony inside a 14,600-square-foot sound stage located on the campus of the studio's 110-acre site at 900 Athena Dr.
The stage is housed by a building exclusively designed for use by University of Georgia and Georgia Film Academy students, and includes learning center space. The facility will serve as the front office for Athena Studios, which plans to be fully open for productions beginning in January 2023.
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Athens Mayor Kelly Girtz was on hand for the ribbon-cutting ceremony along with Athena Studios CEO Joel Harber, UGA Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication Dean Dr. Charles N. Davis and Lee Thomas, deputy commissioner of the Georgia Film, Music & Digital Entertainment Office.
"Lee and I talked with folks I met in the business who said that we've really got to get busy in film and TV production, so we have," said Davis. "Joel has been a wonderful collaborator. An Athens boy like me and a loyal UGA alum, he just wants to give back to his town and to his university."
The UGA facility is fitted with the same state-of-the-art features as the other sound stages at the Athena Studios campus, including Insul-Quilt soundproofing and a "silent air" system that allows heat and air conditioning to be pumped directly into the stage while filming is underway without creating any extra noise.
Just past the office are classrooms and a mirrored dressing room with sinks and a makeup table. The sound stage also has oversized concrete acoustic "elephant doors" and a large adjacent room that can be used for set construction or storage for props and equipment.
Athena Studios broke ground less than a year ago and purchased an additional 65 acres of land in early September for backlot space. Athena will be able to host movie and television productions of any size, and having students learning on the same campus will help educate and train the next generation of industry professionals without requiring them to leave Athens.
"This event marks a significant step forward," said Harber. "That is the vision of a prosperous and lasting film industry in the state of Georgia, which provides career opportunities for Georgians above and below the line.
"Georgia can continue to build on the tremendous success that we're already achieving and also help support a future pathway for the students who will develop their craft in this very building. They can look next door and see an actual path to create and work in Athens and in Georgia."
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Athens film and TV studio dedicates soundstage for UGA students
