Nestled in the heart of downtown Ottawa, the Digital Arts Resource Centre (DARC) SOUNDSTAGE is a safe haven for local filmmakers looking to complete projects all in one place.
As Ottawa’s first indie filmmaking studio, DARC SOUNDSTAGE offers an affordable way for local filmmakers to produce their projects.
The studio opened on Sept. 12 and is located in the basement of the University of Ottawa’s Morisset library. The $80 daily rental fee grants artists access to the studio for 12 hours.
DARC also offers discounted three, five and 10-day packages for artists looking to book the studio for longer periods of time. Filmmakers can also rent out professional equipment while working at the studio.
“Our weekly rate is usually what half a day would be in a commercial environment,” SOUNDSTAGE coordinator and local filmmaker Ludmylla Reis said. “It’s incredibly affordable.”
The SOUNDSTAGE studio is a 600 square ft space equipped with a 13 x 17 ft green screen, overhead grid system lighting and a lighting board. The space is double-doored to create a high-quality sound environment.
“I think the combination of professional sound, professional light [and] a big space … is pretty unique,” Reis said.
Before SOUNDSTAGE’s opening, DARC members and local filmmakers had access to educational workshops to improve their skills for pre-production and a recording and editing suite to help in post-production. DARC also offers professional equipment rentals and production grants for filmmakers.
“The SOUNDSTAGE was the last piece of the puzzle to complete DARC’s offering of resources supporting the entire creation process,” DARC executive director Annette Hegel said in a press release.
With the studio open, Reis said filmmakers can now create their projects from start to finish.
“[DARC] has beginner classes, as well as intermediate and then they have more advanced classes for established filmmakers that have been doing it for a while, because we’re always learning at different stages,” Cooper, a lighting and cinematography instructor at DARC, said.
In 2010, Cooper began their work with DARC as a member and later began teaching classes and performing technical maintenance on equipment. Even after years of teaching, they still attend classes and are excited for a November motion capture workshop they signed up for.
In September, Cooper ran a three-day intermediate cinematography workshop in the new studio. They said a benefit of working in the SOUNDSTAGE is that the space allows students to gain experience filming in a studio as opposed to on location.
“My workshops are usually as hands-on as possible,” Cooper added. “I try to give the students not just an understanding of the cinematographer’s job, but the hands-on knowledge of being able to work with the equipment and how to set it up.”
Though the public can pay to join these classes, Cooper said becoming a DARC digital artist member is beneficial to local filmmakers looking to get access to other pre-and post-production opportunities.
“The whole idea of having a membership is that it does give you a discount on workshops, but it also gives you a community,” Cooper said.
Like Cooper, Reis said the SOUNDSTAGE offers filmmakers the opportunity to connect not only with affordable resources and equipment, but also with other filmmakers and support staff.
“DARC as an organization is really against creating barriers for people,” Reis said. “I would like folks to be very much more comfortable reaching out and having conversations [with support staff] about how they can achieve their artistic goals.”
Members of DARC and the public can book the studio through DARC’s website. Dates for upcoming member-only educational workshops will be released in the coming months.
Featured graphic by Sierra Mclean.
