More movie studios may ‘pop-up’ in Yonkers

Most people are familiar with pop-up ads on computers, pop-up stores in downtowns and pop-up galleries that display art. Now there”™s a new concept in pop-ups that”™s likely to have an impact as far away as outer space and as close by as Yonkers.

The entity iPark Studios North LLC, which is related to Greenwich-based National Resources that owns iPark Hudson in Yonkers where Great Point Studios operates the Lionsgate movie and TV production facilities, wants to bring inflatable pop-up movie and TV studios to town.

“Following the success of the Lionsgate film studios at iPark Hudson, there is high demand for film studio space in downtown Yonkers and the surrounding neighborhoods,” iPark Studios North LLC said in an application to the city”™s Planning Board. “To attract production companies to the city, our team has partnered with various manufacturers to produce easily deployable inflatable ”˜pop-up”™ studios. These offer a fast temporary solution to house film shoots until more permanent studio space can be built.”

While the idea of setting up pop-up studios where and when they”™re needed may be a first for Yonkers, it”™s already being done overseas and even is being planned for outer space.

In Europe, the company Losberger De Boer, which has locations in Germany, The Netherlands and France, has developed pop-up production studios that can be set up in only a few days. They say the studios have special lining that mutes outside noise and creates good acoustics inside.

Actor Tom Cruise is working with a London company, Space Entertainment Enterprise (SEE), to develop an inflatable module 20-feet in diameter that would be launched into orbit and docked with the International Space Station.

SEE said the module will allow artists, producers, and creative personnel to develop, produce, record, and live-stream content that takes advantage of the space station”™s low-orbit micro-gravity environment, including films, television, music and sports events.

Also in Great Britain, the company Bigger Picture has developed an inflatable pop-up that it describes as “an ultra-mobile TV recording studio complete with lighting, sound and broadcast experienced film crew. Its purpose is not only to provide a convenient enclosure and user-friendly environment but a comfortable cocoon and a pleasant ”˜space”™ where people can feel relaxed and at ease.”

iPark said that the ideal size for the pop-up studios it wants to bring to Yonkers is between 15,000 and 20,000 square feet. Soundstages at the Lionsgate Studio and additional stages being built in Yonkers by Great Point Studios range from 10,000 square feet to 20,000 square feet.

“The first phase in marketing these inflatable studios is to erect a smaller 5,000-square-foot version to act as a ”˜model”™ or ”˜showroom”™ to showcase to potential production companies,” iPark said.

iPark is seeking city approvals to put up one of the smaller inflatables at 95-119 Woodworth Ave. in Yonkers. It said that it hopes the showroom studio will interest production companies in using similar, but larger structures on other sites. It wants a go-ahead to erect a temporary structure that would be 7,358 gross square feet in size and offer approximately 5,000 square feet of usable interior space. It proposes having 19 parking spaces that are accessed from an existing curb cut on Woodworth Avenue. The project would utilize portable restrooms and temporary exterior site lighting. When inflated, the structure would be just over 87 feet long, just under 85 feet wide and 45 feet high.

iPark said that the three parcels making up the site for the project are zoned as “I” (Industry), which allows for “audio, radio, video and television stations and studios” use. iPark explained that the site has an existing asphalt parking area, which is where the pop-up studio would be inflated and secured to a foundation. Fans would be used to push air into the balloon sections that keep the studio inflated.