SCAD completes 16-acre Savannah film studio expansion

By Daniel Okafor

SCAD says its expanded 16-acre film complex in Savannah, Georgia, is now the world’s largest university film studio complex. SCAD says the completed project adds more than 50 backlot façades (full-scale street fronts used for filming), practical interiors (filming rooms connected to exterior sets) and professional soundstages (controlled indoor filming spaces).

What has SCAD built in Savannah?

SCAD says the final phase includes two purpose-built professional soundstages, each nearly 9,000 square feet. The complex serves professional productions and students, supported by a separate 17,000-square-foot production design and costume design building (for set and costume development).

SCAD says the site is designed to place students alongside experienced crews, performers and creative leaders. Professional work and instruction share the same facilities, an arrangement the university presents as central to its model.

According to SCAD, its central, Hollywood-style backlot spans more than 50 façades and filming environments. The set can shift a production from historic Savannah to New York City streets or small-town America.

Brownstones, storefronts, restaurants, urban alleyways, a subway entrance and a suburban neighborhood form the exterior vocabulary. SCAD says practical interiors let filmmakers move seamlessly between exterior and interior scenes.

What does Reeve-Rabb say students gain?

Andra Reeve-Rabb, dean of the SCAD School of Film and Acting and executive director of SCAD Casting, said:

“At SCAD, we don’t wait for students to graduate to introduce them to the entertainment industry.”

Reeve-Rabb added:

“We bring the industry directly to them. We’ve built a place where a major production can come to Savannah and find everything it needs — professional soundstages, an extraordinary backlot, cutting-edge technology and talented emerging artists ready to contribute.”

Reeve-Rabb continued:

“Our students aren’t watching the industry from the sidelines. They’re working alongside the professionals who will become their future colleagues. That’s an ‘only at SCAD’ experience.”

Reeve-Rabb’s account makes the proposition operational. Professional productions and students occupy the same site rather than entering it as separate audiences. The distinction is access, not merely square footage. SCAD says students work alongside professionals, not simply observe them from the perimeter.

Which projects are already using the site?

SCAD says the studios are already attracting high-profile entertainment projects. Leslie Odom, Jr. recently joined the university as an artist-in-residence alongside actor and singer Nicolette Robinson, and will develop and rehearse his upcoming national holiday tour on one of the new soundstages.

SCAD students are helping build sets for the production. They will gain firsthand exposure to the creative and rehearsal process as Odom prepares for the Nov. 27-Dec. 22 tour.

SCAD says “American Idol” is using its facilities, creating another connection between professional entertainment production and the university’s emerging talent. The project’s use of SCAD’s production resources reflects the complex’s ability to accommodate major television productions while creating opportunities across acting, on-camera performance, production design and behind-the-scenes work.

What does the Atlanta studio add?

SCAD says the Savannah expansion is complemented by SCAD Film Studios in Atlanta, which includes an additional LED volume stage (a stage framed by LED walls), broadcast studios and editing facilities.

With Odom preparing to rehearse and “American Idol” on site, SCAD’s next test is whether professional work produces sustained student access across disciplines. The university has built the infrastructure. The production schedule will show how much of it becomes training.