NYU Tisch School of the Arts has announced plans to open a new virtual production centre in Brooklyn, New York named after award-winning director Martin Scorsese.
The centre was made possible by a gift announced in 2021 from the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation, led by Mellody Hobson, co-CEO of Ariel Investments, and Star Wars director George Lucas. The donation established the Martin Scorsese Institute of Global Cinematic Arts, which includes the Virtual Production Centre, the Martin Scorsese Department of Cinema Studies, and support for student scholarships. The gift is the largest in the Tisch School’s history.
The 45,586-square-foot facility will be housed on the top floor of Building 8 at Industry City, the 35-acre innovation campus on the Brooklyn waterfront.
It will feature two 3,500-square-foot double-height, column-free stages, two 1,800-square-foot television studios, as well as state-of-the-art broadcast and control rooms, said the school. It is expected to open in 2024.
“We remain so grateful to the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation for the visionary and transformative gift honouring Martin Scorsese,” said Allyson Green, dean of the Tisch School of the Arts.
“The foundation’s generosity has allowed us to begin building the Martin Scorsese Virtual Production Center, a place where our filmmakers, actors, dancers, and designers will push forward the boundaries of storytelling.”