LONDON — Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden (WBSL) has acquired UK sound mixing and post facility De Lane Lea. In addition to its production facilities and on-site production rentals offering at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, De Lane Lea will allow WBSL to provide a full production service to in-house film and TV productions and external clients, mirroring the offerings presented at Warner Bros.’ headquarters in Burbank, CA.
De Lane Lea has been a part of the Soho film and TV production community for 65 years. It will be renamed Warner Bros. De Lane Lea in the coming weeks. The facility houses three re-recording stages; two ADR stages; 40 picture editing suites; one TV mixing stage; a transfer bay for the digital delivery, conversion and ingestion of picture and sound; a 37 seat screening room; and a client lounge.
Recently, the studio provided services for movies such as Skyfall, Frankenweenie, Prometheus and Dark Shadows. Warner Bros.’ association with the facility stretches as far back as 40 years with its post work on John Boorman’s 1972 picture, Deliverance. The upcoming Warner Bros. movie Gravity, directed by Alfonso Cuaron and starring George Clooney and Sandra Bullock, is currently being post-produced at De Lane Lea.
Based just outside Watford, Hertfordshire, Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden is the only film studio in the country to be owned and operated by a major Hollywood studio. It is available to all kinds of productions, not just Warner Bros., from commercials to music videos, TV shows to feature films.
Formerly the production home of all eight Harry Potter films, Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden is spread across a 200-acre site and houses a collection of some of the largest sound stages in the UK spanning over a quarter of a million square feet.
“Just five months on from the opening of Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, this latest acquisition is further evidence of our commitment to the UK film industry and the world-leading Greater London media cluster,” notes Josh Berger CBE, president and managing director, Warner Bros. UK, Ireland and Spain. “Through its many years of operating, De Lane Lea has earned a power-house reputation for servicing tent-pole movies for us and other studios and, as we look to invest in the facility in the coming months and years, this standing can only grow even further.”
“By owning and operating our own post-production facility in the UK, we’re increasing the flexibility and scheduling of our own post-production requirements, as well as those of other studios,” adds Kim Waugh, senior VP, post production services, Warner Bros. Studio Facilities. “De Lane Lea has long been the leader in the UK post-production market and we’re confident that its fine traditions and preferred location status will continue to prosper under our new ownership.”