Did you know that Atlanta has become the feature film capital of the world? Thanks to generous tax breaks, Atlanta has become an epicenter for blockbuster hits in the movie and television industry. Everything from “Stranger Things” to “The Walking Dead” to several Marvel movies like “Avengers: Infinity War” have all been filmed in the heart of the Peach State. Assembly Atlanta is yet another example of Georgia living up to being the “Hollywood of the South.”

Front of buildings with different façade designs.

Source: Rogers Electric

Assembly Atlanta is a dream built around the collaboration of Gray TV, 3rd Rail Studios, and NBC Universal to attract the brightest film and content creators across the country. Built on hollow grounds of the old GM Assembly Plant, the multi-purpose facility stands as a nod to the past, present, and future of the industry. Assembly Atlanta offers complete production through diverse stages and filming locations as well as the integration of the latest state-of-the-art filming and sound technology all available in a single location!

The 135-acre mixed-use community includes 22 sound stages, a campus with public amenities and restaurants, a public park and pond, and a media tower. Rogers Electric was called to help make this dream a reality because there is no “lights, camera, action” without power! Rogers built and powered up nine of the studio buildings to include five sound stages and office spaces, three mill buildings for setup/storage, and one warehouse that houses costume and makeup areas. Each studio building at Assembly Atlanta is built with a 2000A 208/120V switchgear and six camlocks. 

The beginning of construction with skyline view of Buckhead (right) and Midtown (left) in horizon.

Source: Urbanize Atlanta

Each office area is four stories high and is served by a 4000A 480/277V switchgear. The front of three of the studio buildings are built with multiple types of façade designs to create different scenery to shoot a variety of movies in a single location. Two were created to look like different European Capital Cities and the third was created with brick facades and fire escapes to look like actors were strolling down the streets of New York City! 

The light fixtures the Rogers team installed reflect those found in these geographical areas to set the scenery for upcoming films. The Rogers team was able to add to the efforts of creating different cities in a single location and is set to save the studio and future films exponentially on budgets cutting down the need for international travel. Hello cost savings!

Completed building showcasing façade designs. 

Source: Assembly Studios

Quiet on set! Rogers Electric also installed a Red Light System for each movie studio in Assembly Atlanta which is activated by the film crew when a film is being produced. These red lights, otherwise known as “red-eyes”, are installed just outside each motion picture sound stage to inform people outside that filming is in progress and to stay outside the doors. Each red light system has a bell which sounds for 3 seconds to inform people inside that filing is about to commence and for all to remain quiet on set. Then, a flashing red-eye is accompanied by one long buzzer when the cameras start rolling, and two shorter buzzers when cameras stop rolling. 

Red light for crew to activate when film is being produced.

Source: Rogers Electric

Are you interested in learning more? To find out more about our nationwide electrical and lighting services or other recent projects, please visit our other projects. We have 40+ years of experience under our belt with 1500+ employees and 13 offices across the country. As our business has grown, one thing has always remained true… We have the power to get the job done.

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