Troy Studios plans a majority-Irish crew
Troy Studios in western Ireland plans to eventually have a majority-Irish team of staff as part of a long-term plan to expand the country’s production industry beyond Dublin.
By Nick Goundry 4 Dec 2018
Troy Studios in western Ireland plans to eventually have a majority-Irish team of staff as part of a long-term plan to expand the country’s production industry beyond Dublin.
Producers have access to 350,000 sq ft of facilities at Troy Studios, which has been developed as an adapted filming space outside Limerick.
The site launched with three stages and a fourth is scheduled to be opened next year.
The launch of Troy Studios was in part to cater to international demand, with Ireland having lost the chance to host productions in the recent past due to a lack of available stage space, says Siun Ni Raghallaigh, CEO of both Troy and Ardmore Studios in County Wicklow, in comments to KFTV.
“We see Troy Studios enhancing Ireland’s overall reputation and offering as a film production destination, complementing what the rest of the country including Wicklow and Dublin already has to offer,” says Raghallaigh.
Western Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way has had a profile boost over the past couple of years through appearances in two Star Wars films. Troy’s presence on the west coast is a strategic advantage that could help deliver more international location shoots to the region.
“Ireland can attract more international series, each generating €30m to €50m per season in local expenditure and each creating 350 to 500 jobs like it has done in the past with other series such as Nightflyers, Penny Dreadful and The Tudors.”
Nightflyers (pictured) has become the first TV drama to shoot at Troy. Based on a 1980 novella by Game of Thrones author George RR Martin, the series for cable channel Syfy follows the crew of a spacecraft who set off to the outer reaches of the solar system to make contact with an alien race.
The show’s association with Martin is likely to benefit the drama internationally and Raghallaigh plans to attract more high-end productions, a goal that will be supported by the fourth stage.
As Raghallaigh explains to KFTV, studios can be considered “enablers”, helping the development of regional production industries.
Troy Studios may help Ireland secure a bigger share of the global production surge driven in part by increased spending from Netflix and Amazon.
“Netflix will spend $8bn on content this year and this level of spend is set to increase with Amazon and Apple TV spend also impacting the market,” Raghallaigh tells KFTV.
“This is contributing to an increase in international demand and Troy believes Ireland can attract some of that spend here, benefiting the indigenous producers and the economy as a whole.”
Troy is also playing an integral role in developing the production crew pool in western Ireland. The studio is involved with a range of local colleges and training institutions as Raghallaigh’s team works towards its staffing goal over the next five years, as well as reaching the broader objective of building Ireland’s crew pool.
The Irish government reaffirmed its support for the production industry earlier this year with a €2m boost to Screen Ireland’s budget, while the country’s renowned filming incentive programme – known as Section 481 – has been extended through to 2024.
Speaking last week at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, creative consultancy Olsberg SPI urged all European nations to step up their commitment to studio development and crew training. The organisation also urged delegates to continue strengthening their filming incentive offerings to sustain the continent’s long-term international production appeal.
See KFTV's production guide for more on filming in Ireland.
Images: Syfy
The site launched with three stages and a fourth is scheduled to be opened next year.
The launch of Troy Studios was in part to cater to international demand, with Ireland having lost the chance to host productions in the recent past due to a lack of available stage space, says Siun Ni Raghallaigh, CEO of both Troy and Ardmore Studios in County Wicklow, in comments to KFTV.
“We see Troy Studios enhancing Ireland’s overall reputation and offering as a film production destination, complementing what the rest of the country including Wicklow and Dublin already has to offer,” says Raghallaigh.
Western Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way has had a profile boost over the past couple of years through appearances in two Star Wars films. Troy’s presence on the west coast is a strategic advantage that could help deliver more international location shoots to the region.
“Ireland can attract more international series, each generating €30m to €50m per season in local expenditure and each creating 350 to 500 jobs like it has done in the past with other series such as Nightflyers, Penny Dreadful and The Tudors.”
Nightflyers (pictured) has become the first TV drama to shoot at Troy. Based on a 1980 novella by Game of Thrones author George RR Martin, the series for cable channel Syfy follows the crew of a spacecraft who set off to the outer reaches of the solar system to make contact with an alien race.
The show’s association with Martin is likely to benefit the drama internationally and Raghallaigh plans to attract more high-end productions, a goal that will be supported by the fourth stage.
As Raghallaigh explains to KFTV, studios can be considered “enablers”, helping the development of regional production industries.
Troy Studios may help Ireland secure a bigger share of the global production surge driven in part by increased spending from Netflix and Amazon.
“Netflix will spend $8bn on content this year and this level of spend is set to increase with Amazon and Apple TV spend also impacting the market,” Raghallaigh tells KFTV.
“This is contributing to an increase in international demand and Troy believes Ireland can attract some of that spend here, benefiting the indigenous producers and the economy as a whole.”
Troy is also playing an integral role in developing the production crew pool in western Ireland. The studio is involved with a range of local colleges and training institutions as Raghallaigh’s team works towards its staffing goal over the next five years, as well as reaching the broader objective of building Ireland’s crew pool.
The Irish government reaffirmed its support for the production industry earlier this year with a €2m boost to Screen Ireland’s budget, while the country’s renowned filming incentive programme – known as Section 481 – has been extended through to 2024.
Speaking last week at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, creative consultancy Olsberg SPI urged all European nations to step up their commitment to studio development and crew training. The organisation also urged delegates to continue strengthening their filming incentive offerings to sustain the continent’s long-term international production appeal.
See KFTV's production guide for more on filming in Ireland.
Images: Syfy
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