Construction has been completed on Shinfield Studios with the 1 million sq ft site now fully operational.

The scale of the facility, near Reading, makes it the UK’s largest film and TV studio with 18 soundstages, ranging from 17,000 to 43,000 sq ft. There are 38 workshops, office spaces and a nine-acre backlot.

With sustainability and accessibility high on the agenda for all new-builds, air source heat pumps, solar panels and EV charging points have been installed throughout along with accessible facilities on each stage and office floor.

Shinfield has had a phased opening over the last two years; productions to have filmed there already include The Acolyte, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire and Gerard Butler’s Greenland: Migration. Production begins at the site this week on Neal Street and Elysian Film Group’s adaptation of Enid Blyton’s The Magic Faraway Tree.

Shinfield Studios has also joined forces with Resource Productions CIC and University of Reading to create the Berkshire Skills Cluster, which has been awarded £600,000 by the BFI to make the industry more accessible and nurture new and emerging film crew talent.

Nick Smith, joint MD, Shinfield Studios, said: “Shinfield Studios is complete. We have built from the ground-up one of the world’s most state-of-the art studio facilities – designed to attract the most ambitious and high budget productions. We’ve already welcomed to Berkshire some truly impressive feature films and high-end television series and, with Shinfield Studios now fully operational, there will be many more to come.”

Ian Johnson, also joint managing director, Shinfield Studios, added: “Our vision was to build a studio which fulfilled every need of today’s productions, including supporting industry efforts to improve sustainability and facilitate accessibility for all. It is fantastic to have brought that vision to reality and we are enormously grateful for the support from Wokingham Borough Council, The University of Reading and the local community.”

Shinfield Studios is owned by US-based Shadowbox Studios, an independent film and television studio platform whose other facilities include a 9-stage studio complex in Atlanta, USA, that has housed Jumanji: The Next Level, Jungle Cruise and Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and that is currently being expanded to exceed 2 million sq ft. and feature up to 31 soundstages.

Shadowbox is also developing a large-scale soundstage campus in the LA metro area.

For more on UK studios around the nations and regions, take a look at our latest edition of World of Studios here. To book your spot in the next issue, email Sarah or Alex.