And…action!
Recently, the residents at Lake Ridge Senior Living enjoyed a fascinating tour of the LDS Motion Picture Studio in Provo. The two-hour walking tour led by tour guide, Pete Czerney, took guests on a trip through time that only the magic of movies can create. Just around the corner was New York as it appeared in the 1800s. Guests also visited the Newel K. Whitney store and other sites, while Pete talked about the church movies that have been filmed at this location.
With one step, the past was transformed into the future as guests entered the shop area. This area houses machines that can make 3D surfaces based on what a technician paints. There are 12-15 different back molds, like a brick wall or a castle with river rock from which to choose.
After a tour of the wood and paint shops, guests visited Building 44. This part of the tour offered instruction on how lighting and electronics teams make movies come together.
A visit to costuming showed guests the vast collection of props and costumes that are divided into different eras: Pioneer times, Savior times, and modern stuff. They even had some armor from the movie Ben-Hur; a nice little Hollywood touch. They had Book of Mormon editions and a reaction of the Gold Plates.
A visit to the main building showed guests two sound stages, and the sound and video editing departments where Pete explained about sound effects and how they are added after the filming is done.
“This was a great day,” said Lu Ann Walker, activities director for Lake Ridge. “It was so interesting to see how some of our favorite church films were created. We really appreciate Pete and the staff here at the studio for sharing it with us.”