LDS Motion Picture Studios

LDS Motion Picture Studios is a film studio based in Provo, Utah, and is a directly-managed division of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).

LDS Motion Picture Studios
TypeDivision
IndustryEntertainment-Education
PredecessorBYU Motion Picture Studio Brigham Young University
FoundedJanuary 1, 1991 (1991-01-01)
FoundersWetzel Whitaker
Headquarters
Provo, Utah
,
U.S.
Area served
Worldwide
Products

The Motion Picture Studios are part of the LDS Church's media production division, which includes producers, editors, animators, sound stages, editing bays, and a collection of 19th-century buildings on a backlot.[1]

History

It began as the BYU Motion Picture Studio in 1953, led by Wetzel Whitaker. LDS Church leader David O. McKay worked with Ernest L. Wilkinson and others to open the studio, appointing Whitaker as head.[2] Originally the studio was located in a building called the Green Barn where the Ernest L. Wilkinson Center on Brigham Young University (BYU) Campus is now located.[3]

During Whitaker's 22-year term at the Motion Picture Studios, the studio produced a host of films, some privately funded, but most created at the request of departments of the LDS Church.[2]

In 1991 the studios separated from BYU and became a directly-operated function of LDS Church and officially became part of the Audio Visual Department of the LDS Church.[4]

Motion Picture Studio South Campus

The Motion Picture Studio South Campus, in Elberta, Utah, was approved by the First Presidency in 2010 and construction began on a set of biblical Jerusalem. Elberta, population less than 1,000, was chosen because of the surrounding area's similarity to Jerusalem’s geography—hills, plains, cedar trees, and a stream.[5]

Lynn G. Robbins, Executive Director of the Media Services Department for the LDS Church, was instrumental in the creation of the Motion Picture Studio South Campus.[5]

In 2013, the LDS Church released several scenes of Jesus Christ's life that were filmed there as part of the New Testament Film Project.[6]

In 2017, production started on the Book of Mormon Visual Library, a series of films from the Book of Mormon.[7]

Fire at the Motion Picture Studio Building

In 2014, a morning fire, caused when an electrical box exploded on top of the studio, resulted in power outage and a fire.[8] Occupants evacuated the building, Provo City Fire Department soon put out the fire, and no injuries were reported.

See also

References
  1. Harris, Elizabeth A. "Lights. Camera. Prayer. A Mini-Hollywood Grows in Utah.", The New York Times, 13 October 2019. Retrieved on 30 March 2020.
  2. "History of Church-Produced Mormon Films", Church News, 6 October 2014. Retrieved on 30 March 2020.
  3. "Inside the LDS movie studio", The Universe, 4 April 2003. Retrieved on 30 March 2020.
  4. "Church creates Audiovisual Department. BYU Motion Picture Studio joins new department and changes name to LDS Motion Picture Studio", Provo Herald, 8 October 2014. Retrieved on 30 March 2020.
  5. Wrigley, Heather Whittle. "Jerusalem Movie Set Dedicated, Ready for Filming", Church News, 3 August 2011. Retrieved on 30 March 2020.
  6. Goodell, Ashton and Green, Rebecca. "LDS film project wrapping up in Utah’s Jerusalem", KSTU Fox 13 News, 22 May 2013. Retrieved on 30 March 2020.
  7. Taylor, Scott. "LDS Church begins filming Book of Mormon videos on its 'Jerusalem set' in Utah County", Deseret News, 7 July 2017. Retrieved on 30 March 2020.
  8. Hesterman, Billy. "Fire at LDS motion picture studio in Provo quickly extinguished", Provo Herald, 26 March 2014. Retrieved on 30 March 2020.

Additional reading
  • Hollstein, Lynne (9 September 1978), "BYU studio celebrates 25 years of filmmaking", Church News, pp. 5–6
  • Johnson, Peter N. (1992), "Motion Pictures, LDS Productions", in Ludlow, Daniel H (ed.), Encyclopedia of Mormonism, New York: Macmillan Publishing, pp. 964–965, ISBN 0-02-879602-0, OCLC 24502140.
  • Astle, Randy (2013), "Mormons and Cinema", in Hunter, James Michael (ed.), Mormons and Popular Culture: the global influence of an American phenomenon, Santa Barbara, California: Praeger (ABC-CLIO), ISBN 9780313391675, OCLC 776495102
  • Hall, Airen (October 2012), "Melodrama on a Mission: Latter-Day Saint Film and the Melodramatic Mode", Journal of Religion and Film, 16 (2)


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