March Madness at 3 Mills

Located near Stratford, east London – just 30 minutes from Soho – 3 Mills Studios is one of London’s busiest film and television production facilities. Housed in a former distillery, the facility boasts nine filming stages playing host to a whole spectrum of productions, from high-end TV dramas (The Royals) and US/UK indie films (Fantastic Mr Fox) to big West End theatrical shows and TV commercial and advertising shoots. 

With studio space in the UK capital at a premium, shots spoke to head of sales and marketing, Paul de Carvalho, about the opportunities for commercial clients.

You’re best known as a production studio for TV dramas and feature films – how do you deal with the demands of TVCs, which are so different from longer-form drama productions? 

While our core business is high-end TV drama and US and UK independent feature films, TV commercials and advertising stills shoots are a key part of our returning client base. TVCs aren’t so different from TV dramas or feature films – everyone wants to do their best creative work, on time and on budget, and we are here to help them do that.

We also know it’s a really tough environment for production companies. Everyone is being squeezed to do things cheaper, faster and bigger, and every pitch is super-competitive. And of course we get pushed to provide the best possible rate. At 3 Mills, we try to help as much as we can. We aim to turn around quotes quickly, and we are always open to negotiate a quote.

What are the pros and cons of working at 3 Mills?

We don’t have huge stages like some of the studios out west beyond London’s M25, but for our market segment, which includes commercials, we have the perfect-sized sound stages, with production offices, costume and hair and make-up facilities right next to the stages.

We are only 30 minutes from Soho on the tube to Bromley-by-Bow, with further good transport links via the Underground, Overground, DLR and buses from around London to Stratford. You can cycle along the canal paths right into the studio, and for your production vehicles and those who just can’t do without their car or Uber driver, road links are great too.

We are a dry hire studio, so clients get the sound stages and bring in everything else, but that also means you have the freedom to create whatever you want. While we have a camera hire facility (One Stop Films) and casting agency (Talent Talks) on site and our caterers are experienced in dealing with the needs of commercial productions, you can choose to use all your favourite suppliers if you want to.

What about access? When does your daily hire start and what are your overtime rates?

We are open 24/7 and you get your stage from midnight to midnight – there are no overtime charges. We have a daily rate for 24 hours, or our weekly rate gives you the stage for seven days for the price of four.