Underwater Stage

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The Underwater Stage is an underwater film and television studio stage at Pinewood Studios in Iver, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom. It is the only one of its kind in Europe. [1] The stage was opened in 2005 after four years of planning and development. The stage's tank is permanently filled, and the water is constantly heated, maintained at 30 ˚C (87 ˚F). [2] The water is filtered using an ultraviolet system which creates crystal clear water and a comfortable environment to work in, for both cast and crew.

Plans for the construction of the stage were first announced in April 2004. [3] The stage was opened on 18 May 2005, by Gordon Brown, the then Chancellor of the Exchequer. [4] Brown opened the stage by pressing a button that dropped a car into the water tank.

The stage has been used for television, film, commercials, pop videos and photo shoots. The stage has hosted: The Da Vinci Code , Basic Instinct 2 , Scoop , Silent Witness , a music video for James Blunt, and a Water Aid promotion with actress Keira Knightley.[ citation needed ] It has also been utilised for scientific experiments involving imaging sonar. [5]

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References

  1. "Underwater stage pictures from Pinewood Studios". London: The Telegraph. 31 August 2009. Retrieved 4 October 2011.
  2. "Underwater Stage". The Pinewood Studios Group. Retrieved 2012-04-01.
  3. Milmo, Dan (2 April 2004). "Pinewood looks at the big picture with £140m flotation". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 4 October 2011.
  4. "You talkin' to me?.. Brown meets De Niro". Edinburgh Evening News. 19 May 2006. Retrieved 4 October 2011.
  5. David Ribas, Pere Ridao and José Neira (2010), Underwater SLAM for Structured Environments Using an Imaging Sonar, Springer, ISBN   978-3-642-14039-6 , retrieved 8 October 2011