Key Facts
Start date:................ June 2006
End date:.................. No set date
Project budget .........$ 550,000.00)
GDA Partner............ ‘Digital Media NGO’
Objectives
The objective of this project was the creation of the first technology park in Macedonia - focused on the Digital Media Industry, with the participation of around 20 companies.
Components
- Lease of former army storage facility to be the location of the park
- Refurbishment and repurposing of the facility
Purchase and installation of latest digital infrastructure
Achievements/Impact
Building is under 15-year lease from the Ministry of Defense
Finished repartitioning and repurposing of the building interior
Digital infrastructure designed and installed, now fully operational.
Attracted Kodak for a build out of a film lab within the Digital Media Park - planning phase finished – build out postponed till further notice due to the crisis / situation in the film industry.
A major US studio is interested in investment in one of the anchor tenants and a potential investment in the DMP
Part of the visual effects for the Terminator: Salvation movie was done by the anchor tenant – fx3x in the DMP.
One US TV animated feature was produced at the DMP; others to follow.
Effects in animation for three other Hollywood feature films ongoing.
Two Macedonian feature films are to be produced – two production companies joined as tenants at the DMP.
One Bulgarian – Macedonian TV Production company moved in as tenant, doing production of several interactive TV shows.
One UK – Macedonian company for sound production / mixing to join the DMP.
Film / TV lighting equipment rentals company joined the DMP as tenant.
Over one hundred TV commercials, documentaries, and TV shows done in the Sound Stages (Studios) at the DMP.
Sustainability/Legacy
Grouping the small companies in a technology park greatly improves their individual capability to attract and execute large projects (films, TV series, etc.) thus generating hundreds of new jobs in an industry that was all but invisible
.
The Digital Media Park is bringing together a number of smaller production services companies and through joint infrastructure and collaboration allows for a significant growth of the whole production sector. It also changes the focus of the industry towards exports.
Contact Information
Contact at USAID: Vesna Stevkovska vstevkovska@usaid.gov
Chief of Party: Kristijan Danilovski: kristijan@digitalmedia.org.mk
Website: www.fx3x.com
