NYU Tisch establishes the Martin Scorsese Virtual Production Center at Industry City

Brooklyn, NY NYU Tisch School of the Arts has selected Industry City for the Martin Scorsese Virtual Production Center. The new center will provide NYU Tisch students and faculty with production facilities in a setting for collaboration and internships at some of New York’s leading film and media companies.

The new Center was made possible by a major gift announced in 2021 from the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation, led by Mellody Hobson, co-CEO of Ariel Investments and filmmaker George Lucas. The donation established the Martin Scorsese Institute of Global Cinematic Arts, which includes the Virtual Production Center, the Martin Scorsese Department of Cinema Studies, and support for student scholarships. The gift is the largest in the Tisch School’s history.

The 45,586 s/f facility will be housed on the top floor of Building 8 at Industry City, the 35-acre innovation campus. It will feature two 3,500 s/f double-height, column-free stages, two 1,800 s/f television studios, broadcast and control rooms, dressing rooms and makeup areas, a lounge and bistro, scene workshops, offices, and training spaces. The center joins The Veterans Future Lab, NYU’s business incubator for members of the military that opened at Industry City in 2017.

Considered one of the greatest American filmmakers, Scorsese earned two degrees from NYU: a bachelor’s degree in 1964 and a master’s in 1968. He received an Honorary Degree in 1992 and is a member of the Tisch School of the Arts Dean’s Council. 

Opening in 2024, the Martin Scorsese Virtual Production Center will offer hands-on training in the latest production techniques. One of the first facilities of its kind on the East Coast, it will further help establish NYU Tisch as a global leader in cinematic arts training by pioneering new technology and expanding training and collaborative opportunities in the performing arts and design.

“We remain so grateful to the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation for the visionary and transformative gift honoring Martin Scorsese. The foundation’s generosity has allowed us to begin building the Martin Scorsese Virtual Production Center, a place where our filmmakers, actors, dancers, and designers will push forward the boundaries of storytelling,” said Allyson Green, dean of the Tisch School of the Arts.

“NYU has been a key member of the Industry City tenant community for five years and has been an incredible partner throughout the evolution of the campus,” said Glen Siegel, managing partner at Industry City (Belvedere Capital). 

"Congratulations to NYU Tisch School of the Arts on the establishment of the Martin Scorsese Virtual Production Center, the first of its kind on the East Coast, cementing NYC’s role as the premier center for cinema studies and film production,” said NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment Commissioner Anne del Castillo.