An unassuming sign on 2230 North marks the entrance to the LDS Motion Picture Studio. Drive past that sign down a tree-lined lane that follows the Provo River and you will come to a guard shack, the only opening in a chain-link fence that surrounds a wonderland of modern technology which the Church, and occasionally BYU, uses to prepare and broadcast messages to the world.

Carl W. Buehner, then the second counselor in the Presiding Bishopric, dedicated the studio in 1959. He prayed that the films it produced would "have a tremendous influence for good in shaping and forming the lives of those who come in contact with these powerful influences."

With the reach of such films as "The Mailbox," "Johnny Lingo," "The Testaments: Of One Fold and One Shepherd" and, more recently, "Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration," it seems clear that the studio has lived up to this legacy.

Combined with the dense surrounding tree growth, the guards and gates separate the studio from the street and the eyes of the public and give the illusion of a top-secret facility. Inside, however, the MPS is far from the hostile environment that rumors play it up to be. In fact, little of what goes on there is secret at all, and even the few things that are kept from public view are guarded for the sake of sacredness -- not secrecy.

Beyond the gates are several large warehouses.

By far the most interesting of these massive studios are the sound stages. Standing outside the gray, square building which sits at the heart of the studio, just east of Movies 8 and Ream's, it is clear that you are in Provo. Step inside though, and you never know where you might find yourself.

"You're in Africa now," said Thomas Smith, the studio's safety manager, pointing to a mock-up of an African church building which will serve as the backdrop for a scene to be shown Saturday during the General Young Women's Broadcast. "You could be in Korea or Japan later when we film family history training videos. You go all over the world without leaving one little room. The illusion that's created here is the coolest thing to me."

Last week, the room that now looks like a rural African village was the greenroom for the cast of BYU's musical "Berlin." Before that it was set up with interior sets for the filming of "Emma Smith: My Story," a feature film on the life of Emma, to be released April 11.

This combination of outside funding and Church production facilities is a rare occurrence. Typically the Motion Picture Studio is reserved for Church projects and occasional BYU student projects.

One houses a scene shop, where sets and props are constructed, painted and stored for future use. When they are not occupied preparing for an upcoming film, workers in these production facilities keep busy building furniture for church offices.

Other buildings contain managerial and production offices, editing suites, recording studios, costume shops, makeup rooms and a host of other rooms filled with movie production equipment, cameras, and massive, intimidating computer editing systems.

"If students plan well enough ahead, they can have the same access to these facilities that we do," said Rick Hatch, a producer in the Church Audio/Visual Department.

That was made evident by Erik Chaston, a BYU undergraduate who has spent hours mixing the audio for "Pajama Gladiator," a student animation piece that he plans to share with the president of Pixar animation at a meeting this afternoon in the deJong Concert Hall.

The Motion Picture Studio was originally a part of BYU, and in its earliest form stood where the Wilkinson Center stands today. Through years of advancement, it has changed location, and ownership (from BYU to the Church Audio/Visual Department), and has kept up with the latest advances in recording and broadcast technology so that, as Hatch put it, "we can be prepared to communicate wherever we need to in a style that will be readily accepted by our audience."

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story did not adequately identify Rick Hatch. BYU NewsNet apologizes for the editing mistake that led up to this error. Also, in a caption on the associated photograph, Kent Findlay's name was spelled incorrectly.
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Copyright Brigham Young University 27 Mar 2008