When John Yost set out to become an actor he was faced with an overwhelming statistic that said he would fail.

To prove it wrong he called producers, directors, actors and others in the movie business and asked them why actors failed so he could do the exact opposite.

Several commercials, some Off-Broadway productions,6 other film companies and eight years later Yost is back in his hometown of Pittsburgh, creating more opportunities for the film industry in the city with an all inclusive film studio in the Strip District.

“When I had this plan, four years ago, my first stop was the film office, and Dawn really gave me some tough love. She said ‘you know, John, people have been saying this for years, they’ve had ideas… what makes you different?’ and I said no, you’ve just said something that turns me on, I want to know about who failed,” Yost said. ” I want to find out why they all failed and I’m going to do the exact opposite of what they did.”

 The facility was originally going to be built in Robinson. After futher consideration though, it was decided that the building in the Strip District would be a better choice since it already exists. Costs would be cheaper and the time frame would be shorter.

In the last 12 months 12 feature films have been shot in Pittsburgh. The city offers filmmakers tax incentives when shooting in the city and, with the help of the Pittsburgh Film Office; the city is usually very willing to work with the filmmaker on locations and specific tools needed for the scenes.

The problem the filmmakers have, Yost said, is that there is nowhere for them to work on pre- and post-production when coming to Pittsburgh to make a movie.

The final phase of the studio will be completed next June, which will be the construction of offices and smaller rooms inside the building.

The building itself, however, is already in place, and over the next year will have Yost’s seven other companies moved in, create areas for shops, set construction and gaff space, and finally build classrooms, office space, and meeting rooms for clients. Other amenities would include special effects rooms, 10 sound stages, equipment rentals, screening rooms and access to the river for water shots when needed.

The studio has already caught the interest of several major film companies including Lionsgate, DreamWorks, Summit Entertainment as well as people who want the space for local commercials.

 In addition to companies and filmmakers, the facility will also be available to students for productions, as a teaching tool.

“Pittsburgh has always been a good place for filmmakers to come to film for movies,” Jessica Conners, assistant Director of the Pittsburgh Film office said. “Now that these films are coming it’s a question of where to film.”

“Wouldn’t it be nice to say ‘ oh you need editing suites? right over here! costumes? follow me this way,'” Yost said.

Click on the link below to see a video of the film studio:
http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/17316970/detail.html