DAASV at the San Francisco Armory 10/14/12

Completed in 1914, the National Guard Armory was used until 1978, then remained unoccupied until it was purchased by Armory Studios in 2007. At over 200,000 square feet, it provides video production space. The 40,000 square foot drill court is being turned into a community center.

The interior of the main building is used as production spaces by Cybernet Entertainment. The arch-covered drill court will become a community center.

Our tour began at the main entrance on Mission, where we signed in, had our IDs checked, and also signed a release statement. We were issued visitor badges for the tour.

This cheerful fellow was waiting for us at the security station - it looks like he's not going anywhere soon.

Everything about the activities inside the Armory is up front - this notice clearly explains the policies in place and expectations. The operation is very professional, and the models participating are the focus of the activities.

The first production space developed was this former ammunition-storage vault. All the wall-mounted features are set dressing. The loops and attachment points on the ceiling and posts are for real and very sturdy. The floor, however, while it looks like the wood in the walls, is cleverly decorated foam padding, out of consideration for models spending a lot of time on their knees.

The flooring, which looks a lot like the wood on the walls, is artfully created to resemble wood, although it's actually a foam pad. It's meant to protect the knees of models during long shoots.

When the work lights are turned on, the space becomes much more dramatic.

All of the production spaces are equipped with up-to-date power sources for lighting and equipment - very professional.

The next studio was decorated as a slaughter house, inspired by the real door shown here. The slabs of meat are actually decorated fiberglass.

This is one of a few "wet" studios, where water can be used. There are drains in the floor and electrical safety provisions. The cage is real, as are the hooks and attachment points from above. The grungy appearance of the walls and floor is due to artful decoration.

There is a pub studio in which parties are sometimes held. The entrance is very bordello...

Lighting is very important in the production spaces. Here the real and created bottles at a touch of realism to this functional bar. The mirrored globe was in place for a party held the prior week.

Some of the bottles are what they seem, and some have been created by the art department. Reading the labels was fun.

The studio character of the space, lighting support and no "real" ceiling, reveal that all is not as it seems. The concealed door in the wall on the left was a special treat.

Doing a lot of varied video production requires a large collection of props to help the spaces appear real. There is a very large prop library available for use.

The variety of the available props was only hinted at by this collection.

This unusual seat is unique in its configuration.

It's fun to see what may be a light-hearted side to the decorations.

As the variety of props grew, the uses challenged the imagination.

This collection of machines was certainly unique.

We had fun speculating about the use of each of the mechanical devices - this one appeared to be double acting.

None of us worked out how this functional robot might be employed.

In what might be called a "tack room", the tools of the trade were carefully stored for use and available for selection by the production teams.

Unlike many movie prop houses, the items available for selection here are real and fully functional.

Some apparatus required study to discern its use.

Other items were more obvious in their intended application.

The variety of available devices was amazing.

Obviously shoes, but how are they used in production?

There were several variations on each theme.

Mission Creek flows through the basement. The slots in the floor provide drainage from other sources into the creek. The National Guard used the right side wall as the backstop for target shooting.

This basement space has been rented out for outside productions - it has available power and lots of room for set construction.

The array of drains for the ground water.

At the opposite end, another set was configured.

There were very well equipped wood and machine shops, and nearly everything is constructed on site, including the machines.

It seems the products of construction are limited only by imagination.

These are lubricant containers - one water based and one otherwise. This special-purpose lubricant is heavily used, and a 50-gallon supply lasts about 30 days.

There is also a laundry on site to clean costumes for re use, although we didn't know how the Panda was employed.

The covered drill court was huge.

The arches provided for a totally open floor space.

The top floor is a live production space that has always-on cameras distributed - part of the reason for these warnings.

The top floor has plush decorations, and has been used as a kind of "big brother" operation - with 7x24 residents interacting throughout the spaces. More recently, infrequent parties with lots of enthusiastic attendees (models) are available for viewing as special events.

This is the functional kitchen set on the top floor.