SFX Water Tanks

In Europe, the main competing exterior water tanks are in Malta and in Alicante, Spain.  

Malta's water tanks have been around for nearly 50 years and the facility has extensive experience in water SFX, scale-model making and in boat building.

An aerial image of Malta's water tanks

Alicante has one water tank with a green-screen backdrop instead of the natural horizon that the Malta tanks boast. However, the Alicante tank is housed in a brand new studio with several state-of-the-art soundstages on the lot. 

Both tanks are surrounded by a variety of interesting locations.

Producers are often faced with the dilemma about which tank facility is the most suitable. There is no simple answer since this depends entirely on the nature of the project and many variables.  

The green-screen tank in Alicante, Spain

From a budget perspective, the total bottom-line costs for filming at both facilities are equally competitive when considering non-facility costs such as travel and accommodation. Whilst the Malta tank charges are more expensive than Alicante's, producers filming in Alicante have additional travel costs for the majority of the crew which do not exist locally.  

It is also worth noting that Malta's "Shallow Tank", which can be best compared to Alicante's tank for the similar shape and use of SFX, is nearly 40% larger in surface area then its Spanish counterpart. Malta's "Deep Tank", which is oval shaped and 36 feet in depth, cannot be compared to any other tank in the world since it is unique in size and shape.

A budget analysis conducted by the PCP for a simple one-day commercial shoot showed that both options would virtually cost almost the same. However if one factors in the Maltese government's cash rebate for cinema and TV films or series (advertising shoots excluded), the costs in Malta could potentially be lower then Spain. Although Alicante promotes financial incentives, the system set up by the Valencian region is not automatic for every foreign shoot and it is unfortunately quite bureaucratic. 

Conclusion: The answer to the question "Which Tank?" is not a straight-forward one. Both tanks have their pros and cons. Producers need to consider several factors such as:

What sort of locations are being sought, if any?
What are the distances between the locations and can you afford to have lengthy company moves?
Is Malta so busy that local crew might be unavailable, forcing you to import almost everyone?
How many cover sets do you need and how large?
Do you have specialized construction such as model making or boat building? What is the timeline?
What type of water SFX do you require?
How many tank-days are required?
What is the size of your crew?
Is your film CGI-heavy in the tank, requiring more green-screen shots then those requiring natural horizons?
Etc.