A video presentation by Silverlight spokesman Mike Wallis was warmly received by about 100 Ignite Wanaka Chamber of Commerce members on Thursday night.
Mr Wallis was the guest speaker at the chamber’s annual meeting.
He did not announce any significant new information that has not already been published on the Silverlight Studio website or in fast-track consent documents.
He confirmed the development would start with a modular sound stage complex.
The initial workforce would be small. About 90% of the film crew workers would be New Zealanders, he estimated.
"There will be six phases over 10 years. We will ramp up slowly," he said.
The video flyover showed how the buildings would fit into a large, natural landscape depression on the 322ha site close to Wanaka Airport.
It revealed what the future development might look like when finished, and that it would not be visible from State Highway 6.
The modular buildings would have double uses as film sets and as offices, a cafe and theatre space.
Clip-on facades would be used on buildings. Solar panels and a hydro-power generation were also planned.
Open fields surrounding the built areas would become blank canvases for "endless filming opportunities", he said.
Mr Wallis said Wanaka and surrounds had diverse landscapes, from Tuscan hills to deserts, that enable it to offer a "one stop shop for the world".
Silverlight Studios would be the first in the country to operate as an active, purpose-built business park and could change the way films were made in New Zealand, he said.
"There is no studio of scale in the South Island, where some of our most cinematic and famed locations are," he said.
Questions from the floor covered topics such as the timeline for beginning and staging various parts of the development, strategies for film studio waste and recycling, economic benefits, worker accommodation issues and airport development issues.
Mr Wallis confirmed his team was looking at recycling and waste minimisation technology and practices.
Silverlight was building onsite accommodation for its workers.
