# Studio Six Productions **Entity class:** Operational cover entity **Domain:** CIA / entertainment / commercial cover ## Definition **Studio Six Productions** was the Hollywood production-company identity used in the CIA's 1980 exfiltration operation later associated with _Argo_. The operation used a studio-lot office, a genuine unproduced script, trade advertising, business cards, a press event, and industry professionals. Once established, the office received genuine project pitches, allowing real market activity to reinforce the cover. ## Evidence Boundary Studio Six is a documented historical case. It establishes the operational utility of entertainment-production cover and [[wiki/Backstopping|backstopping]]; it does not establish that any present company or named entertainment professional has an intelligence role. ## Relationships - **created by:** [[wiki/Antonio Mendez|Antonio Mendez]] with [[wiki/John Chambers|John Chambers]]. - **producer role performed by:** [[wiki/Robert Sidell|Robert Sidell]]. - **project identity:** [[wiki/Argo (Studio Six cover project)|Argo]]. - **institution:** [[wiki/Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]]. - **tradecraft:** [[wiki/Commercial Cover|Commercial Cover]], [[wiki/Proprietary (Intelligence)|Proprietary]], [[wiki/Narrative Bandwidth|Narrative Bandwidth]], and [[wiki/Social Attractor|Social Attractor]]. - **source:** [[research/The Producer Function in Intelligence Tradecraft and Dramaturgy|The Producer Function in Intelligence Tradecraft and Dramaturgy]]. ## Sources / Provenance - [The Hollywood Reporter — The Odd Hollywood History Behind Ben Affleck's Argo](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/ben-affleck-argo-odd-hollywood-history-374054) - Antonio J. Mendez, _The Master of Disguise_ (1999)