Why we reworked how we present studio planning
Over the past few months we have rewritten the way we describe Studio Design Planning, because the questions we receive from production managers have changed. Fewer people ask for a complete new build. More ask how to make an existing studio work harder: a news set that has grown crowded, a talk show floor where the cameras keep catching each other, or a small stage that now serves three different programmes.
The service itself is the same as before: layout, sightline and cabling plans for new or refitted broadcast studios. What has changed is how we split the work into stages, so a team can commission only the part it needs. A refit rarely needs everything, and we would rather scope a modest piece of work accurately than propose a large one.
This note explains the stages, what each one produces on paper, and what we ask you to prepare before the first conversation.
Starting from the floor, not the equipment list
Every plan begins with the physical room. We ask for a measured floor plan, ceiling height, the position of doors, pillars and any fixed grid, and a note of where power and network points already sit. A sketch with dimensions is perfectly acceptable; we redraw it ourselves.
From there we mark the working areas: presenter positions, guest seating, any standing or walking zones, and the places where crew need to move without crossing a shot. Camera positions come second, because they depend on where people actually stand and not the other way round.
I handle much of the camera and lighting side of this, and the same pattern repeats. Teams often choose equipment first and then discover that the room cannot give it the throw distance or the clearance it needs. Starting with the floor avoids that.
- Measured floor plan or dimensioned sketch
- Ceiling height and any fixed rigging points
- Existing power, network and cable entry points
Sightlines for cameras, talent and crew
A sightline plan answers three separate questions. What can each camera see, what can the presenters see, and what can the crew see? A shot may look fine through a lens while a presenter has no clear view of the prompter, or a floor manager cannot reach the talent with a cue.
We draw each camera's field at the lens lengths you expect to use, and mark where another camera, a set piece or a light stand would intrude. We also check eye lines for guests who turn between two hosts, since that is where awkward framing most often appears.
The result is a set of annotated plan and elevation drawings that your operators can read in a few minutes. We keep the notation plain so it can be handed to a director or a visiting crew without a briefing.
- Camera fields drawn at expected lens lengths
- Presenter eye lines and prompter positions
- Floor manager access and cue routes
Cable routes and where the problems hide
Cabling is the part of a refit that is easiest to underestimate. A plan that looks tidy on the floor can fall apart once signal, power, audio and data need to travel between the studio and the gallery without running parallel for long distances or crossing walkways.
We map routes for each type of cable, suggest where floor boxes or wall panels make sense, and note where a cable run would pass close to dimmer racks or other sources of interference. We also allow spare capacity, because a studio nearly always gains a camera or a monitor after the first season.
Where a route crosses a doorway or an access path, we flag it so that trip hazards and wear are dealt with in the design, not after an incident.
- Separate routes for signal, power, audio and data
- Floor boxes or wall panels placed near working positions
- Spare capacity allowed for later additions
What we deliver and how long it takes
The output is a written report with drawings: a layout plan, sightline diagrams, a cable route plan and a short list of decisions that still need to be made by your team. We aim for plain language, because the document is often read by people who were not in the room when it was discussed.
Timing depends on the size of the space and how much information we receive at the start. A single studio usually moves from first call to draft plan within a few weeks, and we agree the schedule in the written quotation before any work begins.
Price depends on the number of studios, the complexity of the cabling and whether lighting and camera positions are included. The Prices page sets out the figures and what changes them.
- Layout plan and sightline diagrams
- Cable route plan with spare capacity noted
- Open decisions listed for your team
Preparing for the first conversation
You do not need a finished brief. It helps to know which programmes the studio must serve, how many presenters and guests appear at once, and how many cameras and operators you expect to use. If a refit is driven by a particular problem, say so plainly; a crowded floor or a recurring shadow tells us more than a long wish list.
Photographs of the room from each corner are useful, as is any earlier drawing, even if it is out of date. If the studio is still in use, tell us which days are quiet enough for a site visit.
Contact us through the form on the Contact page with a few lines about the space, and we will reply with questions and a written quotation.
Studio Design Planning now runs as a set of clear stages, so a team can take the whole plan or just the part that fixes its immediate problem. We start from the room and the people in it, draw what each camera and crew member can see, and route the cables so they stay out of the way. If you are considering a refit this winter, send us the floor plan and a short description, and we will tell you what the work involves.
