Lighting Solution for Small Studios

We recently completed a small in-house studio for a client and thought it would be useful to talk about some of the infrastructure pieces involved. With this studio one of the primary goals was to maximize a small space. Many times, clients contact us thinking they have a giant newfound space to build a studio in. When empty, these spaces generally seem huge, but in reality, a 25ft x 25ft room is not huge in the world of video. First, this is because gear like cameras and operators take space, and second, because lensing, set pieces, and lighting all needs to be spread out to work properly. A green screen when lit will reflect green causing issues with any talent standing in front of it. (Read all about Green Screens HERE) Camera lensing requires space to get people into the frame. A room with small dimensions turns into a cramped space very quickly, leaving barely enough room to work and tons of tripping hazards.  

In order to maximize space for this business one of the things we could do was lean to a professional studio design and create a lighting grid. A lighting grid is a system of suspended steel pipes in a crisscross design for hanging lights and other devices from the ceiling. A typical grid has pipes spaced with 4ft gaps proving lots of spaces for mounting anything you would need in a studio. Before trying to rig up a grid in your space make sure to first consult a professional as these need to be set up safely and up to building code. A typical grid for a small space can weigh as much as 800lbs and needs to be anchored correctly to be able to handle even more load than you plan to attach. For this grid, we used special concrete anchors to hold one direction of the grid and another custom grid clamp to join everything together from our favorite people at The Light Source.

Using a ceiling grid eliminates first and foremost lighting stands. There are two benefits to no longer having lighting on stands. First, the lights can be set up higher, in better positions, and more lights can be added within a smaller area as there is no need for spacing between stands. A ceiling grid can also suspend backgrounds, and even microphones so they are out of the way for recording.  Most importantly, the mess of equipment cables normally in the way of on-screen talent can now be secured up in the grid.  To secure things to a light grid you can use standard, low-cost lighting pipe clamps for fixtures as well as tie lines to secure cables while still allowing them to be easily moved later if needed.  

One neat tip is to use spike tape, a 1/4” thick gaffers-based fluorescent tape, to mark lighting positions on the pipe. Marking the positions for the most common setups you use will allow speedier changeovers between sets or events in the future.

A common question we are asked about a grid is how high should it be? The answer is as high as possible. It’s easy to extend a light down from a high grid, but much harder to use a light above the grid. If possible, to work with building permits to have any false or drop ceiling removed to suspend the pipe grid as high as possible. Many light fixtures have large umbrellas, reflectors, or chimeras much bigger than the actual light adding to the amount of headspace you need. Suspending the light higher allows the light to be kept out of the line of being hit by someone walking around the room and from casting harsh shadows all over the place.

When it comes to building a studio, space planning is your friend! If you have access to a professional integration firm, like Lambda, we can help by 3d modeling and making sure everything is done safely. If you are just starting to think through if a room might work as a studio, you can first try putting tape on the floor to mark things out. Marking out different items and even bringing in a camera to see how your shots look can help you get an idea if you have enough space. You can’t do enough pre-work when building a studio and many times just searching around on the internet for something you like as an example or goal might be the best place to start. Find a look you like and email us! We’re always happy to answer any questions on how to get there!

Remember when it comes to rigging or hanging equipment always consult a professional and work with your building engineers to make sure everything is code compliant safe!