Notes from the studio floor
We publish about one article a day on the craft of live television: how studios are wired, framed, lit and kept quiet. Each piece is practical and written to be used.
How to Plan the Wiring of a Studio Control Room
A step-by-step guide to mapping sources, routing, intercom and monitoring before a single cable is pulled, so the control room stays dependable once programmes are on air.
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A Checklist for Reviewing Your Live Production Workflow Before You Commit
Before you settle on a run-sheet format, a rehearsal pattern or a fault procedure, these are the questions worth putting to your crew and your studio, in the order we ask them.
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Six acoustic mistakes that spoil studio speech, and how to avoid them
Most dialogue problems in a live studio come from a handful of repeatable errors in treatment and microphone placement. Here is what I see on site, and the plain fixes.
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What Camera Setup Costs and What Moves the Price
A plain look at how camera positioning, lens choice and operator coaching are priced, and which parts of a studio decide whether the work takes a day or a week.
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Faces that read well on camera: a lighting fix for Marcus's local news desk
A short account of how a small regional news team stopped fighting shadows and glare, and what a simple key, fill and backlight plan changed for presenters and camera operators alike.
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Booking a Studio Audit Before the Winter Schedule Fills Up
Mid autumn is a sensible time to review your studio. Daniel Okafor explains what an on-site audit covers, how training fits in, and what to prepare before the busy winter weeks begin.
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Tally, Talkback and Tie Lines: Studio Terms Explained Plainly
A plain-words guide to the wiring terms that cause the most confusion in a studio build, and what each one means for the people who operate the room every day.
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Printed Run Sheets or a Shared Live Rundown: Which Suits a Small Studio?
Two ways to run a live programme from the gallery, compared on clarity, speed under pressure and cost of change, with a plain recommendation for small news and interview teams.
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Behind the Scenes of an Acoustic Treatment Plan, from Room Survey to Mic Layout
How we measure a studio room, decide where treatment goes and place microphones so that speech stays clear, written from the point of view of a lighting designer who shares the floor.
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Which lens and camera position suits a small news desk?
The question we hear most from studio managers: where should the cameras sit and which lenses go on them? Straight answers for news desks and two-person interview sets.
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How We Now Plan Lighting for Presenters and Cameras Together
Our lighting design service now begins with a joint walk-through of the set, so key, fill and backlight plans are shaped by what the cameras and the presenters actually need.
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How we run a studio audit and the tools behind each report
A look at the instruments, checklists and written methods we rely on during an on-site studio audit, and how the findings turn into training for your own crew.
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Studio Equipment Integration: a checklist to work through before you decide
Before you commit to a studio build or refit, run through these questions on routing, intercom, monitoring and documentation, so the system you buy is the one your crew can run every day.
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Live Production Workflow: Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Most live programmes that stumble do so for ordinary reasons: a vague run sheet, a rushed rehearsal, an untested fault plan. Here is what goes wrong and what to do instead.
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What Acoustic Treatment for a Studio Costs and What Moves the Price
A plain look at how acoustic work is priced, which room and equipment factors change the figure, and what to settle before asking for a quotation.
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A Regional News Desk That Stopped Fighting Its Own Cameras
One customer case from a small news studio: how repositioning two cameras, changing a lens and coaching one operator made the desk shots steadier and the presenters easier to frame.
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Lighting Your Studio Through the Darker Months: A Seasonal Plan
As daylight fades earlier, studio lighting carries more of the picture. Helen Marsden sets out what to check, adjust and plan for key, fill and backlight before winter schedules begin.
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