What Do You Need for a Simple Video Production Studio?

TV studio equipment is an ever-evolving technical phenomena. Constantly improving technology and design gives the video producer more choices about what equipment to use than ever before.

The good thing is that technological improvements usually means it takes less equipment, less money, and less effort to produce the same quality.

Today, for a fraction of the overall cost of all the components it takes for a standard video studio, computers allow you to mimic a full studio.  One powerful computer can replace most of those seperate componenets.

Even if you don’t go with a computer-generated system, the amount of equipment is so much less than what it used to require, you can even pack it all inside a van if you want to make video on-the-go.

• • Standard TV studio equipment still has many applications.  There are many reasons to set up a simple video production studio.  The concepts, pros and cons are still the same, even if the specific equipment needed is constatly changing.  

Even if you use the new computer based technologies, it helps to know all the individual components and what they do. The rest of this post contains that information, plus gives some context and history of  video studios.

(For some tips on creating the perfect room for your content creation, here’s a great article with info I don’t cover here.)

Why Use a Video Studio? 

Video studios help you crank out more video, in less time.   You can produce hours of content in a few hours, not weeks or months.  The difference in time and staff needed to produce a studio show compared to a one-camera technique show is monumental.

Let’s go back in time and see where the ideas for video studios came from.

• Here’s a pop quiz!  Who popularized the currently-used method of studio production?
• Answer:  Lucille Ball and her husband, Desi Arnaz.

In the earliest days of television, producers in Hollywood approached content creation in the only way known at the time, one-camera technique.

• • One-camera technique describes the method of repeating the action multiple times, in front of one camera that is constantly being moved, in order to capture the action from different vantage points, i.e. angles.

The footage was later painstakingly edited together using a time-consuming cut and splice method.  This is the method the film industry had been using for decades, and still uses today.

To folks in the founding days of television, the idea of a TV show being broadcast live meant you’d save a lot of money bypassing the slow process of one-camera technique and the high costs of shooting and processing hours of film.

So, some of the very earliest TV shows were done live, and not recorded at all.  If they were recorded, it was by a method known as kinescope, which uses a film camera to record off a monitor as the show runs live, but that produces poor quality.

This is an excellent example of the cliche, penny wise and pound foolish.  No one was yet thinking about the lucrative practice of syndicated reruns because no one had done it.

Lucille Ball and husband Desi Arnez are credited with changing all of that.

They recorded their show, I Love Lucy, using three camera simultaneously.  The action did not  need to be repeated because these multiple cameras caught it from every angle needed.  Using studio technique amd recording the output meant they had high quality copies of each show they could duplicate and distribute.

The finished shows could be shown over and over, at any time, by any broadcast outlet.  Desilu Studios made a fortune from that alone, profiting from decades of syndication.

Studio technique saves lots of money by saving lots of time.   Hollywood movies were made using one-camera technique, which by its very nature requires time-consuming editing.  Simultaneous editing, which relies on a piece of equipment known as a video switcher.  A video switcher edits your show together live, on-the-fly, as it is happening.   The difference is remarkable.  For example, a one-hour show done the old Hollywood way might take months to edit.  Done studio way, it’s edited in one hour.

What is a Video Switcher?

The video switcher is the heart of your studio.  Every single video source available is routed through the video switcher.  The person operating it, either the director or the technical director, controls what video source is seen when. The output of the switcher is sent out live, or to whatever machine is going to record the show.

Operating a video switcher during a live show can be quite nerve-wracking, since things are happening quickly and there’s a flurry of activity to keep up with.  A complex show like an NFL football game, might have 50, or more video inputs.

Switchers handle all the cameras, plus all the playback machines for things like instant replays, and any satelite or other video source being used.

Switchers are more than simple routers though.  Video switchers can add special effects too, mostly in the form of transitions from one shot to another.

A large switcher might have forty, sixty, eighty video inputs. Small ones have four inputs, which was plenty for the small studio I ran when I taught high school TV production. Most small video switchers also accept four audio inputs. They’re priced from about $1,000 to $6,000 and on up.

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The director operates the switcher, punching buttons and turning knobs on its large flat surface to control which video signal is seen, and when.

The viewer sees whatever video input the director wants them to. The output of the switcher is your final show.  During production, it’s shown on the monitor connected to the output of your switcher.

The video switcher will have some digital effects. You can get separate add-on components to increase the graphics capability, or number of digital wipes and effects.

Most video switchers also mix together the elements you need for a chroma-key, or the green screen effect. This will be a blending of at least two video sources, the subject shot in front of the green and the image that replaces the green.

What About Audio?

In addition to a video switcher, studios need an audio switcher, or audio mixer, which handles every audio source.  Not just microphones, but any music or playback audio would be routed through the audio board, too.

Here is a photo an audio board that can handle 8 sources.  A studio is usually used for talk shows, or any show with multiple people having a discussion.  Generally speaking in those instances, each participant has a clip-on lav microphone.  In some larger studios,  boom mics are used, which requires an operator holding a long distance mic on a pole.

To connect it all up together, make sure you have all necessary and compatible cables that match the video output connectors. Before you buy anything, draw it all out to make sure everything is easily compatible. Study the back side of all your components for information about what kind of cables and connectors you need.

MULTIPLE CAMERAS

Most studios have at least three cameras. With vigorous and quick camera operators, three cameras can be made to look like a thousand.

The cameras don’t have to be the same kind, but they usually are so  you will have a more consistent image.  In a broadcast operation, video engineers spend a lot of time making adjustments so all the camera images look identical.

Generally, all the cameras in a studio are on large, studio mounts that can glide quickly and easily across the floor. These type of camera mounts aren’t meant to be picked up and hauled to a room down the street, these are too heavy, but if a $25 tripod from Wal-Mart is what you have, that’ll work too. A video studio does not have to be fancy.

LIGHTS FOR A VIDEO STUDIO

Here is a picture of the video production studio I ran as a high school video teacher. It was simple, but effective. Not fancy at all but we did some great videos there!

In fact, it was so simple, my high school TV production studio wouldn’t pass fire codes so we couldn’t use grid lights! so we used portables as you can see in the picture.

While grid lighs are more common in professional studoos, portables are much more practical for a small operation, especially if you also do remote productions. Most of your portable lights will be set up on collapsible stands, but you can easily hang small light fixtures from just about any ceiling if you find the right ceiling mount. I used to carry one that wasn’t too much bigger than a finger when it was collapsed.

A low budget studio can still hang lights or cameras from just about any ceiling if you buy small mount adapters that can be easily slipped under tile ceiling framework. These ceiling mounts let you hang lights, cameras, or microphones in out-of-the-way spots. Great for that high-angle wide-shot or a hair-enhancing halo back light. C-clamps usually work for this kind of thing. It’s best to use really small lights if you do this.

Professional studios have concrete ceilings with a heavy metal grid attached. High wattage lights are hooked to the grid and plugged into the ceiling. This can be cost prohibitive for the small guy, not to mention a fire hazard unless you’re wired especially for this type of heavy-duty application. So you might want to consider using portables.

You’ll have more cables snaking the floor and portables take up valuable space, but you’ll save a bundle and it’s much easier.

VIDEO MONITORS

Studios have tons of monitors. Generally, every video source has to have its own monitor. Preview monitors. Output monitors. Monitors that show the mixing process of various sources. The plethora of monitors can cause a newbie in a studio to get confused, but once you get it all straight in your head, it makes sense. Each camera will be hooked up to a monitor that the director can see in the control room. The studio camera operator doesn’t look at the monitor; she looks at the camera viewfinder.

A lot of these monitors will be small or black and white because that will save money.

• • In order to have enough video signals to run both your monitors and your record decks, it can  be necessary to split your video signals. (One signal runs to the monitor and the other one runs to the record deck.) If you do this, run the signal through a pre-amps to boost it and negate the effects of splitting.

If you want to read a second popular post about setting up a video studio click here. Make sure and read all of the comments, there are close to 100 on that post and some of them offer a tremendous amount oif infirmation.

HOW MANY PEOPLE DO YOU NEED TO OPERATE A VIDEO STUDIO?

A fully- staffed studio is set up with the following basic positions:

• A director who usually operates the video switcher and takes charge of the production and talks to other crew members via the off-camera audio headset system.
• Audio guy operating the audio switcher and mixing every audio source
• A graphics machine operator
• Camera operators on each camera
• A floor crew manager
• Tape deck operators
• Assistants and gofers as needed
• On-camera people

Various people on that staff list can easily be eliminated or replaced by robots if you have that kind of budget. Many network news studios use robots instead of human camera operators.

If your budget is more modest than CBS, consider a locked down tripod instead of a camera operators. Camera operators aren’t really necessary with the style of many simple talk shows. The less people on camera move, the easier it is to get by without camera operators.

Years ago, when I worked for a large, county-wide school system, we  had a modest studio wth 3 cameras and a nice switcher.  We had such a small staff though, we’d often do shows with just two or even one crew person.  It was faiuirly easy, because of couse the studio was already set up.

I locked down all the cameras into a variety of standard shots I could easily repeat.

• I set all the microphones
• I rolled a tape to begin the show
• Counted down the talent
• Sat down and switched the show
• Kept track of the time and cued talent when to switch subjects or hush entirely

If you’re a small operation, get by without camera people or those expensive robots used by networks. Lock down all your cameras on logical shots and repeat them. In between shots, sneak up to one of the cameras, change it quietly, sneak back to the switcher and punch up your new shot!

However, if you have a larger budget, think about having a larger crew. Camera operators can make your life easier.

Some switchers can also performs color adjustments and digital effects. In essence, your switcher is the heart of your studio.

The more sophisticated your switcher, the more signals you can put up on the screen at once. For example, during a wedding you have a close-up of the bride, a close-up of the groom, and an extreme close up of the ring all on the screen at once. At the bottom of the screen you could add “Jennifer & Bill, 2022.” That would be four different video inputs, all going though the switcher.

Many studios have an audio switcher in addition to a video switcher, but you can buy units that combine the two functions. Studio video production involves mixing multiple microphones and other audio sources like CD players, into one audio switcher that is controlled by an audio specialist. This person mixes the audio sources and turns them on and off at the appropriate times. The output of the audio switcher should be viewer ready.

HOW MUCH WILL IT COST?

The least expensive way to do it is to opt for using what is essentially an adapted security home camera system. I’ve seen $400 security camera systems meant for home use that would work for some video production applications if you did a bit of reconfiguring.

On the other hand, a well-equipped, fully functional studio could add up to over $100,000. Depends on what you want and how much money you have.

For $30,000 – $50,000 you can get a professional set-up that would allow you compete with just about anyone. As computer have gotten more powerful, the amount of equipment you need continues to drop. Today, one mega computer can do what it used to take five to ten components to do.

With the correct software, a computer can be the heart of an incredibly powerful portable (or stationary) video production system. For more information on that subject specifically, here is a post about a friend of mine who operates a production van with New Tek equipment. They do high school football games and other large events for the county government.

This post is going to discuss the more traditional set-up for a studio operation, using a video switcher, audio switcher, graphics generators and other components to create polished, professional-quality videos in a fraction of the time it takes to produce a similar show using one-camera technique. (Also called field video production.)

YOU CAN GO WIRELESS

Today, the Blessed Angels in video engineering have actually devised virtually wireless studios, a production gal’s dream come true. You can have both wireless microphone systems and wireless video systems. If you set the transmitters to different frequencies, you should avoid interference.

Imagine this one difference in covering a high school football game:

Three cameras free to set-up anywhere in the stadium, even being mobile during the game.

Or: Three stationary cameras tethered to cables that can’t stray too far from the switcher because your cables aren’t that long and you don’t have ten rolls of duct tape. (You gotta duct tape your cables down real well or else people will trip. People will injure themselves. People will sue. After they yell at you. Don’t forget to go to Wal-Martand get more duct tape. Or electric al tape. It does not leave the sticky goo but it’s so much more expensive!)

Wireless studios are a technological wonder and a sweet blessing if you ask little ole me. If you have wireless system, think about making one camera a roving hand held. It can greatly increase your visual possibilities no matter what kind of event you are covering.

Today’s computer systems used for studio production knock the socks off the separate components traditionally needed for video production studios. Anytime you can condense or eliminate equipment, you have made studio video production cheaper and easier.

With today’s all-in-one systems, different types of graphics generators and system control functions can be run by one computer instead of twenty separate components connected with a mass of cable spaghetti. As technology improves, so does the ease of creating a TV studio.

No matter what kind of video equipment you want to buy, I always like to recommend shopping and researching video equipment at B&H Photo. They carry everything and have great prices.

As technology improves, video production equipment used for mobile studios gets more and more integrated, more versatile and more functional. If you’re a lover of electronic gadgets, video production is a great obsession!

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

• After TV was first invented, who were the first Holywood producers to come up with the concept of using multiple cameras to imitate how movies had always been made?
• Describe what a video switcher does.
• Describe what an audio mixer does.