A checklist to work through before you commission a studio build

The first item on any studio design checklist has nothing to do with equipment. It is a plain list of what the studio must produce in a normal week: a five-minute news bulletin, a one-hour panel, a two-person interview, a live event with an audience. Each format asks different things of the floor, and a room drawn around the most demanding show is rarely comfortable for the simplest one.

When we sit down with a producer, I ask them to bring a typical running order and one awkward week, the kind that includes a guest who arrives late and a segment that overruns. Those two documents tell us more about the layout than a floor plan does. They show how many people stand on the set, how often the set changes, and where the crew actually walk.

• Write down every format the studio will make in a normal week
• Note the busiest day and the awkward week, not only the average one
• List how many presenters, guests and crew are on the floor at once

Square metres are a poor guide on their own. What matters is the clear height under the lights, the distance from the set to the back wall, and whether a camera can pull back far enough to frame a wide shot without hitting the cyclorama or a door. Many rooms that look generous on paper turn out to be tight once pedestal cameras and a prompter are placed.

Check the building as well as the room. Where does the mains supply come in, how much power is spare, and what ventilation exists? A lighting rig that runs cool still needs air movement for a full day of rehearsals and live shows. Walk the route from the loading door to the studio floor too, because furniture and flight cases have to get in without being taken apart.

• Confirm clear ceiling height and the depth behind the set
• Ask about spare power and how the room is ventilated
• Walk the delivery route with a tape measure

Cabling is the part of a studio nobody photographs and everybody depends on. Before the build begins, decide how video, audio, intercom, power and lighting control will travel between the floor, the gallery and the equipment room, and keep power apart from signal wherever the routes cross. Floor boxes, ducting and spare conduit are cheap to include at the start and expensive to add once the floor is finished.

I always ask for at least a third more capacity than the first design needs. Studios change: a second interview position appears, a new graphics feed is added, a monitor wall moves. A labelled, documented cable run lets Daniel Okafor or any engineer after him trace a fault in minutes rather than hours, and that is the difference between a calm morning and a lost rehearsal.

• Separate power and signal routes and note every crossing
• Include spare conduit and floor box capacity from day one
• Insist on labelling and a written cable schedule at handover

Desks, chairs and backdrops are often left until last, which is when they cause trouble. A news desk has to hold monitors, hide cables, let a presenter sit comfortably for an hour and still look right from three camera angles. A chair that squeaks or a desk edge that glints under the lights will be noticed on air long before anyone notices the expensive camera.

Ask how the set can be reconfigured. If the same floor serves a morning bulletin and an evening panel, castors, quick-fit panels and marked floor positions save a great deal of time between shows. Consider storage as well: a studio with nowhere to put the second set ends up with flight cases standing in the shot.

• Check sightlines and glare from every camera position
• Plan storage for the set pieces that are not in use
• Choose furniture that hides cables and allows quick changes

A studio build involves electricians, joiners, rigging crews and engineers, and somebody has to hold the sequence together. Ask who coordinates the trades, who signs off each stage, and how changes to the drawings are recorded. A single point of contact who can say what happens next, and in what order, is worth more than a long list of specifications.

Testing deserves its own line in the plan. Every signal path should be checked against a written test plan before handover, with the whole chain run together: cameras, lights, audio, intercom and gallery. Ask to see that plan before work starts, and ask what happens if a test fails. The answer tells you how the builder thinks about responsibility once the invoice is sent.

• Name one person who coordinates all trades on site
• Ask to read the written test plan before work begins
• Agree what happens when a test fails

Handover is not the end of the project, it is the point at which your own crew takes over, so decide in advance what they will need. That means drawings that match what was actually built, equipment manuals in one place, a list of spares and a clear route for calling for help. Arrange a short rehearsal day on the real set with your real presenters before the first live show, not instead of it.

It is also sensible to agree who will look after the studio afterwards. Some clients keep a small in-house team, others prefer a crew on call for busy periods. Whichever you choose, settle it before the build is finished, so the first live broadcast is run by people who already know where everything is.

• Request as-built drawings and a single folder of manuals
• Book a rehearsal day with presenters before the first live show
• Decide who supports the studio once the builders leave