William Clarke College Studio Build
What Was Required
To convert an old classroom into a professional multi-use studio that could give students complete creative flexibility and control over what content they wanted to create.
The Solution
A fully functioning dual green and white cyclorama studio, complete with a ceiling track lighting system, mounted backdrop system, as well as blackout curtains.
School Studios
When it comes to teaching film, television and photography in a high school setting, it’s important that students are given the opportunity to work in a completely professional setting with access to a whole range of various resources. Being able to work in a proper studio environment can be extremely beneficial to students wanting to get experience in film and television. Often, a school’s curriculum is limited to the resources they have at their disposal, and so outside of a basic introduction to standard filmmaking and photography, there mightn’t always be a lot of opportunity for getting creative with studio production.
William Clarke College wanted to give these sorts of opportunities to their students, and this where Dragon Image was able to help. Over 2020 we were able to provide a fully turnkey studio space that gave students complete creative freedom and flexibility to create the video and photo content they wanted.
How could an abandoned classroom possibly receive such a makeover?
Converting an Old Classroom
It doesn’t always look too flattering to begin with, but the original state of the room shows that studios can be built in almost any space. Some of the challenges faced included blocking the windows to construct additional walls, cleaning and treating the floor for painting, and getting sufficient access to power in the ceiling. Once these particular obstacles were taken care of, then the cyclorama curves were ready to be installed and painted, and then the rest of the studio lighting and other systems to follow.
These additional installation services will always differ from space to space, and it can often be difficult to determine what your space requires. If you are hoping to build a studio but are unsure of what is required to have it fully converted, please don’t hesitate to contact your local Dragon Image and our professional staff will be able to consult you on what will be required for your space, within the confines of your budget.
The Cyclorama
A lot of the studios we build are usually for a specific purpose - whether it be for chroma key video, studio photography or a specialised form of content creation. The advantage that William Clarke College has with their studio is they have a space that is perfect for multiple types of content creation - by way of a dual green and white cyclorama studio space.
The advantage of having dual cyclorama space is twofold - firstly, it gives students the opportunity to learn and create video content for both chroma keying and against a white backdrop, and secondly it also opens up the opportunity for students to learn high-key photography for portraits or full body shots, which is often not always available as part of the curriculum in most schools. Additionally, the platform in the white section of the studio allows for students to try product photography and other forms of macro-photography, making the space an all-round turnkey space for all kinds of shooting.
The Lighting
The studio offers a wide range of different types of studio LED lighting, all with specific purposes that give students a lot of flexibility with what they can shoot. These lights are all configured to the same power supply in the room, meaning you can flick a switch and you’re ready to start shooting.
Firstly, both the green and white cyc walls are fitted with Lightpro DF-720XL LED panels shining down on the backgrounds to create soft, even lighting. This is important for both chroma key work and studio photography, because in both instances having an evenly lit background eliminates a lot of hassle in post-production and allows you to get through edits without compromising creativity.
Secondly, the Lightpro DF-P120 LED Fresnel is perfect for students wanting to modify their light for different uses. With a Bowens mount fitting, this light is able to support softboxes, beauty dishes, snoots and other light modifiers for all kinds of creative looks. Additionally, the light has a focus ring allowing you to change the spot or flood size of the light, and it also comes with presets such as lightning, TV flicker and strobe.
Finally, the studio Lightpro Ultrasoft 1000C is the perfect key light to have in a studio. This large, flat disc light is designed to act as a singular light source rather than hundreds of tiny LED bulbs. This in turn creates a soft ‘wrapping’ effect that you often get with a lot of softboxes, as the shadows on a subject are softened. This extremely user-friendly light source will add a beautiful touch to any shot. In addition, the light is also mounted on roller stands in the studio, allowing it to be moved around the space with ease.
Mounting the Lighting
When you’re in a cyclorama studio space, you always want to be taking advantage of the full floor, and often need it to be as clear as possible. Having lights on a stand can often limit the space you are working in, and so other mounting solutions are important to have in your arsenal. Luckily for William Clarke College, the studio is installed with a Lightpro Pantograph Ceiling Track System, which is the perfect solution for mounting lights to the ceiling and having full flexibility in positioning them.
Another advantage of the pantograph system is its ability to be extended with more tracks, allowing you to add more pantographs for larger studio spaces. In the case of William Clarke College, they have done exactly that, allowing them to have two pantograph systems running on each side of the studio for maximum flexibility. Finally, it’s great for a student environment as all cables are off the floor and managed up on the ceiling, meaning there is no risk of cables causing a potential tripping hazard for students.
The Curtains
When a studio is built, often the green or white cyc wall can be quite reflective if there are plenty of lights shining all over the place, potentially causing unwanted light spill if you are doing a specific type of shoot. Fortunately, William Clarke College’s studio is completely lined with blackout curtains all around the walls, as well as down the middle between the two cycs. This has a few functions - firstly to allow students to block off the two spaces from each other to allow two shoots to happen simultaneously without interfering with each other, and secondly to block light if they are doing a more low-key shoot or need more control over their lighting.
Additionally, the curtains can double as a black backdrop if required, giving students even greater flexibility and creative opportunity, especially since they can draw the curtains over the entire studio. There aren’t a lot of studio spaces around that allow for a green and white cyc, as well as black as well, especially for students.
Even More Backdrops
But wait, there’s more! Not only do students have flexibility with the cyclorama walls and the blackout curtains, but they are spoilt for choice with a wide range of mounted paper backdrops for additional colours through the Lightpro 3 Hook Expan Backdrop System. The school’s studio has a system mounted on the walls of both the green and white cyclorama, meaning students effectively have access to 6 additional coloured backdrops!
It’s also worth noting that the chains required for rolling each backdrop up and down are positioned in the middle of the room where the green and white meet, meaning they aren’t actually clashing with the cyclorama. In other situations where it's impossible to have the chains avoid clashing with a cyclorama, the Lightpro Motorised Expan System is the perfect solution as it eliminates the chain altogether and makes the entire system completely automated! Just ask Newington College, who have this exact predicament with their studio we installed for them.
A True Turnkey Solution
It’s not often that a lot of schools or companies will require a studio space as flexible as William Clarke College, however it can’t be denied how beneficial having that level of flexibility can be. If you are interested in looking at getting a flexible studio installed, or are just interested at looking at any of the products mentioned above, please contact your local store today!