Everything You Need to Build a Professional Studio

Cinema 4K Cameras

We use Canon C300mIII 4K and 10-Bit Canon R8 4K Full-Frame Mirrorless Cameras that consistently capture video production in cinematic quality. We recommend the following lenses to be paired with these cameras: Canon 24-105, Canon 50mm, Canon 85mm, two of the Canon Variable ND filter adapters so you can adjust exposure without sacrificing beautiful bokeh by closing the aperture of your camera to far.

And here are must-have accessories (like constant power for your cameras!) to keep your production workflow running smooth: Kimaru AC Power for R8, SanDisk 256gb Card, 50′ HDMI cable, 30′ HDMI cable, 4-channel HDMI Splitter, 3 of these HDMI adapters for the R8 cameras, monitor arm, power strip, and 32″ monitor.

Cinema Lighting

Known as some of the best lighting in the business, we mount two of the legendary Aputure 300x Studio lights from custom rail systems as well as two Amaran 200x S Studio Lights to light backdrops and two Aputure 60x Studio Lights for hair/rim lights.

But just as important as the lights you choose are the soft boxes that go in front of the lights to create the perfect amount of softness and brightness for that true cinematic look. Here’s what we recommend: Two of each of Aputure’s Light Dome 3, 6090, and LS60 Light Box.

These lights are all mounted on the ceiling for ease of placement and quickness of use.

Professional Podcasting

After many months of research and testing dozens of mics, our top choice, and by far the best bang for your buck without comprising professional audio quality is the Samson Dynamic XLR/USB Microphones and this one linked even comes with pop filters and pro over-ear studio headphones. Be sure to get a shock mount which will greatly reduce any vibration caused from touching or bumping the mic (after doing many podcasts now, we’ve found that guests LOVE to fiddle with the mic!). In the first studio we built, we had the traditional mic stands, but now we will only use these mounted mic stands as they greatly reduce space if your area is tight and they are much easier to adjust to the correct height as podcast guests come in all different shapes and sizes 🙂

Speaking of podcasts, the Zoom Podtrak 4-channel recorder is a great option for mixing.

For more traditional video shoots, we’ve found the Rode NTG2 shotgun mic (mounted to a couple magic arms) to be an incredible value that will never let you down – we’re still using one of our original ones from 15 years ago!

Don’t forget the following cables and accessories to make your audio recording a breeze: Three 50′ USB cable (allows you to take the Samson mics right into your computer), 4 USB to 1 C, 3/8 adapters female, 3/8 adapters male, 5/8″ nut, 5/8″ washer, 5/8″ 10″ bolt, two shock mounts for your Rode shotgun microphones, two 50′ XLR Cable 2-pack, one 25′ XLR Cable 2-pack.

Don’t skip over the adapters we mentioned, as they come in VERY handy when trying to connect mics to different arms and connectors!

This gear combined with the custom sound treated walls create an incredible audio recording environment.

Walls & Framing

Start by installing 4×8 foot sheets of acoustic sound board on every wall that you possibly can, using drywall screws.

Use 1 5/8″ screws for shorter sides of studs and 3″ screws for the 14 8-foot 2×4’s and 11 10- foot 2×4’s. These black hooks come in clutch for hanging cables, when paired with two 50′ extension cable and two power strips, which also allow you to keep all of your cables off the ground and up in the rafters overhead.

Studio Rigging

You start by building a rail system (like Superstrut) across the 8′ 2×4’s. You will need to get two of these 8-pack struts for trollies and four of these strut trollies for the struts themselves. Be sure to get 3/8″ washers and three of these 3/8″ bolt/nut 8-pack.

To hang the lights, you’ll need three clamps, four of these 50″ boom arms and 8 of these 42″ boom arms which come with 2 clamps each. Some of these boom arms will need to be grinded down with an angle grinder (I absolutely love the cordless one by Ryobi) to fit your specific ceiling height. Please reach out for details.

Studio Computer, Video Switchers and Sound Mixers

We are huge fans of Apple for one simple reason – they always work. You can’t afford a virus crashing your PC computer or it just shutting down in the middle of a shoot. I’m on my 6th Apple, and although I always max all the specs out, for running the studio the new MacBook Air is a great option with plenty of speed. And if you’re looking to connect multiple 4K monitors, including Thunderbolt 4, check out the Anker docking station that also is a riser for your laptop. I have dozens of Anker products and I really push them to the limits when I travel and I have yet to have ANY of them fail in any way.

Tools you will need

Look more in depth into the details of what makes a great film studio

And remember, this is just one part of our full guide to building the perfect film studio. We also have in depth blogs and articles on studio cameras, studio lighting, studio backdrops, walls and framing for your future studio, studio rigging, professional studio audio as well as a list of tools that you will need to build your first studio.