50 questions
Questions,
answered straight.
Including the ones we can’t answer yet. Where a measurement hasn’t been documented we say so and tell you how to get it, rather than printing a number we’d have to guess.
Booking
How do I book a studio?
Bookings go through our online booking system, Acuity. Pick the space, pick the date and time, and confirm. If you would rather talk it through first, email ScopeMediaStudios@gmail.com.
What does it cost to hire each space?
Studio A is £160 for 2 hours, £320 for a half day and £620 for a full day. Studio B is £120, £220 and £420 for the same blocks. The DJ room is £75 an hour with a four-hour minimum — £300 for four hours and £575 for eight. The podcast room is £40 an hour. The music studio is £80 for a half day or £150 for a full day dry, or £140 and £280 with an engineer. The workshop room is £120 for a half day and £240 for a full day. The whole building starts from £1,500 a day.
How long is a half day and a full day?
A half day is 4 hours. A full day is 8 hours. Both include your set-up and pack-down, so book the time you actually need in the room rather than just the time you expect to be rolling.
Can I book the whole building?
Yes. A whole-building buyout starts from £1,500 a day and gives you the building to yourself — Studio A, Studio B, the podcast room, the music studio, the workshop, the kitchen, the dressing room and the parking. Nobody else is in the building. The DJ room is the one exception: it is not part of a buyout and is booked separately, so tell us if you want it on the same day and we will hold it alongside.
Is there a deposit?
A booking is confirmed once full payment is made, or once a deposit is paid where a deposit applies. Whether a deposit applies to your booking, and how much it is, is confirmed to you at the time of booking — email us and we will tell you before you commit.
What is your cancellation policy?
You can cancel or reschedule with at least 48 hours' notice. Cancellations made less than 48 hours before the booking incur a cancellation fee, and the amount is confirmed at the time of booking. No-shows and same-day cancellations are non-refundable.
Can I move my booking to another date?
Yes, with at least 48 hours' notice. Get in touch as early as you can and we will find you another slot.
What happens if my shoot overruns?
Time used beyond your booked session is charged as extra, at a rate confirmed at the time of booking — ask for it when you book. If you think you might run over, book the longer block up front and tell us; holding time in advance is easier than finding it on the day.
Can I book two rooms on the same day?
Yes. Every room is in the same building, so a shoot that needs Studio A in the morning and the podcast room in the afternoon does not have to move location. Book both blocks in Acuity, or email us with the day and we will hold them together.
Can I shoot at the weekend?
Yes. We are open 7 days a week, and the published rate card carries no separate weekend price — the blocks on it are the blocks for any day. Availability is whatever Acuity shows on the date you want.
Is the DJ room part of a whole-building booking?
No. A buyout from £1,500 a day covers Studio A, Studio B, the podcast room, the music studio, the workshop, the kitchen, the dressing room and the parking. The DJ room is booked separately, even on a buyout day — tell us if you want it and we will hold it alongside.
What is the cheapest way to hire a studio at Scope?
The podcast room at £40 an hour, or the music studio dry at £80 for a half day. For a cove, Studio B is £120 for two hours and Studio A £160. Lights are charged separately in every room except the DJ room, so please enquire about our lights if your shoot needs them.
Can a production run two setups at once?
Yes. Book Studio A and Studio B for the same day, or take the whole building from £1,500 a day, and one set can be lit while the other is shooting. The DJ room is not part of a buyout and is booked separately.
The spaces
What is Studio A?
The big room — 1,200 sq ft with a white drive-in infinity cove, full blackout curtains and drive-in vehicle access. It is the room for cars, set builds, large products and full crews.
Can I drive a car into the studio?
Yes. Studio A has drive-in access straight onto the white infinity cove. Tell us the vehicle when you enquire and we will confirm the access route works for it.
What is Studio B?
A sound-treated room built as a room within a room, with a colour-washable cyclorama, an adjustable backdrop system and a dedicated edit and playback area. The acoustic isolation means interviews, dialogue and voiceover come back clean, and it blacks out as well, so the light is yours to set.
Can the cyclorama be painted or lit a different colour?
Studio B's cyclorama is colour-washable, so it takes a colour wash or gel and can give you several distinct looks in one day. Studio A's infinity cove is white.
Which rooms are sound-treated?
Studio B is built as a room within a room and sound treated, so dialogue, interviews and voiceover come back clean. The podcast room is acoustically treated, and the music studio is panelled and foam treated with a treated vocal booth. Studio A is not a sound-treated room — it is the room for scale, blackout and the drive-in cove.
How high are the ceilings, and how big is the cove?
We have not published measurements, and we would rather give you the real ones than an estimate. Email ScopeMediaStudios@gmail.com telling us which room you are considering and we will send the exact ceiling height and cove dimensions.
What power is available in the studios?
Power availability and amperage differ by room. We have not published figures, so email us with what you plan to run — HMIs, a generator-free set-up, heavy grip — and we will confirm exactly what the room can supply.
Do you have a DJ room?
Yes. The DJ room is built around a hand-built concrete booth with two AlphaTheta CDJ-3000X players either side of a Pioneer DJ DJM-A9, monitored on a pair of Yamaha HS8s. Professional film lighting is rigged in the room and included in the rate. It is £75 an hour with a four-hour minimum: £300 for four hours, £575 for eight, and £75 for each extra hour on top of a block.
Can I film or livestream a DJ set at Scope?
That is what the DJ room is for. The lighting is already rigged and included, the booth is built to be shot from the front, and there is a one-of-one canvas behind the decks so the frame has a backdrop without a dressing budget. Cameras are not included — bring your own, or tell us what you plan to shoot on and we will tell you what the room can do.
Are there turntables in the DJ room?
Yes, two Reloop RP-7000 turntables, and a microphone. Both are optional rather than standing on the booth by default, so tell us when you book and they will be set up before you arrive. There is no extra charge for either.
Can I book the DJ room to practise?
Yes. It is the same room and the same rate whether you are recording, filming or just getting hours in on the kit — £75 an hour with a four-hour minimum. There is no cheaper practice tier.
Do you have a podcast studio?
Yes. The podcast room is acoustically treated and set up with professional microphones and audio interfaces. It is booked by the hour at £40.
Can I record music at Scope?
Yes. The music studio can be booked dry from £80 for a half day, or with an engineer on the desk from £140 a half day.
Which room should I book for product photography?
Studio A for seamless white and anything large — its drive-in infinity cove takes a car, so a product table is no trouble, and full blackout keeps the light identical across a long run of SKUs. Studio B when the set wants colour: its cyclorama takes a wash and the backdrop system is adjustable.
Can I shoot headshots or a team photo day?
Yes. Studio B suits it best: sound-treated, with a colour-washable cyclorama that can be set once and held all day, make-up and styling zones, and a dressing room and client lounge to keep the queue off the set.
Do you have a green screen?
Studio A is used for green screen work. We have not published an in-house kit list, so tell us whether you need the screen supplied when you enquire and we will confirm what is available and what to bring.
Can we shoot a commercial or a brand film at Scope?
Yes. Studio A is a 1,200 sq ft drive-in cove studio with full blackout, and Studio B is a sound-treated room within a room with a colour-washable cyclorama and an edit and playback area. Between them they cover the product, presenter, pack-shot and performance set-ups most adverts and brand films are made from. Scope is a small stage, not a sound stage with a lighting grid; if the build needs one, we will say so before you book.
Which room should we film an interview in?
Studio B for anything where the sound matters: it is built as a room within a room, it blacks out and its cove washes to colour. The podcast room is the quicker answer for a seated conversation on camera, at a flat £40 an hour. Studio A is for the interview that needs 1,200 sq ft of floor, and it is not sound treated.
Is there a production office or an edit suite on site?
Yes. The workshop room seats up to twenty with ten iMac workstations — £120 for a half day, £240 for a full day — and runs as a production office, a casting room or an edit suite. Studio B also has a dedicated edit and playback area for reviewing on set. We have not published the iMacs' specification or software, so tell us what you cut on and we will confirm what is installed.
Can we build a set in the studio?
Yes, in Studio A: 1,200 sq ft of floor with a white drive-in infinity cove along its length, and a roller door at ground level from the yard for the flats and the furniture. The build and the strike happen inside your booked time, so a built set is usually a full-day booking. Ceiling height and cove dimensions are on request rather than guessed.
Can I record voiceover?
Two ways. Studio B is built as a room within a room, so spoken word recorded in the open room comes back clean. The music studio has a treated vocal booth with a large-diaphragm condenser, bookable dry or with an engineer.
Can I livestream from the studio?
There is high-speed Wi-Fi throughout the building. We have not published measured connection speeds, so email us with your platform and bitrate and we will confirm in writing whether the connection supports it before you book.
Do you have space for a workshop or a class?
The workshop takes up to 20 people and has 10 iMac workstations. It is £120 for a half day and £240 for a full day, and works as a classroom, an edit suite, a production office or a casting room.
On the day
Is equipment included, or do I bring my own?
The podcast room includes professional microphones and audio interfaces, and the workshop room includes the 10 iMacs. The DJ room includes its decks, mixer, monitors and film lighting, with turntables and a microphone set up on request at no extra cost. Everywhere else, lights are not included in the room rate and are charged separately — please enquire about our lights. Beyond that we have not published a full in-house kit list — tell us what you need and we will tell you what is available on site and what you should bring.
Are lights included in the room rate?
In every room but one, no — lights are charged separately from the room, so please enquire about our lights and we will quote for what your shoot needs. The DJ room is the exception: its professional film lighting is rigged in the room and included in the rate: £75 an hour, with a four-hour minimum.
Is there somewhere for talent to change and get ready?
Yes. There is a dressing and prep room, plus a client lounge and a kitchen.
Where does the client or agency team sit during a shoot?
Off the set. There is a client lounge, Studio B has a dedicated edit and playback area for reviewing takes, and the workshop room — up to 20 seats and 10 iMacs — can be booked as a client review room or production office from £120 for a half day, or comes with a whole-building buyout.
Can I bring my own crew, stylists and contractors?
Yes. Everyone you bring is covered by your booking, which also means you are responsible for them — for any damage to equipment or facilities, and for their conduct in the building.
Can I bring someone under 18 to the shoot?
Yes, provided they are accompanied by a responsible adult at all times while they are in the building.
Who owns the footage and photographs I shoot?
You do. Clients retain all rights to the content they produce here. We may ask permission to use behind-the-scenes material, but we will never use it without your prior written consent.
Practical
Where are you?
Block A, Chartwell Business Park, 61-65 Paulet Rd, London SE5 9HW — in Camberwell, South London, on the Southwark and Lambeth border. There is parking on site, in the yard in front of the unit.
Is there parking?
Yes, there is parking on site. We have not published the number of spaces, so if you are bringing several vehicles or a large van, email us with the details and we will confirm what we can hold on your date.
Is load-in at ground level?
Studio A is drive-in: a vehicle comes off the yard and straight onto the cove, so there is nothing to carry. Parking is on site in the yard in front of the unit, a few steps from the door. We have not published a measured load-in route for the other rooms, so if you are bringing a large flight case, a set build or anything on wheels, email us with the details and we will confirm the route before the day.
When are you open?
We are open 7 days a week. Exact opening hours are not fixed — bookings are taken through Acuity, so the availability shown there is the real answer. If you need an early start or a late finish, ask and we will see what is possible.
Do I need my own insurance?
Yes. Clients must have appropriate insurance cover for their production. Scope is not liable for personal injury, or for loss or damage to client property.
Do you run any free courses?
Yes. In partnership with Tutor Hub Limited we run free music production and DJing courses.
How do I get an answer to something not covered here?
Email ScopeMediaStudios@gmail.com. If your question is about a measurement, a power supply or a piece of kit, tell us which room and what you are planning and you will get an exact answer rather than a rough one.
Still not answered?
Email us. A real person reads it and you’ll get a real answer.