ScopeMedia StudiosBook

Hire · SE5 9HW, South London · from £80 · open 7 days

Build the interior. Own the light.

A short lives in its interiors, and the interiors you cannot find on location you build here: a flat, a cell, a kitchen at three in the morning — in a room that blacks out so the night scene is lit from black rather than negotiated with the sun. Dialogue goes to the sound-treated room, ADR to the vocal booth, and nothing is written off because a plane went over.

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A full lighting crew working in Studio A with five softboxes, an overhead silk and a DIT table

The rooms for it

Studio A during a live shoot, seen wide across the white infinity cove with softboxes either side
Studio A1,200 sq ft of floor to build a set on, with a white drive-in infinity cove behind it and full blackout curtains. Flats, furniture and vehicles come in at ground level through the roller door from the yard.From £160Check Studio A availability
Studio B dressed with a pink sofa on the white cyclorama under a fresnel light
Studio BBuilt as a room within a room and sound treated, so the two-hander comes back as recorded. Blackout capable, with a colour-washable cove for the stylised scene and an edit and playback area to check continuity between set-ups.From £120Check Studio B availability
The music studio lit by violet LED strips, with the desk, monitors and vocal booth.
Music StudioA treated vocal booth with a large-diaphragm condenser for ADR, wild lines, narration or a score cue — dry from £80 for a half day, or with an engineer at £140 a half day.From £80Check Music Studio availability

How it works

  1. 01Send the script and the schedulePage count, how many interiors, how much dialogue: that tells us whether the short is a Studio A build, a Studio B dialogue day or both, and whether a buyout is cheaper than two rooms.
  2. 02Build and shootStudio A and Studio B sell in 2 hour, half day and full day blocks — from £160 and £120 — and set-up, the build and the strike all sit inside the booked time, so plan the build day as a booked day.
  3. 03Record what the room could notADR, wild tracks and narration go into the music studio's vocal booth, dry or with an engineer, the same day or after the edit.
  4. 04Ask for the numbersCeiling heights, cove dimensions and power are on request rather than guessed: tell us the tallest flat and the biggest lamp and you will get the exact figures before you book.

Straight answers

What does short film studio hire london cost at Scope?
Studio A starts at £160. Studio B starts at £120. Music Studio starts at £80. Set-up and pack-down are inside your booked time.
Can a student or no-budget short film shoot at Scope?
Yes, and the cheapest route is Studio B: £120 for two hours, £220 for a half day and £420 for a full day, sound treated and blackout capable. Studio A is from £160 for two hours when the scene needs the 1,200 sq ft or the drive-in cove. Lights are charged separately in both — please enquire about our lights.
Can we build a set and leave it up overnight?
Set-up, the build and the strike all happen inside your booked time, so a set that stays up needs the room booked for the days it stands. For a multi-day build, ask about consecutive full days or a whole-building buyout from £1,500 a day.
Where do we record dialogue for a short film?
Studio B. It is built as a room within a room, so sync sound comes back clean. Studio A is not sound treated — it is the room for scale and the cove — and we would plan a dialogue scene there as a Studio B scene, or record the lines wild in the music studio's vocal booth.
Can we do ADR and a score here after the shoot?
Yes. The music studio has a treated vocal booth with a large-diaphragm condenser and nearfield monitors; book it dry from £80 for a half day or with an engineer from £140 a half day.
Do we need insurance to shoot a short film?
Yes. Every production needs appropriate insurance cover; Scope is not liable for personal injury or for loss or damage to your property. Cancellations need 48 hours' notice.

More in the full FAQ.

Worth reading first

Shooting a Short Film or Commercial in a StudioShooting a short film or commercial in a studio: what blackout, a sound-treated room and set-build floor fix that location cannot, and how to schedule the day.Building a Set for a Photo or Film ShootHow to build a set for a photo or film shoot in a hire studio: build only what the lens sees, brace every flat, and plan the strike before the build.Studio Lighting Basics: The Room Is Part of the RigStudio lighting basics start with the room: a white cove lifts shadows, a blacked-out room is free negative fill. Then hard and soft light, falloff and colour.Camera Settings for Studio Photography and VideoCamera settings for studio photography and video: sync speed, base ISO, aperture for the look, a flicker-safe shutter on UK mains, and white balance set early.Recording Voiceover: The Booth or the Room?Scope has two rooms that record clean spoken word: a treated vocal booth and a sound-treated studio. Which one your voiceover session wants, and why.Booking a Studio: Deposits and CancellationsThe 48-hour cancellation window, how deposits are confirmed, what overtime means for your budget, whether you need insurance, and what to ask before you book.Set Building in a Hire Studio: Flats, Props and the StrikeSet building in a hire studio: the footprint against the cove, flats, pre-building off site, the build and strike inside the booked time, protecting the cove.Sound for Video in a Studio: Sync, Wild Tracks and ADRSound for video in a studio: sync sound in a treated room, planning dialogue around an untreated one, wild tracks, room tone, ADR and voiceover in the booth.Film Insurance, Releases and Paperwork for a Studio Shoot (UK)UK production paperwork for a studio shoot: public liability and kit insurance, release forms, the studio agreement, minors, cancellation and risk assessment.Delivering a Short Film to Festivals: A Technical ChecklistWhat a festival's programmers and projectionists need once your short film is selected: masters, frame rate, audio, subtitles, textless, slate and DCP.

In the building with every booking

  • Kitchen
  • Dressing and prep room
  • Client lounge
  • High-speed Wi-Fi
  • Parking

In every room but one, lights are charged separately from the room rate, so please enquire about our lights and we will quote for what your shoot needs. The exception is the DJ room, where the professional film lighting is rigged in the room and included in the rate.

Anything not listed — ceiling heights, cove dimensions, power, capacities — is on request rather than guessed at. Ask us and you will get an exact answer.

Other things this building does