studio hire
How Many Hours Should You Book a Studio For?
Two hours, a half day or a full day? How to size a studio booking from your shot list, with set-up, de-rig and the real running time counted in.
The question most people ask before they book is not which room, it is how long. Book too short and the last setup gets rushed or dropped; book too long and you pay for a room that sits empty while everyone waits for a courier. The answer comes from your shot list, not from the rate card, and it is almost always longer than the time the camera is actually rolling.
The booking is not the shooting time
A booking covers everything that happens in the room: getting kit in, building and lighting the first setup, shooting, changing setups, packing down and leaving the room as you found it. Set-up and de-rig cost the same however long you shoot in between, so on a short booking they are a large share of the time. A rough rule worth testing against your own experience: add the time to light the first setup and the time to strike the last one to your shooting time, then add a change-over for every setup after the first.
- Load in and set up: unloading, building, lighting and testing the first look.
- Shooting: the time the plan actually needs in front of the camera.
- Change-overs: re-lighting, re-dressing or moving the camera between setups.
- Hair, make-up and wardrobe changes, if they happen in the room's time.
- Review: a look at the takes before the set comes down.
- Strike and load out: packing down and leaving the room clear.
Two hours: one setup, one idea
Two hours suits one setup with a small team that arrives ready: a headshot session, a short talking-head piece, a product or two on a single background, a test. At Scope, Studio A and Studio B both sell two-hour bookings, at £160 and £120. The podcast room starts at two hours for £80, with each extra hour £30, and most shows record more than one episode in a sitting.
A half day: the most common answer
Four hours gives room for two or three setups, a wardrobe change or a proper interview with B-roll. It is where most content days, small campaigns and music sessions land. A half day is £320 in Studio A and £220 in Studio B. The DJ room and the Music Studio are sold in four- and eight-hour blocks only: a half day in the DJ room is £300, and the Music Studio is £80 dry hire or £140 with an engineer.
A full day: when the overhead is worth spreading
Eight hours makes sense when there is a set to build, a cove to light carefully, several talent call times, or a shot list long enough that two half days would mean building everything twice. The set-up and strike are the same size on a full day as on a half day, so a far smaller share of the booking goes to them. A full day is £620 in Studio A and £420 in Studio B. The current rates for every room are on the rate card.
Count the setups, not the minutes. Every change of light, background or angle costs time the shot list does not show.
A quick way to size it
- One setup, ready team, no wardrobe: two hours.
- Two or three setups, or one with hair and make-up: a half day.
- Four or more setups, a set build, or several people on staggered calls: a full day.
- Not sure between two sizes: take the larger one. Running out of time costs the shots you came for.
If you are still between sizes, our guides to what studio hire costs in London and planning a shoot day from call sheet to wrap go further, and the booking terms explain when a date is held.