How We Now Plan Multi-Camera Studio Systems From the Control Room Outwards
A look at how studio camera system planning at videlyzo now starts from the gallery and the people in it, and what that changes for producers booking a presenter-led show.
For some time our studio camera work began with the floor: where the set sits, how many cameras fit around it and which lenses give the framing a director asked for. These weeks we have turned that order round. A new project now starts in the gallery, with the people who will cut, monitor and talk back to the crew, and the system is shaped to suit them.
The reason is plain from experience. A camera system that looks right on a plan can still tire a vision mixer or leave a director waiting for a shot to settle. When we begin with how the programme will be called and cut, the camera positions follow from real decisions rather than from habit, and fewer changes are needed during rehearsal.
I write this as the audio engineer on the team, and it is the gallery view that persuaded me. Talkback, monitoring and camera choices all share the same room, and they are easier to get right when they are planned together.
Our first conversation with a producer is now structured around a short set of questions. How many presenters and guests are on screen at once? Does the director cut live or record for editing later? How long is a typical rehearsal, and who operates the cameras on the day? The answers decide more of the system than any equipment list.
From there Tom Eastley, our camera and workflow lead, sketches the camera positions and the signal path to the gallery. Helen Marsh reviews it against the run of the programme, checking that no camera is asked to do two jobs at the wrong moment.
We keep this stage on paper and in conversation. Nothing is ordered or set up until the producer has seen the plan and agreed that it describes the show they intend to make.
Once a plan is agreed, setup follows a fixed order. Cameras are placed and levelled, cabling is run and labelled, and every camera is matched for colour and exposure against the same reference under the studio lighting. Matching early saves a good deal of time, because differences between cameras are far easier to correct before presenters arrive than during a take.
Tuning is the part clients notice least and rely on most. Skin tones should read the same from the wide shot to the close-up, and the picture should hold steady when a presenter moves from a bright desk to a darker sofa. Daniel Whitcombe works with Tom here, since the lighting and the cameras settle each other.
We also set up tally, intercom and monitoring at this point, so that the crew learns the full system once rather than in pieces.
A system is only dependable if the people using it are comfortable with it. Tom spends time with the camera operators and the vision mixer before the first full rehearsal, walking through each position, the shot list and what to do when something unexpected happens, such as a guest standing in the wrong place or a camera losing its feed.
We keep these sessions short and practical. Operators handle the cameras themselves, with Tom beside them rather than in front of them. Most crews are confident within a rehearsal or two, and the notes from those sessions stay with the producer for future recordings.
This matters most for presenter-led shows that return week after week, where a calm and familiar crew is worth more than any single piece of equipment.
Not everything has changed. We still advise on the system as a whole rather than on cameras alone, and we still tell a producer when a smaller setup would serve the programme better than a larger one. A two-camera arrangement that is well placed and well tuned will beat four cameras that nobody has time to rehearse.
Our price for studio camera systems is still set by the scope of the work, and it is written out in a quotation before anything begins. The pricing page explains what is included and what can change it.
What has changed is the order of our thinking, and the effect is calmer rehearsals and fewer late adjustments.
This way of working suits producers launching a new presenter-led programme, studios replacing or extending an ageing camera setup, and event organisers who need a temporary multi-camera system that behaves predictably. It asks for a little more of your time at the start, in return for a smoother run later.
If you are unsure whether your show needs two cameras or five, bring the format and the room as they stand. We would rather talk through a rough idea than see you commit to equipment on a guess.
The contact page has a form for a first enquiry, and the reply comes from the same team that would plan the work.
Starting from the gallery has made our camera planning more practical: positions are chosen for how a show is directed, systems are matched and tuned before presenters arrive, and crews learn them in one sitting. If you are planning a presenter-led programme this autumn, send us the format and the room, and we will talk it through with you.
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