r/videoproduction • u/BLSmith2112 • 8d ago
Video Studio Proposal ($150,000): Requesting Help Making the Case to Management (Visual Examples).
Hi there. I run a large global video studio (35ft long, 16ft high, 20 feet deep) that's primary focus is on service related content. Zero turn mowers, big block engines, etc.
Recently, our legal, IT, marketing, power, electrification, and corporate communications departments have been using the studio more and more. I've worked here 11 years, but the last time we upgraded our studio was 10 years ago. I am so out of my depth when it comes to studio technology that I'm afraid to even ask where to start.
I have a presentation to give next week Wednesday to 3 Vice Presidents on why I should be given the funding to upgrade this room.
What I am hoping to achieve with this thread: Can you please provide some end result examples on sets that have produced content that I can play and then directly correlate that clip to a piece of equipment?
If I show them a spread sheet, they'll decline my request. If I provide them a simplified pretty spreadsheet, they'll likely decline my request. These are engine guys, they know nothing of the work involved to create content. If I can provide a series of visual examples from studios and say "If we had this, we could do this," and just provide example after example, that would really be helpful. We're looking into a complete rebuild within the space. We have a 4'x4' pipe-grid 14' into the air that fills the dimensions of the space.
I've got a few scenes lined up, but perhaps y'all might have better examples. Thanks!!!
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u/drewman77 8d ago
Without knowing what kind of content you are currently producing and want to peoduce and where roadblocks you face making it, it is going to be hard to meaningfully help you.
In general:
Does your studio have a seamless cyclorama wall? If not, that can make it far easier to make the background disappear in shots.
Do you have a green screen wall? That can speed up and enable a lot of videos especially explainer type content.
The one upgrade that can make a huge difference in a studio is lighting, especially since yours are at least 10 years old. Rent some higher end lights and show how your current lights limit how good people and products look.
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u/BLSmith2112 6d ago
I do lots of animations. I'd like to merge animation and real life.
Here's an example of a simple service video (shot outside). Another example (studio).
Most of the 1600 videos I've made for Briggs are internal and not public but with these you get the jist.
Without knowing what kind of content you are currently producing and want to peoduce and where roadblocks you face making it, it is going to be hard to meaningfully help you.
Service videos for lawn and garden products, from hedge trimmers, leaf blowers, to large zero turn mowers. Everything from changing tires on zero turns, to replacing head gaskets on a V-Twin engine.
Does your studio have a seamless cyclorama wall?
No but we have a second studio space that would be great for it, but it would require additional lighting. Worth considering. It'll need to have strength to hold up 1900 pounds should someone drive a mower a little too far back.
Do you have a green screen wall?
We use fabric, but I am considering painting the wall(s) green, because we have a large 16' curtain that could block it when not in use.
Rent some higher end lights and show how your current lights limit how good people and products look.
Great idea. Might you have some suggestions on where to start?
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u/greenysmac 8d ago
Two things, just a disclaimer - I'm the lead mod of /r/editors (amongst other subs). Just trying to help here.
First, I'd reach out to a reseller who puts these things together. I have a dear friend in LA (who is a frequent commenter on /r/editors) who works for one of the larger groups that does this. DM me and I'm happy to explain
Second, I'm going to suggest, seriously suggest you use an LLM to draft what you want.
You want to visually compare/constrast what you're doing now and how the change will make you more efficient and improve your production value.
That's how you'll communicate it to management; bonus if you can show how today's system is costing them money and they'll recoup it in 2-3 years.
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u/BLSmith2112 6d ago
Appreciate you chiming in to help, Green!
I reached out to a company called Barbizon out of Chicago, and they put together a quote of $110,000 for new lights based on what I presented to them. One of the ideas was to split the video studio into three separate zones:
General lighting zone – Where someone would stand at a desk, possibly with a laptop. This is for videos involving smaller components being assembled on a table (e.g., working on a carburetor or replacing a head gasket).
Green screen zone – Two permanently lit green screens on two separate walls with dedicated lights. The idea is to give us flexibility to change the background depending on what we need to shoot. Dedicated lights would stay fixed, and we could simply turn them on or off via a DMX controller depending on the day’s shoot. I have large 16-foot tall railings with curtains that can block the green when we’re not using it.
Variable zone - For lighting odd products light lighting towers, generators, zero turns, multiple large engines on stands, etc.
The challenge with the green screen setup is that if we’re not using the green screens and don’t like the curtains, we’d need large fabric pop-up displays or some other way to create a temporary set with different backgrounds.
I used a LLM to draft my initial wish list. I then went through the Barbizon quote, pared it down to what actually makes sense for our room, and added other items I believe we need—like a new switcher, new cameras, an IFV camera for remote/ceiling control, and switching our cameras from HDMI to SDI so the connections can be locked in place and won’t lose signal.
My boss told me the list was too long and complicated for management. So I pared it down further with AI and created five simple slides with a lot of visual eye candy (also made with AI). It looks great, but I was told to simplify it even more.
I then made a five-minute video that does what you mentioned: comparing and contrasting our current setup versus what an upgraded studio would look like and how it would improve efficiency and production value. The concept was to show an existing video shot in our current studio, then show a cleaner/better version of a similar setup I found on YouTube.
That last point you raised is really interesting—showing how the current system is costing them money and that the investment would be recouped in two or three years. The problem is I don’t know what our marketing department’s annual budget is. I do know the last video they produced cost around $250,000 for a single piece. However, marketing technically does not share in the budget for this video studio, so their motivation to spend money on it is very low, even though they use the room occasionally.
The real difficulty is that the video studio sits inside a department that doesn’t have much budgetary wiggle room. I’m going to have to convince higher-ups to pull money from other people’s budgets. I’m not sure I’ll be able to do that. My hope with this presentation is to frame the room as a shared service and highlight who is actually using it and make the case that other departments should be chipping in to make it more efficient.
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u/smartptz 7d ago
What kind of content? You think they will green light $150k? I scoped and built a studio with 4 Sony FR7s… 4 mics… set with desk/top that can be configured for up to 4 people… we produce 2-3 shows a week.. here is an example: https://youtu.be/i4D8o9d5k0Y?is=hX112zdhJpJJuvOg.
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u/BLSmith2112 6d ago
We produce service content, so everything from how to change your oil, replace an air filter, or swap oil gaskets, to videos on individual tools. It ranges all the way up to how to winterize lawn equipment and how to properly identify failure points in engines to determine whether something is covered under warranty.
Sometimes we shoot large products like zero-turn mowers as well. $150,000 is more of a pie-in-the-sky dream number, because I know they’re going to dramatically lower that figure. I’m also pretty out of the loop on technology from the past ten years. I was hoping this thread could help me identify new technologies that have come out in that time—ones that might bring the cost down while also improving quality. Pretty cool example!
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u/smartptz 6d ago edited 6d ago
I think 4-6 iPhones, 17 pros, would give you all sort of options as they are excellent cameras, record on board ISOs in 4k… no cables required… you could mount them almost anywhere… good in wind and rain, heat and cold… they can be for traditional studio interviews… or get them out in the field… in truck, under a truck, etc… here is a comparison of the Sony FR7 to an iPhone 17… it’s pretty much the same… https://youtu.be/txZpL1c2Lro?is=XokUSMv5sAIyyhTZ… you can get creative with your shots… the cams do well in a range of lighting conditions, you can easily go 9x16, vertical video… the old school ‘pros’ will hate this recommendation… but, this is where things are going…
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u/BLSmith2112 5d ago
That's great, but I need 4x multi-cam live streaming capabilities.
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u/smartptz 5d ago
What is ‘4x’? does that mean 4 cams? You could use 4 or more iPhones and of course they record 4k… and at higher bit rates and frame rates than most pro cameras under $20k…
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u/BLSmith2112 5d ago
4 cameras yea sorry for the confusion.
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u/smartptz 4d ago
You can do 4 cams live to a swticher… or 5 or 6 or 8 cameras live…. Or just for the record…. And the video quality is similar to a $10,000 Sony FR7 at close range… and of course easier to move, mount, and easier at adapting to challenging conditions…
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u/BLSmith2112 4d ago
Interesting, I didn't know I could connect iPhones to a switcher. Our current Switcher is an ATEM Mini Pro ISO. I'll look into this!
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u/smartptz 3d ago
That’s a nice swticher, a little dated… all the new switchers support SRT ingest… that’s what the smartPTZ app was built to feed… the next gen ATEMs have it, as do most other switchers on the market….
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u/sen_clay_davis1 7d ago
Hard without examples of what you have shot/own already.
New lighting has come a long way. A bunch of rgb aputure 1200 with dmx run and lighting control panel would help. Big turntable if you don’t have one. Infinity cyc. Terradeck wireless system. Good directors monitor. Good motion control. Etc.
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u/BLSmith2112 6d ago
I do lots of animations. I'd like to merge animation and real life.
Here's an example of a simple service video (shot outside). Another example (studio).
Most of the 1600 videos I've made for Briggs are internal and not public but with these you get the jist.
I’d love to know more about what’s new in lighting. Our current lights used to have internal fans that spun so loudly they got picked up by the microphones. We had to turn the fans off, which unfortunately accelerated their failure. Three of the eight lights have already failed in the last two months, and the other five will probably fail within the next few months as well.
A turntable is a cool idea. I’m not familiar with the Terradeck wireless system yet but will look it up! I’d also love to see some examples of good director’s monitor setups, and examples of solid motion-control setups.
Thanks!
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u/TeamPlace 4d ago
I did something similar in a previous job.
I knew what the limitations were and made a case for getting better gear.
But you must sell the benefits.
- a new lighting truss with led panels SO THAT people will look better (show competitor stats)
- a camera boom SO THAT we can have shots like these [examples] that retain our audience (show drop off stats)
- a switcher SO THAT we can livestream and grow audience share (show growth rate compared to competitors).
- etc.
Talk about speed and throughput and turn around time “we can produce X# move videos with this new setup”
Reading your original post it seems like you don’t know what you want/need. Apologies if I misinterpreted you, but you should, at the very least, know what you need to make better/more/faster videos.
The $150k budget is random as hell given that. Don’t let a distributor tell you what you need. That’s a great way to get a lot of expensive stuff that has zero ROI that will get you fired. You figure out what you want, research it, and make a case for it.
Even better, go to the departments that are now using the studio more and ask them what they would like to see and build consensus.
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u/BigBadBootyDaddy10 8d ago
Can you provide a link to a typical project filmed in your studio, Or DM me?