Portable studio or office studio: what a business actually needs

When a business goes looking for a portable video studio, it's rarely short of a camera. In the conversations we have with firms about this, the gear often isn't the problem. What stops them is the set-up they have to redo every time, or the cost of paying someone else to do it.

The two businesses that ask

The team that already films. They make video regularly: product videos, how-tos, client updates. Right now they pay a videographer to come in, or book a studio by the month, and every recording waits for that day.

The firm whose principal is the face. An accountant, adviser or owner who explains the same things on client calls every week, and knows video would help, but hasn't found a way to make it routine. The camera feels like an event rather than part of the day.

Both need the same thing: recording that doesn't have to be organised.

Three things "portable" can mean

A kit in cases. A camera, lights and a microphone that get packed up and carried to wherever you film. It's flexible, but every recording starts with unpacking, setting up and testing, and the settings change each time.

A studio you go to. A room you hire, already lit. It looks good, but the idea waits for a booking, and the person on camera has to leave the office to make it.

A studio that stays in your office. Everything on one workstation that rolls between rooms but never gets packed away. It's set up once for your space and stays ready.

Which one fits

Start with one question: how often do you need to record, and what do you do now?

• A couple of times a year, with a crew: a kit in cases or a hired room is fine. The set-up time is spread across a big shoot.
• Every week or two: set-up time is the reason it stops. You need something that's already done.
• Several people recording: the settings have to survive someone else using it, which rules out anything that gets packed up and put back together.
• A shared boardroom: it has to roll in, record and roll out again without stands and cables everywhere.
• Already paying a videographer or a studio each time: compare that cost over a year with a set-up you pay for once.

What we install

A Turnkey Studio is the third kind. A 4K camera, two LED panels, a broadcast-quality microphone and a teleprompter sit on one height-adjustable workstation on lockable wheels, running off one power lead. You roll it into the room, lock the wheels and record in four steps. One cable into a laptop also makes it the camera for Teams and Zoom.

It's $5,500 ex GST ($6,050 inc GST), paid once, including the install, tuning for your room and training. The gear is yours, and the teleprompter software comes with it. The only ongoing cost is your own licence for the software you record and edit in.

When none of them is the answer

A brand film, client testimonials or an event still need a crew, other people and other places. No studio replaces that. We cover the difference in when to film it yourself, and when to hire a crew.