Filmmaking Studio Tour | My Gear and Desk Setup for 2021

Hey guys,

Here is a tour of my Filmmaking Studio.

I know this isn’t 100% related to BMPCC content but since my main kit is the BMPCC 6K I thought I would share this with you.

In this video I show how and why I decided to organise my space like this and hopefully this might help you if you are about or currently building your own studio at home.

Of course this is a work in progress but I wanted to show you how it looked so far since it’s probably going to stay like this for a while.

Also curious to know what would your dream workspace be like ?


Let me know if you have any questions in the comments .

Cheers,
Flo

Looks nice, but it definitely missing proper monitoring- calibrated screen over BM card.
Also Ikea chairs typically fall apart after eg. 3 years. It's not like they break, but they typically have cheap foam inside which looses its shape and rigidity. I think it's good to invest in good chair if you spend a lot of time next to desk.

Looks nice, but it definitely missing proper monitoring- calibrated screen over BM card.
Also Ikea chairs typically fall apart after eg. 3 years. It's not like they break, but they typically have cheap foam inside which looses its shape and rigidity. I think it's good to invest in good chair if you spend a lot of time next to desk.

Thanks !!
I have spent years editing on iMacs/MacBooks and never had any issues with their screen calibration .
With Ikea same thing, had their chairs for years and years and always stayed the same. This one is 9 months old and looks as new .
It's not a basic one though.

You're a hell of a lot more organised than I am I don't have 8x3m either. Jealous.

Give it a few years and you'll see the light and start using roller bags.

Interesting that you prefer a 24" screen. Special effects artist Eric Barba said the same in an Eizo webinar a couple of weeks ago. I posted a link to the video, not because of that comment, but because of the discussion about Green Screen vs Blue Screen. Might interest you: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=136269

Lucky you! My calibrated screen looks quite different from my iMac.

You're a hell of a lot more organised than I am I don't have 8x3m either. Jealous.

Give it a few years and you'll see the light and start using roller bags.

Interesting that you prefer a 24" screen. Special effects artist Eric Barba said the same in an Eizo webinar a couple of weeks ago. I posted a link to the video, not because of that comment, but because of the discussion about Green Screen vs Blue Screen. Might interest you: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=136269

Haha thanks, I try my best !! Been waiting 10 years to have a space like this .
And yeah I love 24", had 27 before but always felt like I was looking everywhere.
Thanks for the video, will check it out .

Lucky you! My calibrated screen looks quite different from my iMac.

Not a luck. It's because you have something calibrated next to Mac. If you have no reference you have no idea how close is your screen to the standard

Lucky you! My calibrated screen looks quite different from my iMac.

Not a luck. It's because you have something calibrated next to Mac. If you have no reference you have no idea how close is your screen to the standard

Haha all I know is that for 10 years I have never had any issues regarding colour, whether it is content made for online, TV, or public screening. All done on iMacs and MacBooks . Anyway, each to their own I guess .

What gamma are you grading to: sRGB, 2.2, 2.4, Rec.709-A?

Here is my editing/grading desk setup. All 3 screens are calibrated.

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The 2 lower screens are connected to the GPU Card and the top screen is connected to Decklink card (use as reference). Even all 3 are calibrated, I can still see a slight variation in color between the top and bottom screen. The top has very slightly better color than those shown on the bottom screens (in Resolve playback).

Haha all I know is that for 10 years I have never had any issues regarding colour, whether it is content made for online, TV, or public screening. All done on iMacs and MacBooks . Anyway, each to their own I guess .

Nothing you've ever delivered looks quite like you think it does with this workflow. Will people notice watching on their terrible ancient TVs/monitors/phones? Maybe not. Is it correct? No.

is called chaos +g*

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Haha all I know is that for 10 years I have never had any issues regarding colour, whether it is content made for online, TV, or public screening. All done on iMacs and MacBooks . Anyway, each to their own I guess .

Nothing you've ever delivered looks quite like you think it does with this workflow. Will people notice watching on their terrible ancient TVs/monitors/phones? Maybe not. Is it correct? No.

And even if there is 0.2 gamma difference (crushed/raised shadows) will they know it should not be there? No.
Not going to mention colors as this will be all over the place (due to inaccuracy in viewing devices) and no one will have any clue.
Problems could come up during some proper QC, but even then if this is not crazy bad no one will mention it as creative decisions are not part of QC evaluation. They will complain if you have eg. raised black level, but if just shadows are raised then this is mostly not mentioned.

If you use Netflix just for fun open same title in Chrome and Safari. Both are color managed, but for unknown reason video will look so different. Chrome version is also so over-compressed compared to Safari. Looks like Chrome uses lower resolution and refuses to switch to better ones. It's crazy.

For some reason, I enjoy watching Florent's films more than I enjoy reading posts from people lecturing him on how to make his films. Maybe I prefer watching his films because he actually has some, indeed quite a few, to show

Here is my editing/grading desk setup...

Ellory, what monitors are you using for sound? Can't tell from the photo.

Ellory, what monitors are you using for sound? Can't tell from the photo.

It’s a JBL 708 8”, about 3 years old now. There’s a new model now.

For some reason, I enjoy watching Florent's films more than I enjoy reading posts from people lecturing him on how to make his films. Maybe I prefer watching his films because he actually has some, indeed quite a few, to show

Haha thanks man !! Funny how people react to certain things just because it might not follow the 'norm' even though I have been a working filmmaker for 10 years and encountered zero issues on that matter .
The thing I am also a photographer and still use the same setup, and again still no problems even for large campaign work.
Cheers

Here is my editing/grading desk setup. All 3 screens are calibrated.

IMG_DSKTP.jpg

The 2 lower screens are connected to the GPU Card and the top screen is connected to Decklink card (use as reference). Even all 3 are calibrated, I can still see a slight variation in color between the top and bottom screen. The top has very slightly better color than those shown on the bottom screens (in Resolve playback).

That's a nice setup !!

For some reason, I enjoy watching Florent's films more than I enjoy reading posts from people lecturing him on how to make his films. Maybe I prefer watching his films because he actually has some, indeed quite a few, to show

Haha thanks man !! Funny how people react to certain things just because it might not follow the 'norm' even though I have been a working filmmaker for 10 years and encountered zero issues on that matter .
The thing I am also a photographer and still use the same setup, and again still no problems even for large campaign work.
Cheers

Not a big deal if it works for you, but you should be aware of it. Shortcuts are made everywhere, even on huge productions.
If you would spent time profiling your screen, using just GUI in clever way ( which I think is possible) then that’s fine. If you say Mac screens are ok as they are that’s a very debatable subject because people know for fact that’s not really the case. They are very good as “home” screens, but not necessarily as a reference point.
You posted movie about your setup, so it’s going be commented with words you like or not. That’s how it works.

For some reason, I enjoy watching Florent's films more than I enjoy reading posts from people lecturing him on how to make his films. Maybe I prefer watching his films because he actually has some, indeed quite a few, to show

No one said a word about Florent’s films. Not sure if anyone watched them. I did watch few and I also liked them. It doesn’t change my comments about setup though.
Content/stories sell not really a technology. It doesn’t change a fact that at some point you may want to be technically correct as well and you should always try to improve your skills/workflow.

Not sure if anyone watched [Florent's films].

Maybe some of Florent's 22,000 subscribers have watched his films. Not to mention the 3,131 people who have already watched this video

Anyone from those who commented here.

If you (he) care about clicks then he should release his setup video just on youtube. There is huge community there who likes "liking" and giving thumbs up (regardless of anything)
I assume he released it here for other reasons. Or maybe it's done just to have YouTube clicks.

As I said- all of this doesn't change my (I assume also others) comments about his setup.

For some reason, I enjoy watching Florent's films more than I enjoy reading posts from people lecturing him on how to make his films. Maybe I prefer watching his films because he actually has some, indeed quite a few, to show

Haha thanks man !! Funny how people react to certain things just because it might not follow the 'norm' even though I have been a working filmmaker for 10 years and encountered zero issues on that matter .
The thing I am also a photographer and still use the same setup, and again still no problems even for large campaign work.
Cheers

Not a big deal if it works for you, but you should be aware of it. Shortcuts are made everywhere, even on huge productions.
If you would spent time profiling yourself screen, using just GUI in clever way ( which I think is possible) then that’s fine. If you say Mac screens are ok as they are that’s a very debatable subject because people know for fact that’s not really the case. They are very good as “home” screens, but not necessarily as a reference point.
You posted movie about your setup, so it’s going be commented with words you like or not. That’s how it works.

I understand your point of view and respect it. And I am all for discussion since I indeed chose to post it here .
I have been posting on this BM forum for 8 years so I do know how it works.
Anyway, happy that this topic started some discussion, great to get knowledge from as many people as possible.

Anyone from those who commented here.

If you (he) care about clicks then he should release his setup video just on youtube. There is huge community there who likes "liking" and giving thumbs up (regardless of anything)
I assume he released it here for other reasons. Or maybe it's done just to have YouTube clicks.

As I said- all of this doesn't change my (I assume also others) comments about his setup.

PS Definitely not posted it here to get extra clicks haha, if I was after this I would have chosen another way .

I thought so.
My suggestion is to get yourself one of the BM cards+ some decent monitor (eg. one of the Eizo or used Flanders/Sony) as full screen reference preview (of course calibrate it).
Other way is to trying to make current setup measured and improved.

btw.. watched Bespoke Letterpress and it looks very nice. Only comment I would have is the end- this grey with text overlays somehow doesn't work for me (maybe you also could put lady more off centre for sofa shots). Some internal shots could be worked further to have better matching to others, but all looks sweat and dreamy which works so well for this video.

I am always proud of my cable management

Deffinitly two most essential things for editing / grading are monitor and chair. Ikea is good for carpet

I am always proud of my cable management

Very "natural" cable management

You have ver fancy chair

Well, after 30 years in various studios, I don’t even notice less than half a mile of cables

Out of all those mentioned years I have seriously damaged spine and back, and this chair really works for me, that is the only reason I have it.

It's Aeron, yes?
I sat most my days at UK companies on it.
Just the price

Yes. The price is painful almost as much as my back

But it was the only chair I tried out of 15 and I did not have a slightest complain. I tried very hard to find a reason not to buy it.

High back task chairs roll your spine, you end up sitting on your back instead of your ass. I prefer a low back that sits more like a road bike than a beach cruiser. High arm rests support the arms in a working posture not just when napping. This beauty is the Crown Virtu Stealth, these are avilable at bar height as well.

Good Luck

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Yes. The price is painful almost as much as my back

But it was the only chair I tried out of 15 and I did not have a slightest complain. I tried very hard to find a reason not to buy it.

This weekend, I plan to drop by a shop that sells the Herman Miller Aeron chairs. There are several models. Is there one that you particularly like?

Aerons are about the same, they just have different finishes.
Herman Miller has other models than Aeron.

You should also consider the Steelcase Leap. In my experience a far better and more ergonomic design than the Aerons, and cheaper to boot. I tried an Aeron for about three months and found it uncomfortable, an unfortunate triumph of form over function. I used to write a newsletter on office ergonomics and had high hopes for it based on reputation, but it definitely doesn't fit my physique and a few of its design features seemed questionable to me. I sold it and bought a Leap, which I've been using for about a decade and am 100% satisfied.

This is Aeron, but they have several different models. All chairs come in 3 sizes. It is essential to actually try the chair for yourself, it is not “one size fits all”.

Almost all manufacturers have some kind of ergonomic chairs, it does not have to be Herman Miller. I live in a country with very limited choice, but if you have a choice, by all means try different things and find one that perfectly fits you.

Chair is as important as a graphics card in Resolve

Thanks, where I am it isn't hard to find any of these. This NY Times/Wirecutter article has write-ups on most of the chairs mentioned above. Not gospel, but a handy primer: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/revi ... ice-chair/

The chair that Howard has was apparently designed with sound engineers in mind, and seems mostly available, apart from Amazon, through music retailers.

I'll have a look this weekend.

For me best bit in Aeron is that mesh. It works soo well. I found that typical chair seat made of leather, fake leather, wool etc. is always problematic in the summer if you have to seat long hours.
Another problem is that many people (including me) hardly ever seat on the chair properly, even if it's an ergonomic one.
Aeron is overpriced for sure and there are alternatives.

“Writing About Music is like Dancing About Architecture” as they say. Point being, you can read a ton about chairs, but you need to actually sit in it to even remotely figure out if some particular chair is right for you.

You are lucky if you can easily try many different ones in quick succession. When you sit in the right one you will definitly know it.