Glazing in a studio building answers to two things nothing else does: what the microphone picks up and what the camera sees. Both rule out choices that would be perfectly good in an office, and both are much cheaper to design for than to correct once something is built.
Glass between a studio and a control room
A control room window has to let people see into the studio and let almost no sound through, which are opposing requirements.
What works is two separate panes in two separate frames with a wide air gap, not a sealed double glazed unit — the frames must not touch, or sound passes straight through the structure.
The panes are usually different thicknesses so they do not resonate together, and the reveal between them is lined with absorbent material. It is a specific build and it is what makes the difference between a usable control room and a decorative one.
Reflections, which the camera sees and you do not
A glass partition anywhere near a set will reflect lights, crew and equipment, and the camera finds reflections the eye skips over.
So glass in or beside a shooting area wants to be angled slightly off vertical rather than dead plumb, which throws reflections down out of shot.
That is a small change at the fixing stage and impossible afterwards. Where a partition genuinely has to be plumb, it is worth knowing that anything shot past it will need lighting around the reflection instead.
Doors that have to seal, and be silent
A studio door has to close acoustically, which means seals on all four edges including a drop seal at the floor.
It also has to operate without a sound of its own — no squeak, no latch click, no closer hiss — because those land on the recording.
So the hardware here is specified for quietness as much as for durability, and it needs maintaining on a schedule rather than when it fails. A door that has developed a squeak has stopped being usable long before it has stopped working.
How the job works
- Tell us about the jobSend a few photos, rough sizes and what you need. Use WhatsApp or the form. For a repair, a short video of the door moving helps a lot.
- We call you back in about 2 minutesWe confirm what you need and a time to visit. Where we can, we give you a rough price on the call.
- We come and measureWe measure the opening and check the walls, floor and ceiling around it. Anything made to size is made to these measurements, so they must be right.
- You get a written priceIt lists each item, with GST as its own line. If anything about the job changes, we tell you before we go ahead.
- We fit itYou approve the price and pay the advance. Our own team fits the work, checks that every door and window opens and closes properly, and clears up. Most jobs are done in 3 to 4 days.
