The floor you can use
The cove is 5.3m wide and 7.1m deep. The sweep takes 70cm at the back and along one side, so the flat white floor in front of the curve is roughly 4.6m by 6.4m. Subjects usually sit two to three metres forward of the back wall to keep the background light off them, which leaves the camera around four metres of run before it hits the door. Ceiling to the grid is 4.5m.
Things that have stood on it
- A Land Rover Defender, driven in through the 2.4m doors and lit clean on white, with room to walk around it. Comfortably.
- An eight-person Anglo-Saxon battle scene, shot on the black-box setup with haze, which is about the limit for full-length action with everyone in frame.
- A panel of six on chairs for a filmed discussion, three cameras, without the ends of the row touching the sweep.
- A DeLorean with its gullwing doors open, front-on, in coloured light. See the case study.
- A recreated cottage interior for a Channel 4 drama, built on the floor over five days. See that case study.
Working it out for your shot
Three numbers decide it: the width of the group or object, the focal length, and whether you need clean white to the edge of frame.
| Shot | Subject width | Fits clean on white? |
|---|---|---|
| Headshots, product, one person full-length | up to 2m | Yes, any lens |
| Two or three people full-length | 2 to 3m | Yes, 35mm and longer on full frame |
| Group of five or six full-length | 3.5 to 4.5m | Yes, 24 to 35mm; keep them forward of the sweep |
| Car, side on | 4.5 to 5m long | Yes for most cars; long saloons and 4x4s sit at an angle |
| Eight people in action | 4.5m plus | On black, yes; on white the edges reach the sweep |
| Van, long-wheelbase | 5.5m plus | Through the door, yes; clean white to the edges, no |
If your subject is wider than about 4.5m and you need white to the edge of frame, talk to us before booking. Sometimes a longer lens and a tighter crop solves it; sometimes it is a black-box job.
Height
4.5m to the grid means a standing person on an apple box, a jib move or a car with its doors up are all fine. Anything hung from the grid (a swing, a drape, a light for a top-down shot) is rigged by us.
Getting it in
Ground-level access through 2.4m-wide, 4.5m-high barn doors, fifteen parking spaces and floor protection for anything on wheels. The full detail, including which cars fit, is in will my car fit?
Related guides
- The White Space: hire the cove
- What is an infinity cove? One measured
- Lighting a cove to white, and to black
- Cove versus green screen, and versus a backdrop
- Case study: a cottage interior for Channel 4
Ready when you are
Availability and a firm quote, usually same day. No pressure, no hard sell.
Questions we get asked
How many people fit on the cove?
Six full-length on clean white comfortably. Eight in action fits on the black-box setup. Larger groups are shot in rows or tighter.
Can I get a car on the cove?
Yes. A Land Rover Defender has been driven in and shot clean on white, and a DeLorean with its doors open. The doors are 2.4m wide and 4.5m high.
How high is the studio?
4.5m from the floor to the lighting grid, and the walls of the cove are 4.5m high.
granary.digital · 01243 884993 · studio@granary.digital · The Old Grainstore, Adsdean, Chichester, West Sussex, PO18 9DN · All prices exclude VAT