Setroom
Set builders for film and photo shoots, from backdrops to full sets
The treatment says a red sunken lounge from 1972. The studio you have booked is a white box with a loading door.
Your set only has to convince a camera, but it has to do that on one particular morning with a crew standing around waiting. It is drawn from where the lens will be, built and painted in our shop, and stood up in the studio ready to dress. When the shoot wraps, the same crew strikes it.
- 01 / 06
The studio is booked for Thursday, the crew and talent are confirmed, and the look in your treatment exists as a mood board and nothing else.
- 02 / 06
A designer draws it, a construction crew interprets it, and nobody sees the real set until it is standing in the studio the night before.
- 03 / 06
The paint reads a different colour under the lights, or a wall shivers when the dolly passes. Worst of all, the build is still going when the crew walks in, and the day costs you the same whether you shoot or not.
- 04 / 06
Setroom starts where your camera stands. The set is drawn from the lens position and the shot list, previsualised so you can look through the frame, and every surface is agreed before a flat is cut.
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The carpenters and painters who build your set are the crew who load it in and stand it up in the studio, so nothing gets reinterpreted between the drawing and the studio floor.
- 06 / 06
Crew call comes, the set is standing, dressed and dry, and your first shot goes on time.
What we make
[ 02 · SERVICES ]SETROOM · 52.472222 −1.894722 · T+00:00:00Film set construction
Sets built, finished and camera-ready for a production with fixed shoot days.
Photo shoot set design
A set or backdrop designed and built for one campaign day in the studio.
Scenic construction
Scenery and environments for theatre, immersive spaces and retail windows, built and installed on site.
The object in this room
[ 03 · CONCEPT STUDY ]SETROOM · 52.472222 −1.894722 · T+00:00:00
First the empty red pit, then the flacon lowered in and set on its plinth. The bottle is a stand-in we invented and pass from room to room; this set was never built for anyone.
How it runs
[ 04 · PROCESS ]SETROOM · 52.472222 −1.894722 · T+00:00:00- 01
Brief
The treatment or mood board, the shot list, the studio and the date.
- 02
Previs
The set seen through the lens you will shoot on, taken from the technical drawings.
- 03
Build
Carpentry, metalwork, CNC and scenic paint in our shop.
- 04
Install
Standing, finished and ready to dress before crew call.
- 05
Strike
Taken down and cleared, and stored if it is coming back.
What this room won’t do
- We won't cut a flat before you have looked at the set from the camera position.
- No wet paint at crew call.
- We won't build a platform, a staircase or anything else talent will stand on as though it only has to look solid on camera.
Asked often
What does a set builder actually do?
A set builder turns a production designer's drawings or a photographer's brief into a physical set: walls, floors, platforms, doors and sculpted detail, painted and finished to read as real on camera. At Setroom that runs from previs and technical drawings through carpentry, metalwork and scenic paint to loading into the studio, standing the set up and striking it afterwards.
What is the difference between a set and a backdrop?
A backdrop is a single surface behind the subject: a painted cloth, a sculpted wall or a textured flat. A set is a built environment, with walls, floor, openings and often furniture and working fittings, that the camera and talent can move within. A backdrop suits a tight product shot, while a set suits wider shots and movement.
How quickly can a set be built before a shoot?
A simple backdrop can be turned round quickly; a full room set or film set takes longer, depending on its size, its finish and how settled the design is. The biggest time saving comes from agreeing the look before building starts. Setroom shows the set as a render from the camera position, so the build time goes on building instead of redesign.
How much does it cost to build a film set?
The cost of building a film set depends on its footprint, the level of finish, whether it must be load-bearing or walkable, and whether it is struck after one shoot or kept as a standing set. Dressing and strike are separate lines in the budget. Setroom shows you the set from your camera positions first, then prices the agreed design.
Can a set be struck and rebuilt for a second shoot day?
Yes, if it is built for it. Sets made from flats that clamp together can be struck, stored and rebuilt, and a standing set can stay up across several days or a whole run and be re-dressed in between. At Setroom this is decided at the drawing stage, because it changes how joins and finishes are made.
What materials are scenic backdrops usually made from?
Scenic backdrops are usually timber flats faced with plywood or MDF, painted cloths, or sculpted panels carved in foam and hard-coated, with plaster used for mouldings and texture. Scenic paint gives the surface its colour, age and depth. Greenscreen fabric or painted chroma surfaces are used where the background will be added in post-production.
The desk is run by Hal, an automated assistant. Give him the shoot date, the stage or location, and what the camera needs to see.
Send us the treatment.
The mood board and the studio plan help too. From those we can draw the set from where the camera stands.
info@stillroomcreative.com