Studio Floor for Discovery – TV Studio Floor Case Study, Stockley Park, London

Introduction

Having successfully installed four studio floors for IMG in 2013, Elgood Industrial Flooring was selected at short notice to install the studio floor for Discovery at IMG Media’s new facility in Stockley Park, West London. The brief was to transform a rough concrete slab with significant level variation into a 120 m² super flat, anti static Universal Television Studio Floor, ready for multi camera broadcast use within a two week programme.

Background

IMG Media’s new studio at 4 Longwalk, Stockley Park was being developed as a state of the art broadcast space for Discovery. The original floor was a rough finished concrete slab, never intended to be the final operating surface for camera pedestals and heavy production equipment.

Discovery chose the Elgood Universal Television Studio Floor System, designed, manufactured and installed entirely by Elgood Industrial Flooring. With more than 30 years of specialist studio flooring experience and over 130 installations, the system is proven across major broadcasters and provides a reliable, long term platform for high definition production.

The Challenge

The project presented a number of technical and programme challenges:

• Correcting a variation of 28 mm between the lowest and highest points of the existing rough concrete slab

• Providing a finished floor thickness of approximately 35–40 mm to achieve the required super flat tolerance

• Removing existing red oxide paint cleanly and safely while maintaining a suitable key for the new floor system

• Delivering a studio floor that would provide optimum camera pedestal performance for multi camera use, allowing cameras to operate anywhere on the surface

• Ensuring the floor was completely free from undulations, inclines and surface irregularities that would be unacceptable in a modern HD television studio

• Completing the design, preparation and installation within a two week programme at short notice

The Solution

Elgood Industrial Flooring installed the Universal Television Studio Floor System, engineered specifically for multi camera television studios.

Key elements of the solution included:

• Mechanical preparation of the slab
  Existing red oxide paint was removed using vacuum contained diamond grinding. This process stripped the coating, cleaned the surface and provided a consistent mechanical key, all while controlling dust within the studio environment.

• Precision build up to correct levels
  The rough concrete slab, with its 28 mm variation, was overlaid with the Universal Television Studio Floor System at a thickness of approximately 35–40 mm. This build up allowed Elgood to correct level differences and bring the finished surface within tight, super flat tolerances across the full 120 m² area.

• Universal Television Studio Floor System
  The system was designed, manufactured and installed entirely by Elgood. It provides a tough, hard wearing operating surface tailored to the demands of state of the art HD studio facilities, including heavy equipment, regular set changes and intensive production schedules.

• Anti static performance
  An anti static finish was provided as standard to eliminate nuisance static electricity that could otherwise interfere with camera operation and sensitive broadcast electronics.

All works were carried out by Elgood’s own small, full time in house studio flooring team. Each installer serves a four year apprenticeship and receives ongoing training, ensuring the specialist skills and consistency required for precision studio floors.

Outcome

The completed Universal Television Studio Floor at IMG Media’s Stockley Park facility provides Discovery with a robust, long term foundation for multi camera production:

• A super flat studio floor that delivers optimum camera pedestal performance and allows cameras to operate smoothly anywhere on the surface

• A finish completely free from undulations, inclines and surface irregularities that would compromise HD multi camera work

• A tough, durable operating surface designed to withstand the full range of loadings and activities expected in a modern television studio

• Built in anti static performance to help protect cameras and broadcast equipment from nuisance static discharge

• Long term value from a British manufactured, fully in house designed and installed studio floor system with a proven track record across more than 130 installations

By converting a rough, uneven concrete slab into a precision engineered Universal Television Studio Floor within a two week programme, Elgood Industrial Flooring has helped Discovery and IMG Media create a state of the art studio space at Stockley Park that is ready for demanding broadcast use.