Editing Room Design
A properly designed editing room will result in edited masters that look and sound
better. The following areas must be considered when designing an edit bay:
 Equipment choices
 Ergonomics
 Acoustics
 Lighting
Equipment Choices: What equipment will be required is very dependent upon
what is being edited. For example, a feature film being shot digitally for theatrical
release requires different monitoring and storage than a documentary shot in HD
for distribution on television. Similarly, a weekly reality show requires different
gear than an edit bay designed for commercial post-production. Of course, a
television station doing multiple news broadcasts daily will require a whole
different set of equipment.
In short, what is being shot and how much finished content must be delivered daily
or weekly will determine what equipment and how much equipment will be
required.
Ergonomics: Edit sessions often run long. A properly designed editing console with
ergonomic site lines will reduce fatigue resulting in cleaner, more creative content.
The edit console needs to be big enough to accommodate the equipment the editor
will require. Ideally, it should be height adjustable. Also, the monitors should be
each to adjust the height and angle. A comfortable chair, such as the ones available
form Human Scale, is also essential.
Acoustics: During a post production session, the editor will be making many
judgments about the sound track. Sometimes, picking which take to use will be
determined by which take has the best sound. If the room is acoustically incorrect, it
may be emphasizing or suppressing certain frequencies. This, of course, can lead to
bad choices. Ideally, a TV Pro Gear engineer will specify dimensions and materials
that will result in an acoustically neutral room with a large “sweet spot”. Where a
room already exists, we can apply acoustic treatments to mitigate bad room
characteristics. The reader may want to read our “Primer for Studio Acoustics” to
get a deeper understanding of room acoustics.
In addition, careful attention must be made when choosing what speakers to use. At
TV Pro Gear, we most often recommend Genelec 8020B speakers mounted at ear
height. These speakers are designed to be listened to from about five feet away –
they are called “near field monitors”.
Lighting: The editor will also be making color adjustments to the video. The color
temperature of most professional monitors is 5600 degrees Kelvin. Therefore, it is
important to have room lighting that is also 5600K. We recommend special
focusable 5600K LED lights that can be dimmed without change the color
temperature. Of course, it is critical to make sure that the lights do not shine on the
monitors or into the editor’s face. Choice of colors for the walls, console surfaces,
carpets and furniture should be varying shades of grey. To insure the monitors are
accurately displaying the video, they must be carefully calibrated by an engineer
The monitors are adjusted for brightness, contrast, color balance and saturation.
Summary: Following the above rules will greatly increase the odds that you will
have a perfectly edited video ready for distribution. In addition, you will have
happier editors resulting in lower employee turnover.