Fleetwood Studios has been here for over 15 years. It’s built in a stunning old converted barn on a large farm just outside of Reading, and gives over 1,000 sq feet of studio and an additional large green room and offices too.
The barn was first converted to a studio by Keith Hicks, the first owner. Keith spent many years as a cameraman and wanted to provide a facility near the M4 (He lived in Basingstoke) essentially, a creative quiet space for projects that he had. He used the studio for his own work and gradually started to sell the space as a dry hire facility. He installed the lighting grid initially with a 12 channel analogue lighting system (Zero 88 ID1216) which has long since been replaced, and gradually built up the kit within the studio.
The beauty of the studio is both the space and the location. Firstly the location is just fantastic. It’s really easy to get to from Reading and London but rural enough to have lots of parking and a tranquil setting. Despite the snow picture above we have never actually had the road closed to traffic !
The building is fantastic. The huge thick walls provide soundproofing and the high vaulted roof space gives lots head space for lighting. The studio infinity cove is made of steel and is built onto the fabric of the walls. It’s mainly painted white and gives a very large infinity cove that is pre-lit. We use the studio as a dry hire space for filming our own content. We loved the studio the very first time we saw it. Around 2013 during the summer we called Keith to make a booking. Keith told us he was retiring and moving to Wales and wanted to sell the studio but meanwhile we could still use it if we wanted. (That was on a Friday morning) – On the Monday of the next week we met Keith at 10am and by 11am had bought the studio. We are that passionate about video so the decision was simple – By the Wednesday we had moved in and Keith had gone to Wales. Sometimes things are just meant to be.
- Additional soundproofing and sound dampening
- Lighting upgrade of the main grid and floor lighting
- Primary and secondary internet connections for streaming
- Upgrade of the meeting / green room area
- Addition of an edit suite, vision mix and streaming gallery (separate to main studio)
- Updated all the decor and furnishings
- Purchase of additional kit for vision mixing, editing and streaming.
- Improved alarm systems and constant CCTV monitoring
- Hardened security room for storage
- Increased our office facilities