What to look for before you book a drive-in studio
Not all drive-in studios are equal. Here's what to confirm before you commit.
Drive-in access sounds straightforward. In practice, the clearance height, floor access, studio dimensions, power supply and production facilities all determine whether a drive-in shoot runs smoothly or doesn't. This guide covers the five things worth checking before you book a drive-in studio, and what good answers actually look like.
Drive-In Clearance Height — The Number That Actually Matters
14ft handles most vehicles. 17ft handles everything. Know the number before you book.
Drive-in access is only useful if the clearance height accommodates what you need to bring in. A studio that describes itself as having vehicle access without specifying the clearance height may have a restriction that rules out the vehicle or equipment your production requires.
14ft clearance handles standard-height vehicles and most commercial vans. 17ft clearance handles larger vehicles, high-sided trucks and production transport. Always ask for the clearance height in feet — not just whether drive-in access exists.
14ft handles most vehicles. 17ft handles everything. Know the number before you book.
Floor-Level Access — What It Means in Practice
Ground-level entry removes a logistics problem before a single frame is shot.
Carrying equipment through corridors, up lifts and across shared spaces adds time, risk and stress to a shoot day. Floor-level drive-in access — where vehicles and equipment enter at ground level directly onto the studio floor — removes all of it.
When assessing a studio, confirm that drive-in access is genuinely floor-level. Some studios describe ramp or lift access as drive-in. The distinction matters significantly on a full production day with a large vehicle or heavy equipment load.
Floor-level access means exactly that — no ramps, no lifts, no corridors.
Studio Dimensions — Why Width Matters as Much as Clearance
A vehicle that fits through the door still needs room to be positioned, lit and shot.
Drive-in clearance gets you in the door. Studio width determines what's possible once you're inside. A narrow studio with high clearance still restricts how a vehicle can be positioned, how wide the lighting rig can spread and how much room the crew has to work around the subject.
When reviewing a drive-in studio, ask for the full floor dimensions and the width of the shooting area at the point where you'll be working. A wide U-shaped infinity cove gives productions the most flexibility — the vehicle sits within the seamless background with room for lighting either side and clean edges in the frame.
Clearance gets you in. Width determines what you can actually do inside.
Power Supply — Essential for Automotive Lighting Rigs
Large lighting setups for automotive photography draw more power than most studios are built to handle.
Automotive photography typically involves large, high-output lighting rigs — multiple HMIs, large LED panels or strobe setups running simultaneously. A studio without the power infrastructure to support them creates problems on shoot day that can't be solved on the spot.
The key figures to ask for are total amperage and whether three-phase supply is accessible. Three-phase matters for larger productions running multiple heavy rigs — it distributes load more efficiently and supports equipment that requires it natively. If a studio can't give you the amperage clearly, treat that as a warning sign.
If a studio can't tell you the amperage clearly, treat that as a warning sign.
Production Facilities — What a Drive-In Shoot Day Actually Requires
Automotive productions involve larger crews and more complex logistics than a standard stills shoot.
Drive-in productions typically involve larger crews, more equipment and longer setup times. Make-up rooms, production office space, catering, parking and Wi-Fi all have a direct impact on how efficiently the day runs — and how much of the day is spent on logistics rather than shooting.
Before booking, confirm: are make-up and wardrobe rooms within the hire or shared with other productions? Is there a production office for shoot management and client viewing? Is parking free and on-site? Is catering available without external suppliers? A studio that can't answer these questions clearly is worth approaching with caution.
The facilities that seem like extras are often the ones that make or break a shoot day.
What to Look For When Booking a Drive-In Studio
Malcolm Ryan Studios operates two drive-in studios in South West London — Studio A with 17ft high drive-in clearance across an 8,004 sq ft floor, and Studio 1 with 14ft high drive-in clearance across a 4,350 sq ft floor. Both available for daily hire with last-minute bookings welcome. Day rates from £1,500. Located at Wimbledon Stadium Business Centre — accessible from Central London via the A3, Wimbledon rail, tube and tram connections.