Studio Build FAQ — Questions Answered From Experience

A cyclorama is a curved, seamless transition between the floor and wall that creates an infinity effect — no visible horizon line, no corners, just a clean continuous background. When correctly lit, the floor-to-wall transition disappears completely and the background appears as a single uninterrupted surface. You need one if you regularly shoot people full-length, create video or photography content on white or coloured backgrounds, or want a premium commercial look without heavy post-production. You may not need one if you mainly shoot products on a table, use paper rolls or fabric backdrops, or your space is very small. When in doubt, a cyclorama adds more value than almost any other single feature in a shooting studio. Dragon Studio Solutions has built cycloramas for retailers, broadcasters, schools, government departments, and automotive studios across Australia.

The number refers to the radius of the curved transition between the floor and wall. It is one of the most consequential — and most misunderstood — decisions in a studio build. A 450mm radius creates an abrupt transition zone where light cannot follow naturally. The result is a persistent shadow band right at the floor join, directly where your subject stands. You can add fill lights to reduce it, but you are always working against the geometry. A 600mm radius gives light a longer, gentler arc to travel across. Shadows disappear naturally, the infinity effect is easier to achieve, and you get more usable flat floor space for wider shots and larger setups. The 600mm curve also sits further outside the focal plane when shooting wide open — the seam stays invisible even at shallow depth of field. The LightPro system we install is engineered to 600mm and built for Australia's humidity conditions without cracking over time. If you have the room, choose 600mm. Dragon Studio Solutions specifies it as standard on almost all new builds. Read more → https://www.dragonstudiosolutions.com.au/post/why-the-radius-of-your-cyclorama-curve-actually-matters-more-than-you-think

Sizing depends on three variables: your subject size, your camera distance, and your lighting zone. The most common mistake is measuring only the shooting zone and forgetting the camera-to-subject distance — an 85mm portrait lens needs 3–5m behind the subject, which rapidly eats into a small room. As a starting guide: portrait studios benefit from 3–4m wide with 5–6m total room depth, full-body fashion from 4–6m wide with 7–9m depth, commercial multi-use from 5–7m wide with 8–12m depth, and automotive from 8m or wider with 12m or more depth. Building too small is the most regretted studio decision we see — cycloramas are structural and cannot be easily enlarged. Dragon Studio Solutions has 80+ builds worth of real sizing data to draw on. Read more → https://www.dragonstudiosolutions.com.au/post/what-size-cyclorama-should-i-build

They solve different problems. A white cyclorama creates a finished infinity background directly in-camera — no post-production required. A green screen creates a background that software replaces with any digital environment in post. The white cyclorama is faster, more consistent, and significantly cheaper over time for ecommerce, fashion, and commercial video work. Green screen is the right choice for broadcast with virtual sets, educational content requiring digital backgrounds, and creative productions where the background is a story element. The post-production cost of green screen is consistently underestimated — a difficult key can take 30 minutes or more per clip. Many of our school studio builds combine both in a single room, separated by a blackout curtain. In any permanent installation, choose a painted chroma key wall over a fabric screen — fabric wrinkles immediately and is difficult to light evenly. Read more → https://www.dragonstudiosolutions.com.au/post/green-screen-or-white-cyclorama-which-should-you-choose

The most common cause is a 450mm curve radius. The geometry creates an abrupt floor-to-wall transition that light cannot follow naturally, producing a persistent shadow band at the join regardless of how much fill you add. The permanent fix is rebuilding the curve to 600mm — no lighting solution fully compensates for the geometry. Other causes include incorrect lighting position (too high, too directional, or not separated from subject lighting), wrong paint (standard wall paint has a slight sheen that reads as tonal variation on camera — use ultra-flat studio paint such as Rosco TV White), and surface imperfections from cracking or uneven plastering. About 20% of Dragon Studio Solutions projects are remediation jobs and the shadow problem is the most common complaint we are called in to fix. Read more → https://www.dragonstudiosolutions.com.au/post/why-does-my-cyclorama-have-shadows-causes-and-fixes