Edit room size
 

Hi folks,

Maybe this question sounds a bit crazy.
My company is moving and seems that my edit room is going to a 3,5m x 2,5m.
I have a 20" CRT monitor, 2 x 19" LCD computer displays and a PC tower with a 8 SCSI raid + dvd + DLT + ... + ...

I'm feeling that the new room size is quite small.
What, in your opinion, should be the minimum / normal room size for working.
I usualy do not have clients during editing - maximum me and another person.

Thanks
Carlos

Edit Rooms
 

I have designed and built dozen of AVID and FCP suites
over the last 14 years and 12 feet by 14 feet is a size that
keeps to be recurring time after time.
You can certainly get by with smaller, but if you
have to stay in the bay as long as most editors,
it can start to get a little tight as the room get smaller.

Good Luck
Matt Gore

I once edited for a year in a closet .. no, really .. a closet ... then they got generous and moved me into what had been a sound booth .. for stand ups only ... sigh

Just moved into my new house and the room for my edit suite is about 10 by 14 but the actual edit bay (two separate systems but with the ability to feed everything from and to everything else) is about half that size ... I filled up the rest of the room with storage for tapes, cables, camera gear, etc.

I don't need a lot of space around me, I actually don't want it; I like everything to be at my fingertips but high ceilings are nice ... I now have 10 foot high ceilings and it definitely gives a more sense of space.

I have a lot of monitors, both CRT and LCD and they certainly kick out a lot of heat, so having more "air space" helps dissipate that heat and makes it more comfortable.

I've worked in a lot of different configurations and as long as I have a comfy, rolly chair I can get by ... don't know if I'd return to the closet again

my little space at the company is just a little smaller than yours, 2m X 3m. I got two G5's and a G4 plus I use my laptop sometimes as well. It is the perfect size for me since I edit alone and not too many people come into my cave to bother me. Something a little bigger than what you have now would be better. Can you go and see what other rooms are available.

I intentionally made my space small so I could keep people out, plus it's nice having everything withine arms reach. But in a small space with everything running it does get a little warm sometimes.

I think the size really depends on the function. If you're a lone wolf editor... working on your own projects, or being assigned a project/portion to complete for a bigger suite - then small is okay. You're basically the only person in the room.

But if you're going to be dealing with clients in any way, then you definitely need a bigger room. Even having an assistant sitting next to you, or the director perhaps coming in to sit a few minutes at a time, the space you describe is claustraphobic.

My 'cave' is 12x13. There's a couch behind me that I can nap on, er... that a client can sit on and view the monitor.

Also, your desk lay-out can facilitate or impede the useful space in a given room. Do you spread out your monitors and decks, or are they stacked? Is your CPU under foot, on the desk, in another room? What about mixing consoles? Are they part of your station?

Hard to say how much room is too little or too much. "How long is a piece of string?" - Answer: As long as it needs to be.