Production · NYC

Are there NYC studios with cameras and lighting included?

Yes — but “fully equipped” means three different things in NYC listings: gear you can rent on site, house gear free with asterisks, or genuinely all-inclusive kit with an operator in the rate. Knowing which one you're booking is the difference between a clean budget and a surprise invoice. Union Square Loft is the third kind: cameras, lighting, audio, and a 30-year operator included in every booking, since the 90s.

The three meanings of “fully equipped”

1. Equipment available — for rent

The most common model. The studio keeps a rental house in the back: camera packages, lighting kits, modifiers, each at a daily rate added to your booking. Nothing wrong with it — on-site rental beats trucking gear across town — but the listing word “equipped” is doing heavy lifting. Budget the gear lines like you would at any rental house.

2. House gear included — with asterisks

Free use of what's there, where “what's there” varies from a serious kit to two softboxes and a prayer. The asterisks live in the details: backdrop paper at $30 per pull, “premium” items carved out of the free list, gear requests requiring 30 minutes' prep, nothing tested since the last renter dropped it. The room can still be a great buy — but inventory the actual list and ask what's maintained, not what's pictured.

3. All-inclusive, gear plus operator

The rate covers the room, the full working kit, and a person who runs it. Rarer, because it requires the studio to be an actual production operation rather than a real-estate play. This is USL's model and always has been.

The questions that expose which one you're booking

Send me the complete included-equipment list — exactly what's free with the booking.
What costs extra, item by item? (Backdrops, premium lights, batteries, media.)
When was the kit last used on a paying shoot, and who maintains it?
Is anyone on site who can operate it, and is their time in the rate?
If something fails mid-shoot, what's the backup?

Five answers in one email = a studio that runs shoots. Vague answers = a room with props.

What's actually in the room at USL

Every booking includes the house inventory and the operator: professional cameras with the Sony FX6 cinema package available (+$150/hr with the owner operating), a full lighting kit sized to the room's 13-foot ceilings, wireless and wired audio — multiple lav systems, broadcast dynamics, boom — monitoring for client playback, and the grip to rig it all. The inventory exists because this has been a working production studio since the 90s, not a listing strategy: the same kit shoots the documentary interviews, brand days, and research video that run through here weekly. It's tested constantly because it's used constantly.

The whole point in one line: you walk in with an idea and a memory card; everything else is already here, working, with someone who knows it cold. $350/hr (2-hr), $300/hr (4-hr), $275/hr (8-hr day). Full studio details.

When dry-hire is still the right call

Fairness requires saying it: if your production owns its kit and travels with a crew, an all-inclusive studio charges you for redundancy — book a great dry room and bring your truck. The included-gear model wins for everyone else: small crews, solo creators, agencies between staff shooters, brand teams who'd rather buy outcomes than manage equipment lists. Know which production you are and book accordingly.

Questions people actually ask

Is included equipment actually professional grade?

At working studios, yes — ask for the list and look up the items. At listing-driven rooms, 'equipped' can mean consumer lights on stands. The list answers the question in thirty seconds.

Do I still need to bring anything to an all-inclusive studio?

Your media (cards/drives), any specialty glass you're attached to, and wardrobe/props specific to the shoot. USL covers camera, lighting, audio, monitoring, and grip.

What happens if gear fails during my booking?

At USL: redundancy is in the inventory and the operator swaps it in minutes — that's half the value of an operated studio. At dry rooms, ask this question before booking; the silence is informative.

Can I bring my own camera and just use the lights and audio?

Of course — hybrid setups are normal. The included operator will integrate your body with house glass, lighting, and audio.

Is the FX6 package worth the +$150/hr?

For cinema-look deliverables — doc interviews, brand films, anything for the big screen of someone's living room — yes. For social content and podcasts, the house cameras already deliver. We'll tell you honestly which your project needs.

Do you charge for backdrop pulls or consumables?

No pull fees. Specialty consumables for unusual requests are passed through at cost, agreed in advance — never discovered on the invoice.

See the room before you decide

Tell us the date and the format. Carlos — the owner, on Broadway since the 90s — replies personally, usually within the hour. Or call 212-529-7570.