What to Check When Choosing a Rental Studio in Odaiba

IDefine your purpose in a single sentence first, and the space and equipment you need become clear

Clarifying your purpose means stating in one sentence who will do what, and in which order, in the space. Portrait photography, a meeting of up to six, a green room before an appearance, or a location shoot for a film: each needs different room and equipment even on the same floor area.

For photography you need a path to move between subject, photographer, lighting and backdrop. For a meeting, check whether the butler can pass behind the seated chairs; for a green room, whether the space before the mirror and the clothes rail stays clear.

If you have several purposes, decide whether they run at once or in turn. The butler asks about your flow from arrival to departure and arranges an order that changes scenes without harm to the furnishings. Female butlers also serve here; if you have a preference, you may tell us when booking.

Look not at numbers, but at the paths that people and things will take

Tracing the way from the door to the seats, the clothes rail and the camera position reveals a usability that figures alone cannot show.

IICompare space not by floor area alone, but by angle of view and the room left once seated

Usable space is the area in which people can move safely once furniture, equipment and luggage have been subtracted from the floor area. However large the figure on a website, a room full of fixed furniture may fall short for long focal lengths or lateral movement.

In an antique manor, using the furniture as a backdrop and the room available for movement are considered separately. Our Study, Fireplace Room, Dining Room, Bedroom, Wardrobe and gallery each offer a different angle of view and standing position. Please ask the butler to move any furnishings.

The ceiling is part of the angle of view, too. If the chandelier or canopy is to be included, check the position of the lights when looking up; for full-length shots, check from the floor to the top of the backdrop at your viewing. The butler indicates doors and chairs and confirms candidate compositions with you.

IIIThink of hire time as including set-up and restoration

Hire time is the window that holds not only the shoot itself but loading, changing, set-up, checks, packing away and restoration. Taking only the start of shooting as your reference, the shoot itself will be shortened by adjusting lights and preparing costumes. Meetings too need time to lay out documents and to settle the quiet before guests arrive.

We offer slots by purpose of three hours, four hours, half a day and a full day, and extensions by the hour subject to availability. When booking, please tell us when the first person will arrive and when the last piece of luggage will leave. The butler arranges everything from opening the door to the farewell as one continuous whole.

Rather than adding scenes towards the end, place the essential ones first. Marking your schedule with scenes that must be shot, scenes to shoot if time allows, and the cue to begin packing away lets your director and the butler share the same order.

IVAn attended manor lets you discuss reception and the handling of furnishings

Attended service means more than handing over keys: reception, guidance through the rooms, tea service, the handling of furnishings and help with proceedings can all be discussed on the spot. For a meeting that welcomes an important guest, or a shoot with fragile pieces as backdrop, who keeps the door and who arranges the room shapes how secure the day feels.

Our Manor is never let unattended; for every purpose, one Queen's Butler butler remains in the room. The butler greets visitors with a bow, shows them where to place coats and bags, and where needed serves tea or handles the drinks you have brought. Meals are not provided; you are welcome to bring food and drink.

The butler's presence is not there to narrow what you may freely do. It is there to make clear, on the spot, which pieces may be touched, which chairs moved and where lights may stand, so that the work or gathering you have planned proceeds safely.

The point of this article: when the person who opens the door and the person who keeps the room are settled, those using the space can give themselves to their true purpose.

VCheck lighting, power and Wi-Fi down to the equipment you bring and how it connects

Checking equipment means confirming not merely that an item exists by name, but where it stands, the distance to power, and the device you will connect, exactly as on the day. Our Manor has no windows, so it is little affected by changes in daylight; brightness is shaped by combining the Manor's lamps with photographic lighting.

For photographic lighting we have an Amaran 300C and an Aputure Quick Dome 90. If you are bringing equipment, please tell us in advance the names, quantities, the footprint of stands with legs extended, and the power required.

For meetings and recordings we also confirm what the Wi-Fi is for and what will be shown on the 120-inch screen. Displaying documents, watching video and playing audio each need different preparation. Sort out your own devices and the connectors you need, and test the display and volume at your viewing to be certain.

VISee loading as a single line from where the car stops to where the equipment is used

The loading route is the path your vehicle or hand-carried luggage takes from reaching the building, via the lift, to the place of use inside the Manor. Do not judge by the mere existence of parking; check unloading, trolleys, doors, corners and waiting areas in sequence.

Loading into our Manor is via the building's lift. If arriving by car, please confirm before booking the parking available, vehicle conditions and the unloading procedure. For large cases or long equipment, please give dimensions and quantities when booking.

If arrivals are staggered, agree the order of contact between your lead and the equipment team. As the butler handles reception inside the Manor, knowing who arrives first and whose arrival unpacking waits for avoids luggage piling up at the entrance.

VIIRules on food, drink and sound shape the comfort of a green room or recording

Conditions for what you bring cover not only what is permitted, but where it is placed, clearing up, and consideration for smell and sound. You are welcome to bring food and drink to our Manor. As meals are not provided, please prepare what you need in advance.

The butler arranges the Manor's glasses and plates and serves tea. Drinks are kept away from camera equipment and costumes, and placed according to purpose, in lidded containers, for instance. For items requiring allergy judgements, please check the labelling yourself.

Consider sound as two things: the sound you wish to record, and sound that must not carry beyond the Manor. If you plan loud sound, vocal work, instruments or late hours, please tell us the details in advance. As the Manor is within a shared building, the butler may ask you to adjust volume according to conditions on the day.

VIIICompare fees not by the headline figure alone, but with extensions and extras in the same table

Comparing fees means setting out in one table not only the advertised base price, but every condition your plan requires: hours, party size, costumes, extensions, equipment. A slot that looks inexpensive will incur extensions if set-up time is not included, and the total changes if facilities are charged separately.

Our Standard photography plan is 3 hours for ¥56,800 (tax included); the Meeting & Green Room half-day is 4 hours for ¥56,800 (tax included); the Location full-day is 12 hours (9am to 9pm) for ¥216,800 (tax included). Extensions are ¥16,800 (tax included) per hour, with ¥5,800 (tax included) per guest from the fifth, up to six guests.

Chauffeured pick-up is in a black Alphard driven by the butler, limited to return journeys between the Manor and five locations including Tokyo Teleport Station. It is a service attached to your plan. On some days the vehicle is unavailable, so we confirm availability when you book. If required, please tell us the party size, pick-up point and preferred arrival time when booking.

IXCheck changes and cancellations up to the point at which preparation begins

Conditions for changes cover not only the deadline for moving a date, but how matters are handled once shoot preparation, costumes or loading arrangements are under way. Where weather or the availability of participants may change, read the conditions before booking and hold alternative dates in reserve.

At our Manor, cancellation earlier than 30 days before your date is refunded in full as a rule. Once the butler is confirmed and preparation has begun, however, the treatment differs. From 30 days before, the full amount is charged; please see The Studio's cancellation policy for details.

If you are combining an outdoor shoot, decide first whether rain means switching entirely to the Manor or changing the date. With the decision-maker and deadline clear, costumes, equipment and pick-up can all be rearranged at once.

XAt the viewing, walk from arrival to departure in the actual order

A viewing is time to confirm, in the sequence of the day itself, what photographs cannot show: the quiet, the distances, the light, the way the doors open. If you would like a viewing, please tell us your purpose and candidate dates first. The butler prepares the places to be checked and shows you round.

Walk from the entrance to the place of use, set down luggage, look at the backdrop from your standing position, and test power, Wi-Fi and how sound carries. For a meeting, see how the door and screen appear from the principal guest's seat; for a green room, whether the move from mirror to clothes rail is comfortable.

Finally, put into words the start time, the beginning of packing away, departure and the butler's assistance required. If you can picture the butler bowing and closing the door, the points to settle after booking will be equally clear.