The Studio

Inside The Think Tank SA

Three-camera coverage, treated sound, and power that does not blink when the grid does.

A working production house under one roof. The studio floor, the live editing booth, the BeeHive overnight kitchen and sleep-over suite, the storage and uninterrupted power, the safe space, and the quiet Helderberg setting, every part is built to support the work.

What lives inside the studio

Seven spaces, one address. Each card opens its own gallery and equipment list.

Studio Equipment 3× Sony α7 IV + Sigma Art lenses, ATEM Mini Pro ISO, 2× Shure SM7B on Rode arms, 2× Aputure Amaran 200x S, teleprompter and full broadcast kit. See the kit Green Screen and Editing A treated edit suite and a green backdrop that becomes anywhere afterwards, or trains your own voice or video clone. Step inside The BeeHive Overnight kitchen (air-fryer, microwave, fridge), makeup and dressing room, and a self-catering sleep-over suite upstairs. Stay where you shoot, edit between takes. Walk through Storage, Power & Fibre 5 kVA SunSynk inverter, 5 kVA battery bank, 6× 500W solar, 100-200 Mbps uncapped fibre, 3× Lexar 256GB and 3× SanDisk Extreme PRO 128GB cards on hand for every shoot. See the rig The Safe Space Off-street parking, alarm-monitored doors, on-site security, NDA-ready guests area. A space that holds difficult conversations on the record. How we protect it Beautiful in Nature Helderberg mountains on three sides, wine estates eight minutes away, Strand Beach twelve minutes off. Air, light and quiet built into the location. See the surrounds

01. Studio Equipment

The studio floor

Three-camera live coverage, broadcast switching, multiview and a lighting kit dialled in for skin tones. Everything on the floor is already powered and patched when you arrive.

  • 3 × Sony α7 IVFull-frame bodies, three-camera live coverage
  • 2 × Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG DN ArtRazor-sharp primes for host and guest close-ups
  • Sigma 20-70mm f/2.8 DG DN ArtWide-to-portrait zoom for the master shot
  • Blackmagic ATEM Mini Pro ISOLive switcher with per-input ISO recording and streaming
  • Insta360 Ace Pro 28K action camera with a dual battery bundle, filter set and mounting kit
  • 2 × Aputure Amaran 200x SBi-colour key lights, daylight to tungsten
  • Aputure LP1200RRGB fill and accent, tunable
  • 2 × Godox UL-Octa Box 120Large soft diffusion for broadcast lighting
  • 2 × Godox Litemons LP600R60W RGBWW LED panels for colour and accent
  • 4 × Godox TL30 RGB tubesSet dressing and practical colour in frame
  • Godox ML150BiBi-colour LED, with the ML-Z projection attachment for shaped light
  • RODECaster ProThe desk everything runs through. Preamps, mix and live monitoring
  • 2 × Shure SM7BBroadcast cardioid dynamics, mounted on 2× Rode DS2 desktop studio arms
  • Rode Wireless Pro2-channel broadcast lavalier kit
  • DJI Mic 3Backup wireless and on-the-move audio
  • SmallRig multifunctional teleprompterRead your script while looking down the lens
  • 2 × Neewer tripodsHeavy-duty fluid heads, locked positions marked on the floor
  • DJI RS 5 gimbalStabilised movement, included in the studio rate
  • 4 × 260cm air-cushioned light standsWith 12 ceiling and wall spigot mounts, and 12 sandbags
Shure SM7B broadcast microphone
Shure SM7B × 2
Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG DN Art lens
Sigma 50mm Art
Blackmagic ATEM Mini Pro ISO switcher
ATEM Mini Pro ISO
Godox UL-Octa Box 120 softbox
Godox UL-Octa 120
SmallRig multifunctional teleprompter
SmallRig teleprompter
Rode DS2 desktop studio microphone arm
Rode DS2 desktop arms

Five setups, one room

The bookshelf background suits the wider shots, and you are welcome to bring your own books or artifacts to place in it, so the shelf reads as yours rather than ours. Behind that sit four seamless paper backdrops. Other colours can be arranged in advance if your brand needs one.

  • The bookshelfBring your own books or artifacts. Built for the wider shot
  • BlackSeamless paper, 2.70m wide
  • GreenSeamless paper, 2.70m wide. Keying and virtual sets
  • YellowSeamless paper, 2.70m wide
  • PinkSeamless paper, 2.70m wide
The bookshelf backdrop, dressed with books and ceramics, fiddle-leaf figs either side of the table
The bookshelf
A host seated at the studio table against the black backdrop, lit red
Black
Mr Bee, AutoHive's founder, seated at the studio table against the black backdrop
Black · Mr Bee
A host seated at the studio table against the green screen, ready for keying
Green
A host seated at the studio table against the yellow backdrop
Yellow
A host seated at the studio table against the pink backdrop
Pink

The same seat, the same lens, five backdrops, and the same result whoever sits down. Bring your own books for the shelf, or step onto the green and let the background move to wherever the brief needs it.

02. Green Screen and Editing

One screen, and everywhere it can take you

The green backdrop on the setup list is not decoration. Sit on it, and whatever is behind you can be replaced afterwards, in the treated edit suite two doors down from where you filmed. The same footage is also the raw material for a voice or video clone, so one afternoon in this room keeps producing content long after you have driven home.

Live keying, any background

Shoot on the green screen, then key it to a newsroom, a boardroom or a plain colour in the same suite. No second booking, no separate crew.

See AI Cloning

A digital twin of you

One capture session becomes an on-camera presenter you can send back to record again, rendered through HeyGen. Same face, a new script, no re-shoot.

See AI Cloning

Your voice, cloned properly

Recorded here and trained through ElevenLabs, so a script written this evening is narrated in your own voice by morning, in the language your listener actually speaks.

See AI Cloning

What is actually in the edit suite

  • Dell UltraSharp U3223QE32 inch 4K reference monitor for timeline and colour
  • Apple Mac Mini M410-core CPU and 10-core GPU. Premiere, Resolve and Logic on local SSD
  • 2 × Adam Audio T5V monitorsFlat-response near-fields on BS40 2 monitor stands
  • 3 × Sony MDR-7506 ProfessionalIndustry-standard dynamic stereo reference headphones. One per host, one for the booth.
  • Samsung Galaxy Tab A11Run-sheets, scripts and shot lists on the floor
The edit desk: Dell UltraSharp reference monitor running DaVinci Resolve, Mac Mini M4, Adam Audio monitors and three Sony MDR-7506 headphones
Edit desk and monitor wall
Wide view of the edit desk with the studio floor, backdrop and cameras visible beyond it
Wide of treated suite
The soundproof editing booth, a glass-doored isolation pod with acoustic foam, a fold-down desk and headphones
The isolation booth

03. The BeeHive

A coffee bar downstairs, and an open-plan apartment upstairs

Downstairs in the studio, a coffee bar and a bathroom are there for every booking, not just the overnight ones: a reset between takes, a quick tidy before you head out. One flight up, The BeeHive is an open-plan studio apartment for overnight stays, with a queen bed, a dressing mirror and a self-catering kitchenette all in the same room. For longer stays or a full home kitchen with braai, pizza oven and a KolKol hot tub, book The Glass Castle Retreat, attached to the studio with three booking configurations.

  • Downstairs coffee barGround and filter coffee, tea and water, part of the studio floor and available on every booking, not only the overnight ones
  • Bathroom and showerDownstairs in the studio, shared with the shoot day, available on every booking
  • The apartment, upstairsQueen bed with a TV facing it, a lit dressing mirror, garment rail and steamer, fast WiFi and blackout curtains, open-plan in one room. Overnight bookings only.
  • Overnight kitchenetteAir-fryer, microwave, fridge, ground and filter coffee, tea and water, in the apartment. Sized for one or two nights, not for cooking a long stay.
The downstairs coffee bar: black subway tile, a wood counter with sink and coffee machine, ON AIR sign above the door
Downstairs coffee bar
The bathroom downstairs in the studio: black subway tile, a blue vessel sink and gold tapware
Bathroom, downstairs
The overnight kitchenette upstairs in The BeeHive apartment, with a 3-seater table
Kitchenette, upstairs

04. Storage, Power & Fibre

The power never blinks

A 5 kVA SunSynk inverter, a 5 kVA battery bank and six 500W solar panels carry the studio through the guaranteed hours. Backup storage cards, charged spare batteries and a dedicated fibre line sit ready before you arrive.

  • 5 kVA SunSynk inverterHybrid inverter, switchover faster than the cameras notice
  • 5 kVA battery bankWhat the 09:00 to 18:00 guarantee is measured against
  • 6 × 500W solar panelsA 3 kW array recharging the bank through the day. No diesel, no generator noise
  • 100-200 Mbps uncapped fibreHonest speed range, low-latency for live streams, never throttled
  • Backup 4G failover routerAutomatic switchover if the fibre line ever drops
  • Spare batteries, every deviceOne charged spare per camera, mic, gimbal and device
  • 3 × Lexar Professional 256GB SDXCUHS-I, 255 MB/s read, 4K-rated, swap mid-shoot
  • 3 × SanDisk Extreme PRO 128GB200 MB/s read, 90 MB/s write, V30 for 4K UHD
  • NAS and cloud syncFootage backed up to local NAS and cold cloud the same day
Lexar Professional 256GB SDXC card
Lexar Professional 256GB
SanDisk Extreme PRO 128GB SDXC card
SanDisk Extreme PRO 128GB
Extra SanDisk Extreme PRO storage cards
Spare storage on hand

05. The Safe Space

A room that holds the conversation

Some interviews need the door closed and the camera on. Off-street parking, alarm-monitored entry, NDA-ready guest area, and POPIA-compliant data handling for everything that gets recorded. You decide what stays in the room.

  • Alarm-monitored entryCode-access door and 24/7 armed response on call
  • Off-street parkingSecure, gated, two cars plus guest space
  • NDA & consent on fileStandard NDAs and POPIA consent forms ready at the door
  • Encrypted client portalSupabase-backed delivery, your footage stays yours
  • Private guest entranceFor sensitive interviews, separate from the main door
  • No external streamingLive feed cuts at the studio firewall unless you switch it on

06. Beautiful in Nature

Helderberg, on purpose

The studio is built into the Helderberg, with mountains on three sides, wine estates eight minutes away, and Strand Beach twelve minutes off. The walk between takes is fresh air and a view, not a traffic queue.

The Helderberg mountain range above Somerset West at sunset, with the valley and the sea beyond Helderberg MountainsOn the doorstep A fynbos walking trail through proteas in the Helderberg Nature Reserve, mist on the peaks above Helderberg Nature Reserve5 km Main Road through the Somerset West town centre at dusk, Cape Dutch gables and the mountain behind Somerset West town centre6 km A wide sandy beach at sunset with mountains across the bay Strand Beach8 km Vineyard rows at Vergelegen running toward the mountains in late afternoon light Vergelegen Wine Estate9 km The oak-lined avenue and Cape Dutch werf at Lourensford, mirrored in the dam with the Helderberg behind Lourensford Wine Estate12 km
Get directions

Map points to a Somerset West centre placeholder. Exact address shared on booking.

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