What Is A CYC Wall?

What It Is

The curve is the whole point. A normal room has a hard line where the wall meets the floor, and the camera sees it. On a CYC wall that line is gone, so your subject appears to sit in a clean, endless space. Light it white and it looks like a pure white world. Light it with colour and the whole background changes with it.

What People Use It For

• Music videos: performance sets and clean colour backdrops.
• Product and brand work: pack shots, campaign stills and social cutdowns from one session.
• Interviews and podcasts: a controlled, quiet room with a clean background.
• Photography: editorial, lookbooks, headshots and e-commerce.

Why Use One Instead Of A Location

You control the light, the sound and the schedule. There's no weather, no permit and no location to scout, and you can change the look by changing the light. The trade-off is that nothing is in the background unless you bring it, so a CYC wall suits work where the subject carries the frame.

How To Plan The Shoot

• Book more time than the shooting itself. Include load-in, lighting changes and wrap.
• Keep the wall clean. Footprints on a white floor show on camera, so plan shoe covers and a floor touch-up.
• Leave distance. The further your subject stands from the wall, the easier it is to light each separately.
• Decide your colours early. Wardrobe that matches the wall disappears into it.
• Bring your shot list. Hourly studios reward knowing your order of shots before you arrive.

What Our Studio Includes

Our CYC wall is at 130 Westmore Drive, Unit 2, in Etobicoke, pre-lit with three to four Kino Flo 4-bank lights, four C-stands with sandbags, a change area and load-in access. Bring your own camera and any other gear. It's $100 an hour with a two hour minimum, plus a $10 cleaning fee and HST. A two hour booking comes to $237.30. You can bring your own crew or hire ours.