Ok boys and girls, it’s time to open myself up to you, bare it all, to “show you the goods.” Yep. It’s time to pull back the curtain (literally) and give you a sneak peak into my utlra high-tech voice over home studio!
Now I warn you, if you are a beginner to voice acting and doing voice overs, then you may have images of sleek and sophisticated studios complete with effects cabinets twinkling with little LED lights, microphones that cost more than some cars, and mixing boards longer than many people’s hallways. If that’s the image you hold in your mind, then prepare to be disappointed. But hey, at least after reading this post you’ll have a better idea of what many home studios look like! 😉
The room
My studio fits in a room that isn’t even big enough to hold a twin bed. I’ve got my old, old, old midi keyboard on the left, then my desk complete with iMac and studio speakers in the middle, and then my practice area on the right.
Gotta practice
To the right of the computer I keep my mic on its stand along with a whiteboard on the wall to hang scripts. This allows me to practice anytime without the hassle of setting up my “sound proof booth” (which you’ll see in a minute.)
The booth
When it’s time to do an actual recording to send off to a client, I gotta set up the “sound proof booth” (for lack of a better term.) I simply open my closet door, push aside some of the clothes hanging there, and place my mic stand right in the middle. I use a highly sophisticated system to attach my printout of the copy to the blanket covering the back wall (a.k.a. cellophane tape). Take a look:
The movable wall I place around the closet was constructed out of parts I bought from the local hardware store. I think in total it only cost about $50 (excluding the blanket I drape over it — that was a freebie.) I took photos when I built the thing to be used in a future post, so stayed tuned. In the meantime, here are some pics:
And that’s it!
As I said before, if you are a beginner to voice overs, then your image of what a home studio consists of might be skewed a little. Of course, if you’ve got the money to buy some really good stuff then by all means, go ahead. But since I’m the type of guy who tries to find the path of least financial resistance, this set up works perfectly for me! (And if you think my studio is a little “barren” then be sure to watch this video I posted a few months ago.)