-
a make-shift sound stage in our office for a TV show
I work in the video department of a software company. Usually we just do short little videos that end up in our educational software, but recently we got an opportunity to produce a television program. We don’t have much money though, and we do a green screen shoot in our office. It looks great, but the sound needs some work. We have a decent lavalier mic (Sony?) and a sennheiser shotgun, and we used both on our pilot episode, but both of them pick up way too much ambient room noise, reverb, etc. It’s just your basic office conference room, about 10-12′ high, about 30′ wide, and maybe 100′ long. We did nothing to soundproof it, but I’m thinking if we got some sound absorbing blankets and hung them on all four sides, and treated the ceiling as well, that it would really deaden the room and give us the cleanest sound possible. I was wondering what techniques people might recommend. We really have no budget for this so I’ll probably be using left-over carpet strips or old curtains or something, hung on C-stands… Any cheap but effective strategies?
P.S. The show is a kids TV program a la Blues Clues with one subject who talks to the camera, shot on green screen. In the show he’s on an island and collects treasures with his robot assistant, who is computer generated, and who’s voice is recorded in a sound booth and doesn’t match the host’s voice at all!
-
4 Replies
-
Rent (or buy) some duvatine curtains and hang them about a foot away from the back and side walls. Make sure they’re long enough to reach the floor. If it’s a drop ceiling, you can just tie them on to the metal frames. Use the fourth duvatine to divide the room in half (or whatever dimensions work). I’m assuming the floors have soom type of industrial carpet on them which is fine. If it’s a hard floor then you’ll need to put something down (like moving blankets, just make sure you don’t create a trip hazard for the talent).
If you don’t have enough money to do the audio right, then you don’t have enough money to do the show. 🙂
-
What he said.
Ty Ford
Ty Ford’s “Audio Bootcamp Field Guide” was written for video people who want better audio. Find out more at https://home.comcast.net/~tyreeford/AudioBootcamp.html
or https://www.tyford.com
Download Ty Ford’s “Existential Boogie” from iTunes now. -
Thanks for the post!
I agree that we need to get the audio right for this thing. Our hope is that if we can put together an episode or two to show to potential investors/funders, then we can get the money to do the whole thing right! We already have some interested parties. Our CEO is already wary of this project because it’s put us in the whole, and naturally I can’t convince anyone that we should spend money on the audio. Instead, money (that we don’t have) went towards hiring the talent, wardrobe, props, etc.
But your suggestions are good and I’ll see what I can do. Thank you!
-
Yeah, a show without any talent or wardrobe isn’t much of a show either. Being an audio person, I try to get people to think more inclusively of all the elements, audio especially, when trying to put together a show. The duvatine will work wonders for the room (compared to nothing at all). There might be some other things you might have to deal with as well (a/c noise, etc) but this will get you 80% there.
Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up