The home studio. We voice-over actors are in a profession that often affords us the blessing of working from home. That’s certainly nice—little less rat race, wear and tear on the vehicle, fewer raised eyebrows when you wear your PJs to work—it’s the flexibility of freelancing.
Home studios are an increasing necessity for today’s voice-over actor. Many jobs are recorded at professional sound studios, but more and more are not. Once upon a time, the client booked a studio for auditions and voice talent would stream in, but now almost all auditioning is done from home studios and submitted as MP3s.
A home studio’s an achievable goal for most anyone who has a little know-how, or is willing learn or even someone who’s on a budget. You don’t need a special home with an underground bunker. That whole bunker thing has become kind of passé, anyway.
While it will take some investment to get it going, you can do this thing incrementally. Remember, it has never been easier or less expensive to set up a recording studio in your home. That also means more people have the means to do it. So, you’ll need to work at your craft first and foremost. The best studio in the world doesn’t guarantee you work, but it sure doesn’t hurt either.
Figure out where it’ll go. If you have a spare interior closet, that’s a good place to start. With modern digital equipment, you really don’t need a whole lot of room. You’ll need to try to soundproof and reduce sound reflection as much as possible. You’ll need a high-end professional microphone, acoustic foam and a good pair of headphones. Do your homework and read the reviews. You can save loads by shopping online. There are numerous options and configurations.
VO actor Peter Drew’s article describes how to build a bare-bones closet studio. Harlan Hogan and Jeffrey Fisher have written two fine texts on Do-It-Yourself home recording. You’ll find them available here, alongside my other Amazon voice-over book recommendations. Check ‘em out!
Have fun and break a lip!
