A Clever Portable Vocal Booth
Recording voiceovers for podcasts can be tricky, because it's so easy to pick up background noise, slapback echo from your desktop, and room reverberation. Here's an ingenious solution hacked up by a professional voiceover artist.
Harlan Hogan's voiceover porta-booth uses a collapsable storage crate lined with acoustic foam to isolate the microphone from its surroundings:
The porta-booth set up in a hotel room. Note the Sennheiser 416 mic with shockmount and pop filter, Edirol UA-25 USB audio interface, and Sony laptop running Adobe Audition.
Folded for travel.
What a brilliant realization: You don't have to build a vocal booth big enough for both the mic and the performer, just the mic. At the end of the article, which I found clear and entertaining, Hogan describes another kind of vocal booth that you may not realize you already have.
(Via DVguru)
UPDATE, 2008-02-26: You can read about version 2 of Hogan's portable vocal booth and a $21 DIY alternative here.
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Hi guys, I am amazed at ur creation...it's so sensible and cool to work with....you can actually record voice on trips. I am so interested in purchasing a Porta-booth for my Company's use.... Would I have to have David Battino build me one or can I order one? Thanks guys!!
@Roger: Thanks for the Foam Factory tip. The Full Compass offering I found was 12" x 12" x 2" Auralex Wedgies for $3.95 a piece. With $8.75 ground shipping (your cost may vary), the total for four tiles is $24.55.
http://www.foambymail.com/Wedge.html
The Foam Factory in Michigan sells a pack of 12 two inch 12" x 12" foam wedges for $16 + $13 shipping. Thanks for the tips, guys -- had just cut a radio spot with a Samson USB mike but the ad agency thought I needed to deaden the sound. Can't wait to cut the next one!
@Itai: The store is Harlan Hogan's, not mine. But check out the other link for a do-it-yourself alternative. I bought the Whitmore Cubes on Amazon and they cost about $10 for two. Haven't bought the foam yet, but I saw it at Full Compass or somewhere fairly cheap.
thanks for the info, visited your store site, $129.00! well, i live in zimbabwe, what's the shipping arrangement?
Hogan is selling an improved version of this for those who don't want to take the time or can't find the materials to make their own. Under $100.
http://www.harlanhogan.com/store.shtml
@Rick:
what about BACKGROUND noise?
The main purpose of the box is to reduce reflections (i.e., reverberation) from walls and tabletops, producing a more focused sound. Another podcaster I know actually records his voiceovers with a quilt over his head to get that effect.
While this looks engenious and seems effortless to travel with, the question is, what about BACKGROUND noise? The Microphone will pick up what's in BACK of you.
Smart!
Thanx for the idea!