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No-Budget ADR Booth.

Metrostar

Metrostar

I thought I would share this picture of my ADR set-up at home. The only money I spent on it was the microphone stand ($30). I'd previously used a broom duct-taped to a cat scratching post. I kid you not! I already had the NTG-2 and the Tascam.

Anyway, I wanted to make the point for others here who are working on films without money, something like this in the guest bedroom will work quite adequately. I recorded one of my actors like this last weekend and the audio came out really, really nice.

256bcys.jpg


It's deeper than it looks and I live in a fairly quiet neighborhood. The actor wears some really nice headphones that seal well around the ears, watches a specially prepared video of his/her scenes and reads from a script that has lots of room for notes by the actor.

In the words of a famous space pilot and smuggler: "She may not look like much kid, but she's got it where it counts". Or something like that.
 
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No, I am recording the actor's voice direct into the Tascam. The laptop is to play the scene and the audio from the day of filming. I didn't have any complaints last weekend with the first actor. I have three more actors to come in and then I am done with that part of the process.
 
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Metrostar said:
No, I am recording the actor's voice direct into the Tascam. The laptop is to play the scene and the audio from the day of filming. I didn't have any complaints last weekend with the first actor. I have three more actors to come in and then I am done with that part of the process.
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You'll save yourself a step - bringing the audio from the Tascam into the laptop - if you go directly into the Tascam via USB. Also, if you have a cheap TV monitor you can use that. That way you can have the laptop with you, monitor the audio from there and check visual sync and performance away from the talent. It will also keep the laptop noise out of your ADR "booth."

My video monitoring is pretty rudimentary; I use a Grass Valley ADVC110 interface. I send the S-Video out to the control room monitor and the RCA out to the Studio monitor. You can probably find a TV for free on FreeCycle. I see at least 10 a week in my area.
 
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That's a really good tip. I am not going to have time to set that up today, as the actor is coming in very soon, but I will definitely play around with that before next weekend and let you know how I get on. I have two more actors after this one. I don't have a spare tv either. I looked up the Grass Valley ADVC110 and that's something I could probably afford soon. Thanks again.
 
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Man all these blankets. i guess i don't know much about ADR I was just going to put my actors in a quiet basement and use a SM58

is that wrong ? do i need to build a blanket fort like i am 8 y.o. again haha I have some experience
 
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sfoster said:
I was just going to put my actors in a quiet basement and use a SM58. is that wrong ?
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Yes, very wrong, the SM58 is a dynamic mic. You want to use a condenser mic, preferably the same mic you used during production as the sound quality will be easier to match.

sfoster said:
do i need to build a blanket fort like i am 8 y.o. again?
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No, a blanket fort won't do anything. You need to construct a space that eliminates as much of the room ambience (reverb/echo) as possible. Your basement will be worse that a living room, bedroom, etc. as it has extremely hard surfaces (concrete).
 
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sfoster said:
What kind of a difference did the blankets make for you?
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The blankets killed the reverb in the room. Highly effective. I also put a blanket over the window and there are other soft furnishings in the room that all added to killing the reverb.

The only thing I have to do to the recording is to do a light hiss removal. I am then free to edit the audio any way I want to fit the scene.

If i had money, i would love to build an extension on my house and make a studio, but for next to no money, my solution is a winner. I just need to set up the tech side of it in a better way, as has already been suggested.
 
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An absorption panel's effectiveness (eg the blankets) is dicatated by its mass, thickness, and placement.

The more mass a porous object has, the more db's it will absorb from the sound passing through it.

The thicker the object, the more effective it will be at absorbing lower frequencies (and all freqs above it).

The placement will dicatate what reflection points are being treated. In some cases only a few panels will suffice, placed at key reflection points on the walls/ceiling, and in others it is preferable to treat the entire room. I won't go into corner bass traps here, as this post is mainly focussed on voice recording, and room modes (LF harmonic resonant 'roots' of the room) don't really affect the human voice too much.

What follows is a very simple and effective way to get good, clean recordings, with minimal outlay, and without the hassle of making a blanket den each time you want to record -

Rockwool fibre sheets covered in acoustically-transparent polyester cloth are the most effective solutions to use, and are thankfully available very cheap from a builders merchants and haberdasheries. 1-2" thick sheets will kill freqs low enough to cover the human voice (everything above 200-500hz). Thin cloth will only kill very high freqs, and due to it's relatively low density it won't remove that much of the unwanted reflected energy. It's still better than bare concrete/brick of course, but material that thin is only killing the high mid, and high freqs. Higher freqs are where most of the destructive flutter echos occur, but of course the lower the freq you can kill, the cleaner the full range of the voice will be recorded.

If space is a concern, rather than building a booth or treating the entire room, a simple C shaped panel (when veiwed from above/below) surrounding the mic will stop any reflections reaching the mic. It usually only needs to be about 1-2' tall, with the mic placed centrally. The VA stands on the open side, facing the mic, which is positioned just inside the C, and about half way up it. The panel can be easily clamped to the mic stand and removed for storage. If you have low ceilings that are giving you problems, then you may want to put a roof on the panel (as a subsitute for a ceiling 'cloud' panel), and of course the same goes for any hard floors and the bottom of the panel. At typical speech levels though, this isnt as much of a concern, but is something to experiment with nonetheless.

It's no substitute for a real room, but the cost:Performance ratio is immense, and well within most people's budgets.

If you have no budget to work with, then pilfer some high density open-cell foam from some old cushions or whatever. It's not as dense as rockwool, but can be easily formed into shape, and can usually be had for free from somewhere.
 
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A.D. said:
If space is a concern, rather than building a booth or treating the entire room, a simple C shaped panel (when veiwed from above/below) surrounding the mic will stop any reflections reaching the mic. It usually only needs to be about 1-2' tall, with the mic placed centrally. The VA stands on the open side, facing the mic, which is positioned just inside the C, and about half way up it. The panel can be easily clamped to the mic stand and removed for storage
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mBvJlRosSTS9ctLf4ieb2Ow.jpg


This works well, too.

vocalbooth.jpg
 
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Alcove Audio said:
mBvJlRosSTS9ctLf4ieb2Ow.jpg


This works well, too.

vocalbooth.jpg
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Good call and using the same mic as during production, although it was an NTG-3 shotgun which I've read isn't ideal for indoors.

Is there a thread about buying or building one of these solutions?

AD - Is there a more concise way of asking someone if they carry Rockwool fibre sheets covered in acoustically-transparent polyester cloth in stock? That seems like a mouthful
 
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sfoster said:
AD - Is there a more concise way of asking someone if they carry Rockwool fibre sheets covered in acoustically-transparent polyester cloth in stock? That seems like a mouthful
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hehehe

Just ask the builders merchant for the rockwool (or scavange some leftovers if you know anyone thats got some insulation projects on the go). Just don't try to use the hard insul sheets - it has to be the packed fibre stuff. If you're on a lower/zero budget, then remember that high density open cell foam can be used to great effect too.

The cloth you will have to pick up from a haberdashery/fabric store. Quality and and grade is of little importance, as it's only used to stop the rw from filling your room with itchy fibres. Many types of woven fabric are usable, like pillowcases or old throws etc, and you can quickly test its transparency by blowing through it and checking that air passes freely, and then holding it over a speaker or your ears once you get home/to the studio. Generally, as long as it's soft and porous it will do the job. Just avoid plasticky, shiny, hard fabrics.

Alcove Audio said:
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/dec07/articles/acoustics.htm
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Good link, Alcove. As an ex-SOS'er I remember that article well. It's not entirely concise, but well worth a quick read if anyone want's to know a bit more about the subject, and covers all the basics very well. It will arm you with plenty of stuff to google if you want to learn more.

Thanks for posting those pics of the mic shields too. I'm sure my waffly post is much easier for people to understand now. :)
 
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Alcove Audio said:
With proper sound treatment it won't be a problem, especially when you have the talent four inches away from the mic.



http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/dec07/articles/acoustics.htm
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fantastic.. i tried looking up the difference between dynamic and condenser microphones. i understood a little bit of it but mostly my eyes started glazing over and there was so much foreign terminology. I guess I need to get a book or something.

My one friend has done some audio work for TV shows and he is the one that recommended the SM58 or 57 for me, instead of a condenser. He's not an expect though just an assistant. so easy to get lead wrong in my ignorance
 
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