Mirror<>MiRRoR? ☺

Grazie

Mirror? A hard sound reflective surface - where? Does anyone use these sound boxes? Is your head inside or do you talk into the box from outside so you might be able to see over the top.

.. I'm lost . .sorry . . . G

My understanding is that the box is for the mic, not you!

Any reasonable extraneous sounds should be shielded from the mic, except from in front, and that's where you are.

I once used a quick and easy version of the "box" using a milk crate and a blanket.

As suggested screen can be placed somewhere behind and above the box, but bear in mind, talking whilst watching video can be tricky if you're not used to it, or if like me you sometimes stumble over tricky words.

I prefer to just record the voice, along with second/third/fourth takes of bumbled words, edit it to the best version then snip and place each part wherever I want on the timeline.

http://www.vasst.com/streaming/keystonecops-voicebox.wmv
might help a bit...

Arrghghg ahah! Great stuff Spot! . . love it love it love it! ! ! You entering this into the Competition? .. I just knew you had the pioneering Indie Filmaking Spirit in there! You just needed the opportunity to . . come out of the closet - er . . box !? .. Deep Respect!

When the missus wakes up I'll play it to her too!

Grazie

Now I understand . . I'd put a tiny lcd monitor inside the box OR "perch" it on top . . .eazsy .. Oh my mirror thing was for the Monitor - so you could "see" if you weren't "able" to view it from the position you were speakling . . nothing more .. nothing less . ..

.. . Spot, I'm still chuckling to myself! . . Needed this . .not a good week this week . . no biggie ..

Graham B

Spot,

Great little video. It sure makes a difference seeing the process versus just some pictures, plus the before and after gives an idea of the sound we are after. This was helpful, much like Stan's videos showing his lighting and studio setup.

Thank you.

By the way, does this type of foam make a difference?

I purchased a strip of 2 x 4 Aurela (sp?) foam for only $20 at Guitar City. I then converted my hall closet into a studio booth. I mounted the foam in the corner (bent the foam) and placed the mic (my MXL 63 that I got help with earlier) on the stand with a pop screen (only $9.95) facing away. I then added a stool and a music stand to hold the script.

Since this room has coats behind me and the foam in front it provides a VERY flat sound. In addition, it has a light, but no air vent (a disadvantage of using our large walk-in closet).

To further isolate the room, I drlled a hole in the wall between my office and the closet and installed an XLR outlet on both sides (allowing me to patch through from my mixer) so I could shut the door (without the cord coming through). I then added a pair of inexpensive RCA wireless headphones (not good for hi fidelity, but great for monitoring) so I can hear the music and microphone (like the control room) from my office. With the door shut I get an almost perfect flat line (I can hear my own blood presure it is so quiet). I just tried the system for a project tonight and it was incredible (plus it looks very professional).

Also, I learned of your book for the first time in the initial post. I then looked it up on Amazon. There wasn't much of a discription, not table of contents, no reviews, etc. (or else you may have made a sale).

Anyplace else that explains more about it ?

Yeah, the Amazon site sucks. It's not controlled by us, I wish it were.
You can see the book with sample chapters at


The vid is an extract of the Now Hear This video. Since you guys were chatting about it, I decided to stream that small section. I thought it was pretty funny myself. It's even funnier in 5.1 or stereo with good audio.

Spot, seriously, well done .. smashing video . . ! Grazie

Great video!

An option:
I wanted a longer life for my box, so I used [black] gatorboard instead. This cost a bit more, so I used $4.00 worth of pistol glue (including the pistol) instead of a $20 spraycan of glue. Black gaffer's tape looked nice and comes off clean every time.

The whole box looks pretty hot and has made a good impression on picky talent.

I'm very grateful for your simple but very effective V/O box idea!

"gatorboard"? . .who he? . . Funky sidewalk reptiles on 4 wheels? .. What is it? . . Must be called something else here in the UK .. like, Muffin or Cricket or Football . . yeah? .. What's Gatorboard?

Grazie

Got it!

http://www.backgroundstobasics.com/pages/gatorboard.html

The one thing Spot didn't mention in the video was how "good" you feel after building one these units. The secret is breathing deeply through the nose during the spraying phase!

Jay

JUST KIDDING!

Yes, the video was very well done!

I barely stopped laughing at the video when I got to your post Jay.....I will try the breathing method you suggest ;-)

Thank you so much for the video, featuring I assume, Mr. Spot. It did make me feel a bit of a jerk though 'cos I was usingthe box by leaning over my desk with my head in the box and a pin hole in the far side to peer out at the monitor!

NO WONDER I've lost so much memory lately, I've built probably a couple dozen of these over the years...That spray glue must be the feel-good that eats the brain cells.
Now, where did I put my shoes?

"Now I wanna sniff some glue
Now I wanna have something to do
All the kids wanna sniff some glue
All the kids want soemthing to do"


"Wondering what I'll do tonight,
I've been in the closet and I feel all right.
We're out of Carbona, Mom threw out the glue
We're out of paint and roach spray too

It's TV's fault why I am this way
Mom and Pop want to put me away

Carbona not glue, Carbona not glue"

SPOT,
really enjoyed the video, hearing is believing! Don't know how many people I've run into who think it's OK using shotguns in small spaces.
A minor point, I think ideally the box shouldn't be a cube. I'll stop being Mr. Boomtastic now.
A not so minor point, I had a look at the prices for the Auralex panels, unless you know someone selling them WAY cheaper than where I looked that'd be a pretty expensive box. A quick Google found a number of alternatives that seem way cheaper.
Bob.

Bob, that's 2 pieces of Auralex, total cost; 24.00 USD for the pyramid foam (12.00 per sheet) Foam core was 6.25, spray glue was 4.99. So, just over 30.00 USD.
The cube top makes a big diff depending on the mic. Never is boomy, just how much of the room you get or don't get. Low ceilings practically require the top. Remember, there is such a low SPL going into there....no bounce.

We used to use a variation of this in the glam rock days for getting a monster kick sound. A plastic garbage can with Auralex or Sonex lining the inside, with an RE20 stuck at the end made for a HUGE kick, and kept the kick out of the room from the other drum mikes as well.

I made the spot design last year and it's great.

I did not find any auralex in canada so had to buy some foam matress. I know it's not the best but it's the only thing I could find... My design is very similar, but I made a velcro system for attaching the pannels. I found some 90 degree angled bars and put some velcro on it, work great.

I'd never considered using bars! That's a great idea! On the Velcro'd ones I've done for folks, I've just used the male edge of the velcro on the board, and then strips of female Velcro to strap em' up. Then with the male sides on the board, it lets folks hang em on their studio wall when they're done doing the V/O, making the room a bit better.
I'll have to see what sort of angles are available down here.