Back in 2022, when I decided I would step into a new career in Voiceover, I knew there would be a learning curve. After 20+ years of acting on stage and on camera, it was time to act behind the mic, but really, how hard could it be? Lots of people were doing it right? Whew…did I have a lot to learn!
First step, after some coaching, was to create my home studio. I couldn’t go into thousands of dollars in debt buying a pre-built booth, so I created my own, with the help of my husband, and lots of Google searches!
I do mostly short-form narration and commercial work, so having my computer outside the booth works for me, and in my little condo, space is at a premium. My little booth has helped me book corporate narration, explainer, and commercial work, so it may not be fancy, but it gets the job done.
My goal was something simple but functional. I created a frame out of restaurant-style wire shelving pieces from webstaurantstore.com. I bought 4 posts, 6 braces, and 1 large shelf for the top to give the booth its shape. Then I draped 3 Producers Choice acoustic blankets all around, and topped it off with some of my mom’s beautiful quilts. Simple, inexpensive, and does the job!
The hardest part of my space was the large window. I live on the flight path out of SFO, and lots of sound was getting in through my window. This is a 50-year old building, so the seal around the window wasn’t great. I scoured the internet once again for a solution, and I ended up creating my own plexiglass window plug to prevent, air, wind, and SOUND from coming in around the window. I measured the window…twice to be sure, and took those measurements to TAP Plastics, a local store that sells plexiglass cut to order. The plexiglass ended up costing around $100. Then I found rubberized edges to put all around and shimmied the window plug into place. It was astonishing how much quieter my noise floor after that.