Creativity in the Studio: A Blank Slate – Tuesday VO Tech Tip

One of our amazing human traits is adaptability, but it comes with a potential trap. As we accommodate tiny complications, those minor diversions can become the new normal. It could be something as simple as a cable that doesn’t quite route easily into our recording space, or some hardware or software tool that makes us restart our system every other time we use it.

We’re often so busy responding to the next opportunity, or getting work out the door, that we simply put up with these minor annoyances. After a time, they seem like a normal part of the process. Soon, we forget we even had an issue.

But the complications still lurk. Tickling at the edges of our attention, not letting us fully commit to the work we’re focused upon, and accumulating over time into a cumbersome workflow. It can be helpful to push everything to the side and start fresh.

One of the most satisfying moments when working with a client comes when we get to simplify steps in their workflow. After someone invests in refining their space, or dials in their position on the mic so they can work more comfortably, it becomes apparent that all that processing is not necessary. Recordings sound better when they are removed. Knowing that your audio starts in a place of quality tends to create more confidence behind the microphone, which becomes clear to anyone listening to our work.

That’s one of the reasons that I like to step back from everything. Pull processes apart and ask myself what is really necessary. That’s one of the reasons I ended up revamping my recording space earlier this year. Rather than layer another fix on top of previous acoustic treatments, I ended up stripping everything down to the bare walls and starting over. While doing that, other refinements became obvious. Remounting a power strip 12” up on a wall solved a constant frustration of having just too little slack when I needed to reset my monitor position for classes. Though most changes seemed to be tiny adjustments, the end result was significant.

Finding the time to consider the larger picture lets us focus on what’s working. That doesn’t stop with the components of our studio, of course. Perhaps it’s worth reducing the number of auditions to favor ones which are completely in your wheelhouse. It might help to consider what tasks are simply accumulated habits, and whether that energy and focus could be invested elsewhere.

As we wind down into the last weeks of the calendar, I set aside time for doodling on a blank page, skimming back through my notebooks looking for trends, workflow comments, and possible simplifications. Even when something feels dialed it, it’s time to ask how much of that process is just comfortable habit, and whether it could be made simpler or even more refined.

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