VO Survival Guide: Navigating Studio Flotsam – Tuesday Tech Tip

“OK… who put all that stuff in here?…”

You likely know that my bias is to keep things simple. Removing distractions from your creative space lets you focus on the task at hand. It’s why I recommend keeping nonessential items out of the booth. 

But life goes on, and the ongoing swirl of projects and family always means a few things get delayed. It’s why I look forward to shutting things down near the end of the year as teaching and VO demands slow a bit. 

It’s a good time to take stock of what needs fixing or refining. During my days in the bicycle business, we had a binder with “Rainy Day Tasks”. In much the same way, I make note of those projects which will disrupt my studio – things like major system updates, hardware or cable rerouting, and sliding the booth out from the wall to vacuum and scrub. All important tasks, yet tricky to get done in the constant flow of auditions and projects. 

Keeping a file of those tasks lets me dig into them as my schedule allows during the year, but many end up on the end-of-year to-do list. 

While working through that, I also try to notice how the flowing currents of work and life create “eddies” where stuff collects. This year, it seems that an otherwise very useful shelf became a place that loves to stack up books. I’ve also been bumping into a piece of gear I thought I’d be using much more frequently – which has in fact not been utilized at all (though that might have been a bit different if we had not been in lockdown for much of the year). Of course, that still unmounted monitor arm is quietly taking up space under the desk. 

Since this happened slowly, I’d adapted to these minor environmental obstacles and worked around them. During the past months, each of them became progressively less visible. 

Which is why #1 on my End-o-the-Year Task List is always: Reclaim your space. 

Simply taking a few steps back from everything is often enough to reset your perspective, allowing you to notice those things which just don’t work that well, have gotten a bit too jumbled, or may need to be simplified a bit. 

Studio Task Checklist:

Here’s a quick baker’s dozen to get you going:

• Cable replacement
• Check cable routing 
• Vacuum behind stuff
• Reinforce mic mounts
• Tighten connectors 
• Track down booth buzzes, rattles, and resonances
• Reattach drooping acoustic treatment
• Clean up desk/booth lighting
• Check monitor/keyboard/mouse/trackpad height and position
• Store unneeded stuff
• Label storage bins
• Find a prominent place for regularly used tools (I like hooks)
• Check for software updates (which you may or may not choose to implement)

All good wishes for a healthy and prosperous new year. 
Now, go be brilliant!

Each week, I send a “Tuesday Tech Tip” to my email community. It includes technical tricks I’ve come across, refinements for voiceover workflow, and insights gained as a working voice actor and VO technical audio consultant. If you would like to receive these as soon as they come out, please take a moment to sign up here. Thank you.