More Than Just A Home Studio

Once upon a time, before the age of Coronavirus, the professional Home Studio was somewhat looked down upon. Voice actors who had invested thousands carefully and knowledgably on building their Home Studio were told that they weren’t good enough. Nothing, apparently, could compare to the air-conditioned wonders of engineering that were Pro Studios. Nothing except, perhaps, a home studio’s ability to keep working during a virus pandemic.

The Covid-19 situation has created something of a re-think about Home Studios. This has happened out of necessity. Across the voice over profession, production in Pro Studios has all but ground to a halt. Professional actors who have never had to record and produce themselves have been panicking. Meanwhile, Home Studio owners, initially smug at the flood of work heading their way, have seen competition for jobs increase tenfold.

This has created what I shall christen the Home Studio Battle ground. It is a brutal and increasingly bitter stage which is populated by two clear sects.

First, we have the well-appointed Home Studio narrators. These people realised some time ago that it was indeed possible to build a top line studio in the comfort of your own home. Through diligent research, training and not a small amount of hard cash they have built their very own broadcast quality facilities. More importantly they know how to use them. These people understand that a Neumann u87 isn’t going to sound like it cost ￡2,000 if the only sound proofing/conditioning you’ve invested in is empty egg boxes on your thin walls.

Second, we have the Home Studio entryists. These people have the work but not the place to record. They are usually represented by top agencies who are desperate to keep their clients working. Talented though they undoubtedly are, they have never studied the art of building or operating a recording facility. They are discovering that buying Blue Yeti microphone on Amazon and plugging it into their laptop isn’t going to keep them in work. These people are often brilliant VOs but wouldn’t know a DAW if it charged them a ￡19.97 a month subscription fee.

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