ideal setup for recording dialogue

Ideal set up for recording dialogue.            Tuesday 23rd september 2014

The ideal location for recording dialogue would be in a studio/isolation booth. Reasons for this would be because it is in a closed environment so the quality of sound would be a lot better than if it were being recording in an open environment e.g. outside. For example in a band situation, the isolation booths are there to accommodate loud instruments such as the drums and electric guitars and to keep these sounds from being audible to the microphones that are capturing the sounds from more quiet instruments, dialogue or vocals.

The isolation booth is generally a small room.  The room would have non-reflective surfaces (absorptive surfaces) to control the amount of reverberation (Decay/echo). The absorption power is determined by the strength of the materials.

Vocal booth à foam à absorbs sound = less reflection

Greater reflection = longer decay (reverb)

Glass = triple glazed to eliminate sound (entering or escaping).

Equipment that is generally found in a recording studio includes:

·      Mixing console

·      Multitrack recorder

·      Microphones

·      Reference monitors (Loudspeakers with a flat frequency response)

·      Keyboard

·      Digital audio workstation

·      Compressors, reverbs or equalizers.

    Architectural acoustics is about achieving good quality of speech wherever the location, e.g. being in an empty church or theatre would produce a greater reflection, therefore causing a longer decay. In modern buildings, achieving good sound is a branch of acoustical engineering. Most sound is reflected, which is almost as loud as the original sound being reflected. In terms of diffusion, the sound bounces around in different directions, depending on the type of effect that is wanted.