Studio Build 26

Ah the joy of wiring!

There's something cathartic about running wires and cables. A fresh clean installation with everything running neatly from here to there. Joy joy joy!

We moved gear in last week, and have been busy with other work so getting things rigged up has taken a few extra days.  I was literally behind the mix desk last Sunday, when the phone rang and I had to hustle over the Ghent Playhouse to help with an issue. From there other projects took over for the day.  (Dishes, dinner, etc.)

But today we grabbed a box of cables and wires and got busy!

Dang, they're loud...

I salvaged a couple of APC Powerstack 250's with the intention they would be my power filters and battery backups. I ordered new batteries for them and loaded them into the mix desk rack. They look pretty sweet and fired right up. AND THEY ARE LOUD!

Seriously, 35db at a meter away. Nope, no sir, uh-uh, ain't happening. I didn't work so hard to get a quiet space to introduce two of these noisy beasts to my space. Out they go. They belong in an electrical closet humming away like that. I don't know where I'll use them, but they are going to be replaced by a set of Furman power filters. And those are going to be ordered tonight!

Back to wiring

Ok, so we're creating a short list of needs, longer VGA cables and a few other odds and ends with the goal of really getting things neat and quiet. I'm still in the market for a touch screen which will replace my music stand for copy. The touch feature will allow me to hit record and also move the text as I read. I'll keep you posted on that.

I have some Furman's to order and FaffCon5 is this coming weekend!

I love this life.

Faffing about at FaffCon 5

What is a FaffCon and why should a voice talent be there?

I've always known the phrase, "Faffing about" as basically goofing off. Doing something just to kill time, basically getting nothing done while on the clock.

So when you hear about a conference called FaffCon, images of a wasted weekend in some dull hotel conference room, come to mind. People milling about talking about things that just don't matter, I.E. Mac vs PC, Ford vs Chevy, political or philosophical blather or the Chicago Cubs. Perhaps even a lot of "I did this." Or "Me, me, me."

Why FaffCon was named what it is escapes me, for those visions of wasted time are the furthest from the truth. 

Plan to be there

My first FaffCon was FaffCon3 in Hershey Pennsylvania. I drove down from upstate NY to meet people I had only texted with on some random forum called the VO-BB, a voice over bullitin board. A place where knowledge of the wild and wooly world of voice work can be openly discussed and information is shared freely. 

I drove to the hotel, checked in, and made my way down to a restaurant to find these "Faffers". I sat at a table with friendly faces and the magic began. I sat with Chuck Davis and his wife and so the introductions began. The large room grew smaller as I began to connect names and faces.  Smiles, handshakes and revelry. And that was just the dinner before the actual conference began.

An Un-Conference

FaffCon is an "un-conference" with all of it's organization, it's planned chaos. There may be one planned event, a guest producer or casting agent, but the rest is up to those who are in the room. Amy Snively (rhymes with Lively!) gathers us into a circle and asks what we want to know and people who do know volunteer to lead a meeting on that subject.  Ego's are left at the door. 

Amy Snively ROCKS!

If you can help someone, you help. If you need to know how to get yourself to the next level, ask and someone helps. It's that easy. The wall fills up with classes that you can jump in on, and if you find out several minutes into the conversation that it's not for you, bug out and 'bee' somewhere else. The time is yours, gather as much as you can from people who know. No faffing about.

Plan to be there: Take Two

FaffCon has happened all over the country so far. I caught my first on in Pennsylvania, then the next in San Diego. This year is in Charlotte North Carolina. Now, it's too late for this year for you to get in unless you were one of the lucky 100 that signed up in the first few hours of availability. Sold out in seven hours, that's how amazing it is. So why am I rubbing this in? I want you at the next one. 

Seriously, if you have been working as a voice talent and want to know more, learn more or help others get to where you're at, you need to start planning now. FaffCon used to be twice a year, a Spring session and then in the Fall. Now we're being weened to once a year. The next conference is next October, I don't know where yet, we'll find out soon, and you may think that you have a year to think about it, but you need to get that goal on the calendar now. 

But why! why! why? for the love of Mike WHY!?

I'm goal driven. Give me a goal or a challenge and it's game on. My goal from FaffCon3 was to get my studio built. No longer would I be standing in the den waiting for the dog to stop chewing on a toy. I would have a professional space. If you read through my blog, you'll see the work and progress of that. At FaffCon4 I shared my experience with others about building their own space, it's not Rocket Surgery, and if you have some skills you can get it done. It's a good goal. Also at FaffCon4 I learned a lot more about marketing, using that knowledge, I've increased my business almost by a factor of 2. The gigs are better paying and more frequent. I learned how at FaffCon.

At FaffCon5 I'm hoping to learn and teach again. It's education with a firehose. Take notes, take names, kick your butt. People come from all over the world to learn and share. People who know the world of V.O. People who are willing to share dark secrets of the art. I can't wait.

Fellow Faffers!

Studio Build 25

Back to work!

It has been a great Summer of theater.  Merry Wives of Windsor at the Helderberg Theater Festival was a great success. The role of Falstaff won me my first TANYS (Theater Association of New York State) award for excellence in acting. Then from there I jumped right onto the Mac-Haydn Stage to play several character roles in State Fair.

Now that that's all wrapped up, we got back to THE STUDIO!

On Sunday we were able to tap into the return plenum of the air system and we dropped in a new 12"x4" return duct from the studio for airflow. The room already had a feed for heat and AC, but with the door closed, it had nowhere to go. 

The return is located right behind where the computer towers will be located, with the goal of sucking the heat from the towers right out of the room.

I didn't take a picture, because we all kind of know what a floor vent looks like. So next weekend we move INTO THE STUDIO!

We'll be doing an inventory as we go and dusting and cleaning gear before it moves in.  I'll also be labeling things along the way for clarity. If I don't need it, it doesn't move in. Plain and simple.

The door isn't 100% finished as of yet, I had to spend some money for marketing material and that overruled the cost of the cooler handle.  The studio is self funded, so we'll get there.  It's been a busy week for scripts, so it won't take long.  Stay Tuned.

Update

Slight pause in the work due to performances with Nutshell Playhouse and rehearsals for The Merry Wives of Windsor in which I'm playing Falstaff.

Then there's a darn vacation on the lake planned!

Have no fear, we'll finish soon...

Studio Build 24

Alright! we got that rear space diffuser and sound absorption panel finished and INSTALLED!  That thing was heavy so not only is there the French cleat on the top, but we added a bottom support bracket to hold some of the weight as well.  The stain is "Gunstock" and it came out a bit more orange/red than expected, but it fits the room perfectly.

  and here is how the staggered heights of the slats look.

Thanks again to the late great Mike Sommer for designing this panel.  I've brought the rocket lamp into the room and put it on the floor, and I have to admit, it needs to fly from the ceiling..  So that's what we're going to do.  Reinstall the bracket it came with, since it was a theater fixture, and bolt it to the ceiling.

Here it is on the floor.  Just so you can see it in the space.

I know I know.. it's an iPhone camera, I'll be getting the real beauty shots soon once things are all moved in.

So next, we are adding a return air vent to keep the room cool/warm.  Initially I wasn't going to, but I'll pick up some more quiet ductwork and run a feed to the return duct in the basement.  The collector will be situated right behind where the computers are located, so hopefully it will pull some of their waste heat out of the space as well.  Then I drop in a neutral rug and start dragging gear into the space!

WOOO!

Studio Build 23

Some good work done this weekend. The wall that will be behind me as I'm seated at the mix desk will have a combination of an acoustic panel and a space array. A series of slats that will act to scatter and break up a sound wave.

The slats are created out of 2x4, which are actually only 1 1/2" wide, and they are going to be spaced 1 1/2" apart. They vary in height from 1 1/8 to 1 1/2 to 1 7/8" and then repeat. They will cover the entire 97" of the wall panel.



and for a close up of the heights.  The 2x4's were ripped down on the table saw, sanded and then stained.  The color said "Gunstock" but it came out more like a red mahogany.  Still nice!



I hope to get these hung this week, but it's a two person job lifting the panel safely, so we'll see who's around this week to lend a hand, else I'll have to wait till Friday.
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Studio Build 22

Real quick update.  I salvaged a couple of Kleig Brothers theater lights and had the idea to create a rocket theme lamp for the studio.

I know, I know...get back to work monkey boy... but I was waiting for another machine to finish a render!

I designed the rocket fins in Illustrator.

Printed that out on a couple pieces of paper and transferred that to a piece of scrap plywood.  Cut it out on the bandsaw, and duplicated that 3 more times for 4 fins.   Sanded down the rough edges and used "Rub and Buff" to give it a bronze finish.

Drilled some holes in the housing.  (I had already gutted the housing and installed a new bulb fixture with switch)

and Voila!

 We have ignition!

More work on the rear space array/panel on Friday night....