Shortly after shelter-in-place orders came down in New York in mid-March, the Acoustiguide creative team cocooned at home with laptops, home studios, spouses, roommates, and in one case, their almost-one-year-old. Meeting weekly to stay connected and track our projects, we sought to bolster our spirits through a #crazyhatchallenge and the #gettymuseumchallenge. What began there, however, quickly turned into something we could not have predicted—a chance to get to know each other better; a bright light in these dark tunnel days.

In the weeks following, our team stopped dressing up and started tuning in… to a series of music ‘challenges’ that went something like this: Favorite cover song, least favorite cover song, best dance song, best acoustic song, best slow dance song, song that defined your 6th grade experience, and so on. One time we did a show-and-tell and once we endeavored to ply a magic trick. 

But mostly it’s music. Usually we share our Zoom screens and play YouTube videos, sometimes commenting throughout a la Mystery Science Theatre and sometimes sitting in reverential silence. Part of the reason for that silence is that, week in and week out, one person’s choice might become another person’s discovery: from week to week, most of the choices are completely surprising.  For example, our resident Beatles fan has never once chosen a Beatles song. Turns out we all have different tastes and even define differently the challenge-of-the-week.

Above all else, our get-togethers have been a real source of delight as we get to know each other a bit more. We’ve watched as that almost-one-year-old blossoms into a toddler; we’ve seen backgrounds change as spouses try to figure out optimal work spaces; we’ve heard each other’s fears and anxieties and doubts; we’ve gained strength from each other and we’ve gotten a chance to laugh (and laugh at) and sing (and do some chair dancing) together. No one underestimates how difficult and overwhelming things are right now, but for a short hour each week, we summon the best in each other…and then get back to work.

Here are a few highlights from our hit list—we’ll leave the categories for you to figure out:

The post Creative Minds (Not) At Work appeared first on Acoustiguide – Audio Tours, Guides and Experiences.

This month we’re especially excited about Pompeii, a new exhibit at the Grand Palais in Paris! 

The exhibit includes high definition AR and VR featuring 360° projections and 3D reconstructions of streets and homes. Rounding out the experience is Acoustiguide’s rich audio guide, which delves deep into Pompeiian life. 

Laetitia Portal, the Managing Director of the French office, said “…One of the most exciting challenges of this immersive exhibition is to make the day-to-day life of Pompeii live from morning to evening with the recreation of the eruption and all the spectacular effects. There are so many great experiential moments for adults, kids and visually impaired visitors.”

For the audio guide, Portal and her team interviewed eight different experts, including volcanologists, film directors, and scenographers, who discussed objects and discoveries from the latest excavations as well as behind-the-scenes insights into the process of creating a virtual world. Acoustiguide reconstructed what Pompeii sounded like using ambient sounds and historically accurate music – including an ancient Roman flute called a tibia.

The exhibit and its audio guide have been praised in several French publications including Le Parisien, Télérama, and Le Figaro.

While we eagerly await the moment when our cherished institutions re-open, right now, anyone across the globe can escape to the Grand Palais and learn about Pompeii – and that’s something to be excited about.

For more information, visit here:
https://www.grandpalais.fr/fr/expo-pompei-chez-vous

The post Travel Back in Time (safely at home, of course) <br/>with Acoustiguide Paris! appeared first on Acoustiguide – Audio Tours, Guides and Experiences.

Note: We recently recorded a conversation between Alison Koch, the Digital Content Producer for Playwrights Horizons, and Acoustiguide’s Julie Treumann and Tony Cirne, about Playwrights’ new podcast series.

You can hear it here.

We often call our audio experiences ‘theatre for the ear.’ But Acoustiguide’s recent partnership with Playwrights Horizons took that idea to the next level. Over the last year, Acoustiguide has been the creative production consultant to this esteemed off-Broadway company as they’ve embarked on the first season of their podcast, Soundstage.

Initially scheduled for release in summer 2020, Playwrights Horizons decided to step into the shelter-at-home space now, with a schedule of radio plays to be released every Thursday or every other Thursday over the next few weeks. Working with Alison Koch, the Theatre’s Digital Content Producer and Associate Artistic Director Adam Greenfield, Acoustiguide got to go—literally—behind the curtains to see how theatre gets made and contribute our own expertise in creating audio-based experiences.

On April 30th, Jordan Harrison’s Play for Any Two People will drop. Harrison experimented with a play that involved having two people listen to the same thing at the same time and interact with each other. As Tony Cirne, Acoustiguide’s Manager of Multimedia Production/Composer, put it: “What it’s meant to do is to have two people acting in front of each other – it’s an ambitious concept to try to pull off. Especially because it requires participation of the listeners.” In this concept we saw overlap with what we create for our in-gallery experiences, where museum visitors can look, listen to commentaries and talk to each other at the same time.

The Playwrights team suggested a binaural recording to enhance Harrison’s concept, and Cirne transformed the idea into reality. If you’re not familiar with binaural, the highly simplified explanation is that it’s a three-dimensional audio experience in which you hear sound as if you’re moving in space. And the only way it works is if the listener wears headphones.

We started with “Steve,” the wonder binaural head. He has a mic in each ‘ear.’

Next, we needed the right space. Binaural recording requires the kind of audio ‘reflections’ any normal room has, so this session couldn’t be recorded in our typical soundproof studio.

We settled on the Green Room (aka the staging room where talent hangs out before they start to record) at CDM, who kindly set things up for us. Someone (well, Alison) had to walk up and down the hallway to act as noise enforcement and shush people going to and coming from the elevators. The ambient sound that inevitably crept in was a substantial challenge for Cirne’s post-production work.

On any given day, Acoustiguide’s creative team works closely with voiceover actors, but recording Playwrights’ actors was quite different. Some sessions lasted five to eight hours! Playwrights experimented endlessly—testing, pushing and prodding their actors—to get the right performance. And because each podcast runs as long as 30 minutes, final storytelling arcs can accomplish #storytellinggoals in profound ways: They can build on emotion, create drama, reward listeners with a sense of release, go for laughs…and sometimes even toss in some salty language. Acoustiguide has brought back these lessons to our own work, and it has given us plenty of ideas for future work (omitting the salty language of course!)—particularly about interactive audio experiences.

The result of all of this heightened creativity, inventive production and hard work is a series of undeniably original, dramatic experiments in audio storytelling. You can hear the audio plays on your regular podcasting channels. Check out @phnyc or @SoundstagePH to find out when the next one drops.

For more information, read more here:

New York Times
PodNews
Playbill

The post A Play for Two People…and a Podcast for Many, Many More appeared first on Acoustiguide – Audio Tours, Guides and Experiences.

When going to a recording studio to conduct an interview or voiceover recording is not possible or preferred, there are myriad options for home recording. 

A few general guidelines that many of you will know, but always good to think through…

• Choose a room to record in that has few windows and is a bit removed from external noise. 
• Think about your surroundings… is there a refrigerator nearby that might cycle on and off? If possible, turn off any fans, air conditioners, forced air heating, etc.
• When using a microphone, or your phone, hold it steady at about 5 – 6 inches from your mouth when recording – you might be surprised how close that feels! 
• In the options below that use your computer or smartphone/tablet, you can use an average set of earbuds with inline microphone (that same kind you use to make hands free phone calls). This will result in a better quality recording than just using the microphone built into your laptop.
• But if you do need to use the built-in microphone, the most important thing is that you record in relatively quiet room, and when you are recording, try not to move too much or touch/tap anything while speaking. In addition, you should wear headphones of some kind (this will prevent feedback). If you don’t have headphones, turn the volume on your computer all the way down. Speak facing the computer and try to stay a steady distance away from it.
• Many desktop computers do not have a built-in microphone, so keep that in mind. 
• If you are a regular online conference user (Skype, Zoom, Webex, etc.) and have a headset you use for that, then you are all set! 
• Finally, (and we will repeat this at the end) our audio engineers have over 50 years of combined experience and are more than happy to assist in any way from advice to equipment setup… providing tips, tricks, and training. We are just a phone call or video call away.

Below are options that primarily fall into three categories: 1) Recording your voice into a smart device (smartphone or tablet); 2) Interviewees who are recording an interview online with one of our writers or producers; and 3) Interviewees or voice actors who are recording on their own with either their computer or a specific recording device.

Recording on Your Smartphone (or Tablet)

This is quick and easy! If you have an iPhone you will already have a recording app: Voice Memos. Most Android users have to download a voice memo app if they don’t have one already. The Android user on our team uses an app called “HI-Q MP3 REC”—but it only allows 10 minutes of recording for free before you download their ‘Pro’ version, so make sure you’ve downloaded something that fits your needs. It looks like this:

1. The audio file will be saved into your Files, under Audio
2. Tap the file and click on the “Share” option
3. Follow directions below under Step 8

Below is a step-by-step guide to recording with iOS Voice Memos and sending it on to us. Here we go…

1. Find Voice Memos
2. Open Voice Memos
3. You are ready to record
   • For best results, follow the 3 steps pictured below.
   • (Go to Settings => Voice Memos => Audio Quality => select “Lossless”)
4. Press the red record button and speak into the microphone – Remember to keep it a steady 5-6 inches from your mouth: about the length of tip of thumb to tip of pinky finger when you make a shaka:
5. Stop recording when you are finished by pressing the same red button.
6. Send us the recording using the “Share” function.  Tap the three dots (indicated by the arrow below)
7. Then tap the share option.
8. You can save it to Dropbox (if you have it) and send us a link, or you can email files.
9. You can always give us a call and we can help you get it to us another way.
10. A final note: If your recording will be more than 15 minutes, break up the files and send a few, instead of one large file, ie, if a recording is one hour, send four 15 minute files. This will ensure easier upload, download and also will ensure we stay under the max. record limit which some apps may have. Our studio team can walk you through if you have any questions about how to do this.

Online Interviews with Acoustiguide Writer or Producer Recording

This option is intended for Interviews held via popular conferencing services such as Skype or Zoom (zoom.us, GoToMeeting, UberConference, Skype). Many of these services will record the conversation at the request of either user and make it available for download after the “call” is complete. Acoustiguide may include a member of our studio on the call to record as well. 

The Acoutiguide writer and/or producer will connect with the interviewee ahead of the interview to ensure they have the proper software downloaded and understand how to make contact at the scheduled time.

This option requires only a laptop/desktop, and a headset mic.  As mentioned above, using the microphone included in your laptop computer is not the first choice, but we can make it work. If this is your only option, remember the general guideline to get the best results and to prevent “echoes” or feedback (or call us and we’ll work on it together!).   

But, if you feel like getting fancy, you could order the headset below (or something like it). But again, your typical ear-buds-with-mic will work just fine.

• Audio-Technica BPHS1 Broadcast Stereo Headset   more info & purchase link

Home Recording on Computer – Easy Version

This option is the simplest do-it-yourself home recording option providing excellent sound quality.  It requires just a USB microphone (that’s just a microphone that plugs into your computer using a USB connection) and a computer (desktop or laptop).   

For those of you who want to invest in a microphone, the one listed below actually also includes recording/editing software and vocal FX plugins to enhance the voice.  If your eyes glazed over reading that last sentence, just pretend you never saw it. We have the professional stuff covered. But if you were intrigued…

That microphone can also be used to record using online conference services (zoom.us, GoToMeeting, UberConference, Skype) as outlined in the Online Interviews description above.  It is highly recommended to use this or any similar USB microphone INSTEAD OF a computer’s internal microphone. We also strongly recommend using headphones to monitor the recording and avoid feedback. (Again, we are here to help in any way we can, so if you feel unsure, let’s talk about it!)

If you are interested in using a tablet to record, let us know and we can talk you through any extras you might need to accommodate the set-up.

• BLUE Yeti Studio USB/iOS Microphone  more info & purchase link

Field & Home Recordings on Digital Recorder (No Computer Required): 

This is a straightforward option if you just want to talk into a device that will record you. Operation is simple, though vary slightly from model to model.  In general, it is a matter of powering it on, pressing the “record” button, and ensuring the indicator light confirms you are recording. This kind of recorder (two examples listed below) is designed for field recording and really is that simple to use.

The digital recorder has a built-in high-quality microphone (of course, you can still upgrade with another mic for even better sound) and when you use a pair of over the head headphones to monitor the recording, you can be 100% sure everything will sound great.

To share the audio files you can connect the recorder to a computer via USB and transfer them over. If your computer has an SD Card reader, you can also remove the SD Card from the recorder and insert it into your reader to transfer the audio files to your computer. 

Below are suggested recorders and headphones.

• Zoom H4n Recorder  more info & purchase link
• Tascam DR-40X Portable Handheld Recorder  more info & purchase link
• AKG K52 Headphones  more info & purchase link
• Sony MDR-7506 Professional Headphones  more info & purchase link

***Computer or iPad Home Recording – Deluxe Version***

This option requires more equipment and a bit more audio/computer knowledge. The following equipment is necessary for this setup: a computer (Desktop or Laptop; Mac or PC) or iPad, a microphone (e.g. the microphone described in the previous section), an audio interface, headphones, and audio software to record and/or edit (this is usually bundled with the audio interface).  Though this is an excellent choice for home recording, it is neither very portable nor straightforward like the options above.  

But, if you’re investing in future recordings, it’s a great option allowing you to use a variety of different mics, record multiple mics simultaneously, and create professional recordings.

The following are some excellent and affordable bundles. If this interests you, feel free to contact us and we can talk through details and answer questions.

• PreSonus AudioBox iTwo Studio Bundle  more info & purchase link
• Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 Studio Pack (Gen 3)  more info & purchase link

Summary

All five options above are excellent choices to record great sounding audio. 

The choice depends on the needs and experience of the user. Even if after reading the options above you are not sure… No Problem! 

Our audio engineers have over 50 years of combined experience and would be more than happy to assist in any way from advice to equipment setup… providing tips, tricks, and training. 

The post The Show Must Go On! Best Practices for At-Home Recording appeared first on Acoustiguide – Audio Tours, Guides and Experiences.