Ben Lepley's VGA Dreams - Episode 5: Senior's Purchase

Mortality can be a tricky subject to discuss...

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Britney Spears LOVES The Autotune...

My title is implying that she can't really sing, and it takes a whole host of electronics to make her sound presentable when she "performs".

If only we could separate her mic feed from the rest of her concert audio...

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The Sisterhood of the Traveling Bra (kinda NSFW)

My pal Melissa Rauch (who you've probably seen on Best Week Ever), just posted this vid on Funny or Die. It's kinda funny as there's a 'Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants' sequel in theaters right now.

Whatta coincidence...

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Pssst, it's about a bra, tee-hee...

Recording Booth on the Cheap!

So my friend Erik was having some problems recording auditions from home.

He lived in a very modern apartment with nice hardwood floors, off a fairly busy street, and the only space he could dedicate to a microphone was a tiny little closet.



The quality of his auditions was ... lacking ...



Off the advice from a friend, he started trying to put up foam (as you can see in this picture), but actual acoustic foam can be kind of expensive, and that really wasn't his problem. His auditions suffered from a boomy echo, and foam wouldn't help that very much.

Here's an example:





The problem with closets is they become low frequency echo chambers. Low frequency sound loves to bounce around, and hard flat surfaces set at 90 degrees just help that sound bounce around. The ridges in most foam treatments aren't really big or deep enough to properly diffuse, and the foam itself is rarely thick enough to properly absorb that kind of bass energy.



What Erik needed was to subtly change the shape of his room, and try to reduce the hard reflections he was getting. I told him to try hanging two packing blankets in half circles behind him and his mic, and made him throw down an old carpet scrap on the floor. I then also had him pass his audio through a low-cut filter.

It's ugly, but the setup cost less than $30 (also less than what he spent on foam).



Here's what his audio sounds like now:





Not a bad jump if I say so myself (which I do).



And if you want to hear Erik in action, here's a link to a Funny or Die vid he did during the writers strike. Very funny!

someaudioguy some audio guy help how to recording home recording voice over voice acting recording booth sound proof auditioning actors

Nick Kroll and Seth Macfarlane bring you "The Negotiating Table"

This is prolly NSFW...
Seth Macfarlane and Nick Kroll give us the inside scoop on the AMPTP/WGA negotiations.



Written by Seth Macfarlane; Directed by Bryan Carmel and Brendan Colthurst; Produced by Kat Foster and Nick Kroll; Edited by Bryan Carmel; Featuring Josh Radnor, Kat Foster, Nick Kroll, John Viener, Seth MacFarlane, and Erik Weiner (woot! I've worked with Erik!).

You know, there's a part of me that's REALLY going to miss the higher quality content being produced online when the strike is over.

High-Five Hollywood!

I can't say why I love this vid. Maybe it's my Puddy obsession, I don't know, but it's funny in that really stupid slow build chuckle to the end kinda way.
High-Five!

Another Todd Stashwick Short on Funny or Die!!!

Yes THREE exclamation points!

First off if you haven't seen 'Cynical Dreamer' yet, (ahem)

WELCOME TO THE IN-TER-NET! IT MUST BE SCARY BEING OUT FROM UNDER THAT ROCK...YOU USED TO ... LIVE UNDER!

Or I guess I could just stop being a smart-@$$ and tell you to check it out here.

Anywho, knowing Todd's penchant for the surreal, this is a fantastically quirky funny sketch. Easily more to the point and funnier than anything I've seen out of SNL in years (the one exception being Natalie Portman's rap ... she's SO HOT).

So without further ado, I present 'Quiet Day'...

Todd Stashwick Short on Funny or Die

Actually Todd Stashwick tall on Funny or Die, bah-dump-bum. Thanks, I'll be here all week.
This post actually has NOTHING to do with voice over or audio, except for the loose connection that I've recorded Todd, and he does the best damn Bill Murray I've ever heard, EVER.

Todd, as you may know, is currently on 'The Riches' which you should be watching (Eddie Izzard, COME ON!).

SO, without further ado, here's Todd's short 'Cynical Dreamer'....


someaudioguy some audio guy voice over acting narration todd stashwick short demos auditions