Whisper Room For Commercial Voice Over Artists

What is a whisper room? 

A whisper room also called a sound booth or a sound isolation enclosure, is a room that is soundproofed to dampen ambient noise. Whisper rooms are used by commercial voice over artists to prevent background noise from sneaking in during voice recording sessions. Whisper rooms reduce acoustic noise and help voice recordings sound clear and crisp, without echo or reverberation that would affect the sound quality. 

How to construct a whisper room?

Materials:

A whisper room is generally constructed with wooden frames packed with sound-insulating material. Use soft foam wedge paneling or similar sound-absorbing materials to line the whisper room. Use weather stripping to fill in any cracks in the insulation.  

Portability:

Portable whisper rooms can be placed anywhere you might need to reduce acoustic and background noise. Whisper rooms are ideal for commercial voice over actors who need to record their voice-over projects on the move. 

Ideally, you should place the whisper room in an area with low background and acoustic noise level since whisper rooms are great at reducing noise, but they do not eliminate the noise. So, if you plan to install a whisper room in your home, maximize the effectiveness of the whisper room by putting it away from the garage or the kid’s room.

Ventilation:

You have to seal every gap in the whisper room to prevent sound from passing in, which means air is also blocked from entering. Spending long hours in a room void of proper ventilation is dangerous for you. As a commercial voice over artist, you must ensure adequate air circulation and ventilation in your whisper room.

Why does commercial voice over artists need a whisper room?

A whisper room gives you a quiet place to practice your voice over skills and helps improve the audio quality of your recordings. Sound quality is critical for every voice over actor; hence, a good quality whisper room is an indispensable part of a voice-over studio.

Build your whisper room

Your career as a commercial voice over artists requires the best sound quality for recording purposes. You could either build a whisper room in the corner of your recording studio or soundproof the entire studio, and both are viable options for good sound quality. It is probably the best choice to build your whisper room if you have the time, energy, and patience to follow and complete DIY projects. First, you need to shop for high-quality soundproofing materials, then customize the level of soundproofing you require. These DIY projects help you save money on labor by purchasing the materials and assembling them yourself.

How to build a whisper room?

First, you need to decide on a spot in the room to build your whisper room. Measure all the dimensions as per your requirements while keeping in mind the following factors – 

• Will you be standing alone in the whisper room while recording?
• Do you prefer to sit or stand while recording? Consider the space to accommodate a comfortable chair or stool if you want to sit down while recording.
• Do you plan to invite other commercial voice over artists to record with you simultaneously? If so, make sure your whisper room is big enough to accommodate all of you comfortably.
• Space for your recording equipment within the whisper room.
• If your recording equipment doesn’t stand alone, you must fit a table in the whisper room to hold your microphone, laptop, or others. 
• Consider the thickness of the sound insulation. Thick soundproofing materials take up more space than you expect. 

Once you have decided on the size and dimensions of your whisper room, you can purchase the following materials and start building – 

• Lumber frames: Lumber to frame the walls of the whisper room. Frame out the walls of the whisper room with the help of 4×4 boards.

• Door for the whisper room: Either buy materials for the door or a ready-to-use door. Fix the ready-to-use door and check the functionality and the knob.

• Drywall: Drywall to cover the fiberglass. Fix the drywall on the outer part of the frame. Use screws to hold the drywall.

• Fiberglass padding: Fiberglass padding packs the walls to dampen sounds. Stuff the fiberglass padding into the wooden frame. Make sure to fill every gap so that no noise enters the whisper room.

• Cables for the equipment: Drill holes in the wall to install signal cables. Set up all the required wires for recording or other sound equipment.

• Silicone caulk: Use silicone caulk to seal every gap in the whisper room.

• Weather stripping: Weather stripping to seal the gaps. Fix the weather stripping and dense seal on the frame of the door. Check the functionality of the door with all the extra materials in place.

• Microphone: Fix a microphone and check if all the signal cables work. 

Whisper room or soundproofing the whole room

It is always easier to soundproof an entire room than build a whisper room because there is no need to assemble the frames and hang the drywall. However, you lose the whole home space to have a soundproof place for your voice recording. 

Soundproofing an entire room becomes more complicated if you look for absolutely perfect sound quality. You would require more soundproofing materials to cover the whole space than the whisper room, and it takes longer to soundproof the entire room. But, whisper rooms can be built in a short duration. Whisper rooms are compact and portable. If you live in a rented home, you can move the whisper room to whichever house you move into in the future. But soundproofing an entire room does not give you the flexibility of movement.

Tagged as: commercial voice over actor service / Commercial voice over actors / commercial voice over artists