Transcription
Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do?
Hi, Melisa, thank you so much for giving me an opportunity to talk about Studiobricks. I couldn’t be more thrilled with having this booth right now. I’m a voice actor. I work mostly from my booth right now because unfortunately with the pandemic, a lot of the studios are closed. I was trained as a theatrical actress when I started out my career, and I’ve transitioned to voice work in recent years. So that’s what I’m doing right now. I read audio books, I do explainer videos for corporations and I’m working on meditation scripts for a fitness app.
One thing I really wanted to mention was how this team really helped me out. Held my hand through the whole process. You, Genesis, Lou, Miguel I just… I owe you such gratitude because you made it so smooth for me, I really appreciate everything.
Right now, there really is an audio renaissance of people speaking, listening to audio books, doing podcasts, giving commands to devices. Especially now with the pandemic, there’s e-learning, remote learning.
I got into voice acting before the pandemic, and the timing was really quite remarkable because I didn’t realize that everything was going to go this way, where most of live performance is not really happening right now, unfortunately. So the pandemic has made a big difference in how we’re performing, and this is something that is still remaining… We still are doing a lot of work with voice, either it’s narrating audiobooks or doing the podcast or
I’m really grateful that I know that I can be doing this from my booth at home, because unfortunately the studios are all closed right now, so the only way this is really getting done or has been getting done in the past few months has been through remote connection. I’m very fortunate that I was able to get the Studiobricks booth.
What problem(s) did you face before getting your Studiobricks, What was life like?
When I started out, I got a microphone, my audio interface and all of the equipment I needed, but I started out in my closet. So I used a lot of my clothing to dampen the sound. But, when you’re doing a remote session with somebody, you really don’t want them to see that you’re in a closet. Another thing that kept happening to me in the closet was that I could hear sounds from the street, I could hear airplanes going by and sometimes I could even hear the rain on my roof, I could hear wind. So it was taking me a long time to record. I would have to stop if I heard a plane, I would have to stop if a motorcycle went by the house, so that was really problematic. At the end of the day, I was delivering a product that I could be proud of, but it was taking me a lot longer. So that’s a huge amount of time… I can already see that to get it done correctly is so much easier now with the Studiobricks booth.
Where did you start your search?
I’m really fortunate because I belong to a group of actors in New York City called the Voice Actors of New York City, and they exchange a lot of valuable information amongst each other. I feel that I am really lucky to have a couple of incredible mentors Carin Gilfry and Maria Pendolino, they both have Studiobricks booths, and that’s really where I heard of you first. I know that they deliver a product that’s quite remarkable, and I really felt that I didn’t have much of a search much further than that, because I trust them, and if that’s what they use, I was like… I looked a little bit, but I have to say there was nothing that felt as good as this product.
What was the obstacle that almost prevented you from choosing Studiobricks and what put these concerns to rest?
Well, of course, there are financial considerations for getting the booth, and the more that time went by and I saw that the industry really is moving in this direction, I felt that I should have done it sooner. To be honest, I felt that the sooner you invest in yourself and in your career and in the tools you need to deliver a really good product to your clients, the more of a return you’re going to have in the long run. So I regret that I didn’t do it sooner, to be honest, because I see right now, the difference it’s making for me is unbelievable.
Why did you end up choosing Studiobricks? What features sold you on buying your Studiobricks?
There is something about it that’s permanent but it’s also flexible, so if I wanted to move the booth at some point, I know I could do that because it comes apart almost like a Lego. I can’t believe that you are able to master this concept of sort of flexibility, but permanence, it’s very appealing to me. And the idea that I could be isolated within my booth and work in isolation really appeals to me because I like to experiment with things and I really don’t want to have anybody hearing me while I’m experimenting, so it’s really almost like an extension of what’s going on in my brain. I can try to work things out in here without being self-conscious about what I’m doing.
What surprised you the most or made you the happiest about buying your Studiobricks?
I was really expecting, coming all the way from Barcelona, that possibly there would be some hitch along the way, and I have to say… I’ve had deliveries in the past that have come to my house and they literally left something at the curb that weighed thousands of pounds, and there would have been no way I could really bring it in. So when Lou delivered the Studiobricks, I was so thrilled because he stayed with it every step of the way, he told me which pieces to keep together, there wasn’t even a scratch, or a ding, or a smudge, I mean, he was so careful with it. So I have to say, I did not anticipate that it would be that easy. Putting it together was also easy. I mean, one obstacle that we thought we might have was our ceiling is a little low in the spot where I wanted to put it, but we have a drop ceiling, so we took some tiles out of the drop ceiling and we were able to work the grid around the Studiobrick, so that’s where it is right now in my basement, and I’m so happy.
Do you have any alternative uses for your Studiobricks?
Actually, I haven’t been using it for anything else really, except to work. Everything that I need right now is kind of set up in here. I haven’t meditated in it, but to be honest, I am performing meditation scripts for a pretty popular fitness app right now, so this is really a great space for me to do that in. That was one of the considerations, I am working on these meditations, and they’re 10 and 15 minutes long, and during that time there were a lot of interruptions. I want to be able to deliver this meditation to the fitness people that I work with and have it really be a nice, consistent, calm sound, so that is… It’s been great for me for that.
In this short video, Voice Actor Elaine Judge shares her experience of getting her Studiobricks booth during the early days of the pandemic and being able to continue to work, and improve the quality of her product.
Hit play and enjoy her story.
