The evolution of "the Florence studio" for The Guardian's Tech Weekly and for simulrecs for BBC Radio 4's The Digital Human.
Here's how it's played out:
WEEK ONE: I started out with my fancy recorder and microphone, and the basic kit that producer Jason Phipps gave me when I left London: a tabletop mic stand and some acoustic foam.
WEEK TWO: I started getting fancy. The room I'm recording in is in the eaves of a renaissance-era stone house. The floor is stone tile, the walls are made of stone, there are big single-pane windows with wooden shutters (no curtains), the ceiling is, effectively, the inside of the tile roof, and there are two large skylights. In other words, audio recording nightmare.
So I started by putting a pillow on top of the audio foam.
WEEK THREE: I created a little cave for the mic. Unfortunately, the mic kinda got lost.
WEEK FOUR: As week 3, but with the dog's mattress on the lamp behind me. Just 'cause. See, every time I've been in a studio, there's softness everywhere, to catch the audio waves and reduce reflected sound. The recordings were echo-y to my ear, so I thought this might help. Thankfully, he doesn't shed.
WEEK FIVE: I started building forts.
The first one wasn't much more structurally exciting than adding a blanket over my head to the setup in week 1. But by the next week, my newfangled Editor's Keys portable vocal booth pro2 arrived, and I was able to get seriously creative.
WEEK SIX: There are pieces of bed involved. Suitcases. And the foam Jason gave me on the mic stand behind. And towels. And the dog's bed. And a lap desk. It's very exciting. it's also raining directly above my head onto the skylight, which is noisy. Must try harder.
WEEK SEVEN: I am in a more complete fort. Every pillow in the house has been enlisted. Every blanket. Clamps. Clips. And I am trapped. I literally can't get out. Help.
Listen to the results here and here.
