How to Turn Your Outbuilding into the Perfect Home YouTube Studio
Posted on: 18 July 2016
Now that your YouTube career is starting to take off, it's time to think about increasing your video production quality. Aside from purchasing high-quality cameras, microphones, and software, you'll also need to think about the 'studio' where you film. Sometimes, filming in your bedroom just won't cut it. At first, shooting videos in an outbuilding like a garage, pool house, or shed seems like a bad idea. However, with a little work, these rooms can become the perfect home studio. Here are the 2 major things you need to consider when turning your outbuilding into a hub for video production.
1. Lighting
If you ever show your face on camera, you need good lighting in your studio. The first thing you'll want to do is block natural light from entering the room. If your outbuilding has no windows, you don't need to worry about this. If it does have windows, purchasing blackout blinds should be sufficient to block light out without making permanent alterations to the building. If you find that light is still coming into the room through the gaps, simply tape the edges of the blinds to the walls or window frame.
Blocking out sunlight gives you full control over the lighting in your studio. How much artificial lighting you'll need depends on the size of your space, but you'll generally want enough lighting to come from multiple angles to avoid shadows or colour issues. The easiest way to achieve this is by purchasing a studio lighting kit for photographers. These come in a variety of sizes and options, but try to choose one that will give you at least 3 separate sources of light.
Avoid using regular house lamps, as the colour and intensity of these lights makes for poor video quality.
2. Sound
When it comes to home studio sound, there are two main things you need to think about: preventing outdoor sounds coming into your room, and preventing indoor sounds from being picked up by your microphone. These will usually be achieved using wall coverings, floor coverings, and construction work.
Preventing outdoor sounds from coming indoors is called soundproofing. How much soundproofing you'll require depends on where your outbuilding is situated. A garage on the roadside will need to be more soundproof than a building set on acres of grassland. Depending on your room, soundproofing can be very expensive, so make sure you budget for this expense early on if need be. If your outbuilding is subjected to a lot of noise, you may want to consider using a different room as your studio (unless you have an unlimited budget!).
Preventing your microphone from picking up indoor distortions and echoes is called acoustic treatment. Many people assume soundproofing is all that's needed, but the indoor acoustics will still need to be addressed even after soundproofing. If not, you'll end up with warped sounding audio on your videos. You'll need to contact a building acoustics company about the best kit or treatment choice for you based on the size and location of your outbuilding. If your room isn't exposed to much outdoor sound, the minimal soundproofing that comes as an added benefit to acoustic treatment may be enough for you.
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