Been quiet here so I'll bring up a topic not discussed here as far as I can tell AND there is no right answer. It's about where do you do your scoring specifically. Most of us have a 'business' where we operate out of somewhere.
My mentor has a storefront in a strip center. He pays rent, for example as well as other expenses like maintaining his cooling system and paying for part of the repairs to the outside parking lot. He said he looked into an office building but it was too expensive since for example, if he wanted to work past normal hours, was then responsible for extra costs like heating and cooling.
I currently do my scoring out of my residence where I maintain my studio. But many locations and neighborhoods here in the U.S. do not allow (have 'deed restrictions') that prevent or prohibit running commercial businesses in residential locations.
So this post is about WHAT and WHERE you run your business and WHY you chose that option currently. It is NOT about critiquing others choices or to suggest there is only one way of maintaining a scoring business.
Personally I work out of our spare room, which is unideal (it's untreated, very small, and definitely not sound proof). Having said that, I've scored a great deal of films and games from in there so it is possible- it just adds in extra difficulty. Here in the UK there aren't any problems with using your home address for self employment, so that's ok. We're hoping to move in the new year, so I'll at least be able to have a bit more space and get the room treated nicely which will help a lot. The ultimate dream is to build a dedicated studio in the garden in the style of a hobbit hole- brilliant for insulation and sound proofing, plus super cool!
Thanks for checking in on this. Implicit in your comments (I assume) is that you work with live performers where acoustics are important. Many of us, including me, work towards that goal. When I record live musicians, now, however, I do not do so in my studio - I either pay for time in a studio designed for live recording, or I record in a club or on a stage.
For many who work on lower budget films where there is no money for live musicians, the room acoustics, I would assume are then not a factor.
Room acoustics are very much a factor during the mix phase of your production (unless you're mixing in your cans, which I wouldn't recommend), even if it's an in-the-box production without any live instruments. Your control room needs to be treated to avoid flutter echoes, bass buildup, etc. Otherwise, you could easily end up with a mix that doesn't translate well to other rooms. And even with a good room, you need either flat monitors, or monitors that you know well enough you can mix on them. One program I'd recommend if you don't have flat monitors and a room that isn't acoustically perfect is SonarWorks Reference 4. You need a calibration mic to use it (either one you own, or SonarWorks sells their own). Right now, they're only set up for stereo, but they say that 5.1 is in the pipeline. You use their software and the calibration mic to acoustically map your room and it creates a profile for a plug-in that adjusts for both the non-flatness of your speakers and some of the acoustic imperfections of your control room (those that can be treated with an EQ curve). I'm set up with a 5.1 array of old Event 20/20's because I learned to mix while engineering for Christopher Young (I've recorded tracks on RUNAWAY JURY and BANDITS, and recorded/mixed tracks from COUNTRY BEARS and SHADE), and those were the speakers he preferred. So my ears knew how to mix on them, despite them not being the most flat speakers to mix with. But with SonarWorks, they're much easier to mix on. As for my room, it's got baffles and bass traps, but a little help never hurts. https://www.sonarworks.com/reference If you're in a room that simply can't be treated, another program I'd suggest checking out (I've only used it once, so I can tentatively recommend it) is the new Waves Abbey Road Studio 3. I said I don't recommend mixing scores in headphones (fine for detail/daily work, but IMO your final mix should really be through speakers), but with this plug-in, if it doesn't replace speakers, it can at least offer a comparison. It takes your entire mix and puts it through an IR taken from Abbey Road's Studio 3 Control Room. I spent nearly a week working in that room when Chris and I were in London for the recording of AN UNFINISHED LIFE, and IMO the room rates the hype for its sound. This plug-in kinda makes it sound like you're listening to your mix in that room. If you use the plug-in in conjunction with the Nx Head Tracker attached to your headphones, you get this trippy situation where you can turn your head and the music continues to come from the direction of the virtual speakers. ARS3 also has a limited amount of headphone profiles that will adjust the EQ in your cans to sound more flat, similar to what SonarWorks does. The biggest problem I have with mixing in headphones is the bass end, which is always tricky to suss out until you hear it on speakers. I was surprised, but I found I was able to nail the bass levels with ARS3. Like I said, I've only used it once, but so far so good. https://www.waves.com/plugins/abbey-road-studio-3#presenting-the-waves-a... https://www.waves.com/hardware/nx-head-tracker
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... I was going to post about acoustics and mixing, but Jonathan has beaten me to it and been far more informative than I could ever aspire to be! Exactly what he said, the acoustics are a problem for mixing as well. I've heard about the Abbey Road plug in, it sounds interesting but I have heard very mixed reviews. I hadn't heard of that SonarWorks one but it looks very useful- worth noting that some other composers are saying it takes over your system and starts messing with things that are perfectly well calibrated, but you can just use a VST rather than a systemwide version to solve the problem from the look of it. That one is going on my Black Friday list, thanks for the heads up!
Thanks Jonathan for the very informative information. But perhaps you would be interested in commenting on the original topic of using a home studio versus paying for a location somewhere else? Do you see pros or cons for one versus the other - especially for those who who are just starting out or at the beginning of their careers without a lot of income currently.
My bases or places I stay are always home offices/studios. I prep the room to do whatever I want, wherever I’m staying. I would never ask permission or pay for another building. Acoustics are extremely easy fixes and I’ve recorded a ton of stuff in home studios. I don’t give a freak what the rest of the house looks like or anything. I have one concern: can I get a quality recording with solid producer. It’s like shooting a scene on a city street. If I wait on the city to give me permission I’ll never get the scene done. If I shoot and get busted, which never happens, I’ll ask for forgiveness. But I haven’t had to apologize yet. Do you bro. The city doesn’t give a sh.. and neither will your clients. If you were in Denver I’d record a song with you today. Hope this helps. Take what you like funk the rest. Always here for u
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As for the Abbey Road plug-in, I only recently tried it out. I had just moved and was in the middle of scoring a zombie feature. My new space wasn't treated yet and I was faced with sending preliminary mixes to the director with either a) a headphone mix, or b) a mix in a highly reflective room with no bass traps. So given those options I decided to take a chance on the Abbey Road/Nx Head Tracker. Before the delivery mix, I got my new space treated and SonarWork'd and was able to double-check the mixes, and here's the thing: I didn't change any of the mixes. They were good to go. So, was mixing my score like being in Abbey Road Studio 3's control room? Nope. But was it a useful plug-in that allowed me to mix on my headphones? Seems like it. I'm still not completely confident enough to only use ABS3, but I now use it as an alternate source. Kind of like how you might take your mix to other studios, or your car stereo, to see how your mix translates.
As for SonarWorks systemwide, I was running it systemwide for a time, and I can't remember why I stopped. I don't think it was anything major. But Joanna, you're right, its main use is as a plug-in on your monitor bus (or master bus if you don't use a monitor bus).
As for my space...it's always been a home studio for my own work. I like to be near my family. It's easy to clock in 70+ hours a week scoring a film, and I appreciate being able to see my family during that time.
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Good stuff, Jonathan Price!