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This blog explains my process of building the most cost effective mini Foley Sound Stage to record Foley sounds in your own home or another home studio.
We all have Sound Design and Foley ideas that we want to carry out and implement. However, not all of us have the resources to book and use a Foley Sound Stage. So, why not build your own? Most people may want to turn their entire garage into a Foley Studio. Well, if you only need to do minimal things like record footsteps or trinkets, then you could use something that is compact, effective, and also portable. Something like a mini Sound Stage. Yea, that’s right a mini portable Foley Sound Stage. Built cost effectively for about $60.00 - $70.00. I know just the materials you need to get this done.
Items Needed:
Note: You might be able to buy any of these materials from one hardware store.
4 plywood boards of Unbranded-Underlayment-Common-7-32-in. x 4ft x 8ft. 
Drill ( If you don’t have one, borrow one)
Sound Isolation Foam - Wedges or Wedgies. (Alternative; Bedding from Walmart)
The dimension size of the portable Foley Stage that I chose to build is 3 x 2 x 1.
Steps to Build:
Start installing the 3 brackets on the 2ft plywood sides
Make sure the brackets are spaced out appropriately.
Drill bracket to 3ft plywood so that the 2ft plywood are jointed.
Continue the steps all around the perimeter.
Drill 3 brackets from the 3 ft plywood to the foundation bottom plywood.
Cut the amount of absorption foam needed and glue it to the inside. Try to cover all the corners possible as it will help dampen extraneous noise and result in better recordings.
That’s it. You are pretty much done and your new Foley stage should look like this. (Unless you decided to go with different dimensions). This stage can fit in your car/truck and be ported to another home studio for recording.
Now there are some extra things you can begin to collect and use for your Foley Sound Stage.
Mover’s Blanket: This is multi-purpose item. I found that by kneeling a lot it becomes very painful and the movers blanket is a great cushion. It can also be used as an absorption blanket to go underneath the Foley Stage or inside it.
Purchase at: Local Hardware Store (Harbor Freight Tools)
Cost: $ 8.99
Storage Box: I like to call this my “Adult Toy Chest”. I used to have one as a child, ironically, made out of wood. However, as we get older our taste changes and most of us grow up. Inside here you can store as much sound design trinkets, gizmos, and oddities as you like that will give you cool sounds to record.
Purchased at: Walmart
Cost: $39.98
Shoes: You can collect these from your siblings, friends, or your local thrift store/Goodwill. After all, you probably will need them for some footstep recordings one day.
Purchased at: Thrift Store; Goodwill/Salvation Army
Cost: $1.00 - $20.00
Concrete Bricks: These come in great handy when you need to do some sound effects that might not be in a library, such as stone walls in an Ancient Ruin. For the game “I Can’t Escape - Darkness” I was tasked in making some heavy stone walls that open and close when the player enters a key. I couldn’t find them in a sound library so, I bought a couple bricks. Luckily, Home Depot had a sale going on (which they almost always do) and I was able buy them, record them, do some editing and make this.
Purchased at: Home Depot and Do It Center also known as DIY Center
Cost: $0.43 - $1.19
These are just a few examples of items you can collect to enhance your new Portable Foley Stage and cool things to record in them. I like to refer to “The Sound Effects Bible” by Ric Viers for more ideas of things to collect and to look out for when shopping.
So, go out there and get started. Keep a lookout for free things on Craigslist or sometimes, in my case, a liquidation sale from a hardware store. You never know what you will find and you don’t always need a big budget to make great sounds.
About the Author: Chase Bethea is a Composer and Sound Designer. His passion for games has allowed him to be a part of great projects such as “I Can’t Escape”, “I Can’t Escape: Darkness”, “Deity Quest” & “Cubic Climber”, which earned a Noteworthy in 2013 on Destructoid.com and many more. You can find out more about him at www.chasebethea.com or follow him on Twitter @chasebethea
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