By the way, before pouring such a huge concrete slab, I should have thought about waterproofing. But at that time, I didn't think I could explain to the builders exactly what needed to be done and why. I was also unsure about the budget needed for such work, so I skipped the necessary underlayment and poured the concrete directly onto the ground.
How To Build a Foley Studio. Chapter III
August 24 2024
25 min
4245
Author
Yuri Pridachin
Own and Operate at Foley First
Previously with Foley First:
When international intrigue forced Foley First to open a studio on foreign soil, I was faced with the nearly impossible task of finding a location and building a sound studio in Turkey. With a looming deadline and no perfectly suitable places available, I fought through setback after setback in an inhospitable climate, chasing mystery sounds and inventing new methods of building along the way. As the deadline drew nearer, however, the obstacles were too great. With the floor itself leaking sound, and the dirt underneath acting as a giant, studio-wide amplifier, I was forced to turn away from the studio build to meet our deadlines in other ways. Exhausted and out of budget, with apparently unsolvable problems to face, I locked the place up and walked away.
After a few months working elsewhere, I was curious to see what was happening at the studio. So in December, three months after the construction had halted, I decided to visit the construction site. I hoped that the break would give me some perspective on overcoming the challenges I had encountered during the construction process.
As soon as I entered, I noticed the overall excellent condition of the space; the room seemed dry, although the air felt stale. But the PVC glass doors we had installed were wet, and the double-glazed windows were fogged up. The worst part was that the plasterboard used for soundproofing the columns was covered with mold from top to bottom!
How did this happen? I realized that after we had removed the concrete floor in September, the soil was left uncovered, allowing moisture to seep into the room. Since I had turned off the ventilation system when I left, humidity had built up in the room, leading to this outcome. Oops! I had never seen such a sight before in my life, haha.
I hurriedly checked to see if the mold had affected other building materials in the studio. If the wood used for the acoustic finishing on the walls and ceiling was damaged, it would pose a significant problem. We'd have to remove all the affected wooden elements, replace the materials, and construct new ones. Working in a room where mold has developed is a health hazard.
Luckily, the wood, the mineral wool, and the walls behind it were not damaged. The plasterboard on the studio's ceiling also looked to be in good condition, which was a relief.
By the way, the Turks insisted that mold was not a big problem and that it was enough to apply some magic remedy to make it disappear. Really? However, I was certain that once mold has appeared in a room, it is extremely difficult to remove it completely without replacing the damaged elements, whether it's wood, concrete, or plasterboard. Besides, considering that the columns were not properly supported, there was no point in fighting for their continued existence.
I didn’t start right then, though. Instead, I opened all the doors, turned on the ventilation, and departed. Having rested and regained my strength, I was now ready to continue this project with a new budget and a refreshed mindset. I wasn't in a rush anymore, and that felt great.
February 2023: Strange Things Happen in February
So, this February was the second in a row full of "interesting" events.
On February 6th, around 4 a.m., I suddenly woke up with my bed shaking like crazy. Startled, I woke my wife, and she immediately told me it was an earthquake, all wide-eyed and excited. We didn't react too fast, but we grabbed what we needed and rushed out into the street with the whole family. By then, almost everyone in the building complex had already evacuated, and half an hour later, the city was stuck in traffic jams. It was not a fun experience, let me tell you.
The first time we experienced an earthquake, we didn't really get how serious it was. But when the news reported casualties, and we felt a second strong jolt ten hours later, we started freaking out. Aftershocks kept happening until August, and I got really good at quickly getting out of our apartment. After lots of practice, my personal best was 15 seconds from realizing what was going on to making it outside, tackling four flights of stairs. Nice, man!
Mersin used to be the safest city in terms of earthquakes. Even though the epicenter was about 450 km to the east and registered 7.8, we only felt about 5.5 here. After another strong jolt, we drove 200 km in the opposite direction and spent three days in a hotel, worried that Mersin might shake again.
Upon our return, like many others, I pitched a tent in the complex where we were staying and lived there for a week. It was quite an interesting experience as I hadn't camped for that length of time in a while.
This was one of the most devastating earthquakes in Turkey’s history, resulting in the loss of 55,000 lives.
By the way, the studio survived the earthquake. I inspected the walls and ceiling, but didn't find any damage or cracks.
March 2023: Second Wind
I kept visiting the studio until March, just standing there, thinking and listening. I couldn't figure out why the soil sounded like a drum or where the low frequencies were coming from.
It finally hit me that the low-frequency noise was much stronger now that the room had no concrete floor. When I literally put my ear to the soil, I heard all the noise that the sand was transmitting. It was like a light bulb went off in my head! All this time, I had been trying to find the reason for the poor soundproofing in the studio's walls and ceiling, but it never occurred to me that the floor was the source of the problem. Normally, when I built studios at Foley First, there was always a thick concrete foundation slab in the room, so I never paid much attention to the floor. This situation was a one-of-a-kind for me and simply incredible! The ground, not connected to the road and at different heights, directly transferred structural noise into the studio through the building itself.
Now the problem was clear. And so was the solution. I didn't need to find the cause of the boomy floor, but simply lay a thick, sturdy concrete slab over the entire studio area. This would stop the low frequencies coming up from the ground and also create a solid floor that's perfect for recording footsteps in a Foley studio.
Well, I decided not to take any risks or cut any corners. I planned to dig a pit 35 centimeters deep and remove all the sandy soil from the studio, and then fill the pit with 35 centimeters of reinforced concrete slab. A concrete floor of this thickness, constructed using proper techniques, would have a large mass and, as a result, a low resonant frequency, making it suitable for constructing Foley pits on top. Notably, a 35 cm reinforced concrete slab is the standard foundation used in building two-story houses in Russia. I was thrilled that a solution was found, and I was 80% confident that it would work.
Before pouring the slab, though, we had to dismantle the soundproofing structure meant for the columns and remove the concrete bases we had previously erected for Foley textures, which had turned out to be unsuitable anyway. Breaking up 2.5 cubic meters of concrete was quite a challenge, but I made sure to take it slow and keep a close eye on how things were going.
Deconstruction
A team of two quickly dismantled the soundproofing shell of the columns in just one day, including garbage removal. Easy peasy. Breaking is not building!
But taking apart the two concrete structures, which were built using Foley texture concrete and tiles for the footsteps, proved to be challenging. Fortunately, there was more sand than cement in the mixture when it was poured, which made the job slightly easier. Nevertheless, it still took two days to restore the soil to its original condition.
We spent three days digging a pit across the entire studio area, reaching a depth of 35 centimeters. The sand was extremely hard, requiring the builders to use a hammer drill. Since it was impossible to bring a bulldozer into the studio, all the work was done manually with shovels, and the sand was removed using carts.
I went about three or four months without needing to haggle over prices, but then I had to start doing it again because the quotes from different contractors to pour the new floor varied significantly. Drawing on my past experience in bargaining and negotiating, I managed to find a contractor who could meet all the necessary requirements for a fair price. So I reached an agreement with one of the owners of a construction company for the construction of a 35 cm monolithic slab using a mixture of sand, cement, and small stones. I required that the mixture be prepared using an industrial mixer. I also emphasized the importance of the builders using a vibrator while pouring the floor. Additionally, I clarified that the concrete should be poured using thick reinforcement.
So, let's get started!
Pouring an Independent Floor
We started by creating a barrier of rigid polystyrene sheeting around the entire perimeter of the room and the columns. This prevented the freshly poured concrete from forming a solid connection with any of the studio elements, in particular with the foundations of the studio walls and columns.
I wasn't really surprised to see that there was no industrial mixer or steel reinforcement frame at the construction site before the concrete pouring began, despite my insistence when the deal was made. But let's not dwell on that anymore, haha.
The concrete pouring process was carried out in three stages due to the large area to be filled and the target floor thickness. First, the entire area was poured to a height of 12 cm, followed by using a vibrator to remove air from the mixture. Then, a metal mesh (this is what they brought me instead of thick reinforcement) was laid, and two more layers of 11-12 cm each were poured. A vibrator was used between each layer of the poured mixture.
Additionally, the industrial mixer machine meant to prepare the mixture did not arrive as planned. Despite this setback, I refrained from getting into a conflict and trusted the expertise of the workers. I just made it clear to them that I expected the same quality of work but on a larger scale, referencing the successful foundation others had previously built for the studio walls.
Everything was going relatively well, but I had to keep reminding the team to use the concrete vibrator once the room was halfway filled with concrete. It turned out that they had forgotten the machine in the office and had to get their friends to bring it to the construction site. After several reminders, the tool finally arrived, but then one of the builders didn't quite know how to use it. He started waving the vibrator around randomly and holding it on the concrete surface for a few seconds. I had to step in and show him how to use the tool properly. Dirty work! I love it, haha!
I spent the whole day working alongside the builders, getting my hands dirty and closely monitoring every stage of the work. It was quite a repetitive process, with the team starting at 8 am and wrapping up the concrete pouring by 5 pm. There were six people involved in the operation: two were mixing sand, gravel, and cement with shovels, two were transporting it to the room using carts, and the remaining two were responsible for leveling the floor and using the vibrator.
After a few days, I returned to the studio to inspect the completed floor. It looked maaaaaasive!
Two Days Later
Two days later, the cement had reached its optimal strength. When I tested it by impact, I found that it was exactly what I had wanted. Dammit, finally!
The low frequencies no longer seeped into the room, even though the columns were still not soundproofed. The large slab generated low frequencies when I tapped on it. However, I realized that without additional acoustic treatments meant to absorb low frequencies, which tended to accumulate in the corners of the room, this would be impossible to avoid.
This wasn't a problem, and at that moment, I knew that this studio would thrive.
Killing Low Frequencies
I love building bass traps! There's something really satisfying about constructing them. They end up looking huge and totally impressive. Of course, safety first—masks and gloves are a must, heh. Once, I set up massive hanging bass traps in one of my control rooms, and they made a huge difference in the low-frequency range, reducing the room decay time to 200-300 ms in the 40-200 Hz range. Bass traps are super effective, but make sure your room has plenty of space before building them.
In this Foley studio, I decided not to use big hanging bass traps to save space. Instead, I focused on placing absorbent materials in the corners to eliminate low-frequency resonances in the room.
Constructing corner bass traps ended up being a great way to use up material left over from the construction of the sound studio. I had an extra tile absorber and a roll of mineral wool that I used for the bass traps. I don't think the density of the absorber/mineral wool matters very much in absorbing low frequencies: any density from 30 kg/m3 to 70 kg/m3 would work great. I wasn't so sure about 150 kg/m3 because I've only used mineral wool of this density for a floating floor structure.
I constructed a frame for the corner traps using thin wooden slats and placed the mineral wool on top. The frame was shaped like a triangle, with the sides measuring 90 cm and the hypotenuse 127 cm. This size turned out to be just right for the room, and the corner traps work really well!
After installing the bass traps, the low frequencies in the room were significantly reduced. The concrete floor in such an acoustic environment started sounding rich and non-resonant with a nice, soft low-frequency base—exactly what I was aiming for.
After finishing the construction, the last step was to wrap the mineral wool with windproof fabric.
Rebuilding the Columns
After we removed the soundproofing from the columns and poured the floor in the studio, I had to restart the process of soundproofing the columns. I researched skilled builders in the market and the cost of construction materials for this task. Ultimately, I decided to take on the work myself.
At that time, a bunch of my fellow countryfolk lived in Mersin. I thought I'd give it a shot and sent a message to a chat group on Telegram to see if anyone would be up for helping me out with a construction project. Luckily, I connected with a guy, Nikita, who had his own small construction company back home. It was really awesome because as we worked together, we just clicked and both had a good sense of perfectionism. It was a great feeling to think back on what it was like to build in Russia. It was such a fun and professional experience!
My friend and I made a conscious choice to forgo using metal and instead constructed a robust frame using 50x100 mm wooden beams, reinforcing these with cross beams to ensure resilience and the ability to withstand humidity. The frame was placed on the newly constructed floor without a rigid attachment. We took care to apply vibration-insulating tape between the beam and the concrete, as we had done previously.
The next step was to pack the space between the frame and the column with mineral wool. Because of the previous humidity issues, the frame was covered with a moisture-resistant plasterboard instead of a regular plasterboard. Using a laser level and some neat tools, we ensured that the structure was perfectly aligned. Seeing how sturdy and well-constructed our work turned out to be felt incredibly fulfilling. I had almost forgotten how much I love building studios!
It took a few days, but we successfully soundproofed the columns. Now the room is wonderfully quiet!
Decorative Finishing and the Ceiling
Turkey is famous for its wide variety of beautiful fabrics, which can be found in stores, markets, and factories in abundance. These textiles come in every color, taste, and price range.
When working on studio walls in Russia, I typically used gabardine as a finish because it is affordable and easy to work with. This fabric is not too thick and doesn't reflect high frequencies, making it a great choice. It also stretches well and is simple to attach. Since the roll's width is usually 150 cm, there is minimal waste when attaching it to wooden bars with a stapler. During the construction of my first control room, I opted for a special acoustic fabric, which cost five times more than gabardine. Did I feel any difference? Rather no than yes.
I had difficulty finding gabardine in Turkey. It was available but needed to be ordered from the factory, which was unreasonably expensive. I also hesitated to choose the color online, considering the large quantity needed for the walls and ceiling, which totaled 160 m2, and the possibility of getting the wrong shade.
Turkish markets are a treasure trove, though! I quickly found and bought two large rolls of some dark blue fabric. It was the color I had wanted to use for the ceiling paneling for a long time.
Unfortunately, at that time, my bud Nikita, who was helping me with the soundproofing of the columns, had to leave the country, so I was left to panel the ceiling all by myself. It was tough, but I got through it. To cover up the stapler seams where the fabric overlapped, I used a thin board that I painted in the same color as the fabric and attached to the ceiling frame.
Patching Holes in the Floor
As I mentioned earlier, when we poured the floor for the studio, I purposefully left five centimeter gaps between the floor and the foundation of the walls. This was to make sure the cement structures were acoustically decoupled. Now I needed to seal these gaps to prevent sound from traveling from the ground into the room. Mineral wool seemed like a good solution, so that's what I used.
However, about a month later, I found that the mineral wool had become damp. It turned out that the moisture from the ground needed a way to escape, and the gaps were the only route out. Oops!
I had to remove all of the damp mineral wool, and although there was still a small amount of noise coming into the room, it was clear that the open cavity was the weak point. It wasn't a major issue and could be managed, but I wanted to see if using a different material could solve the problem.
After weighing the options, I decided to try filling the gap with fine river sand. With its minute particle size, the sand would minimize the transmission of vibrations, and at a depth of 35 centimeters, it seemed sufficient to act as a soundproofing barrier.
And it worked! The sound coming from the gaps in the floor were gone.
April 2023: Cloud Panels and Acoustics Tuning
The room's basic acoustic treatment was done: all the walls and ceiling had been fitted with 100 mm thick absorbers, and we'd installed substantial bass traps in the corners of the room. This Foley studio sounded great—-not muffled but just neutral, which was perfect. I was thinking of throwing in some diffusers in a few spots to balance out the sound even more.
At first, I had planned the room layout assuming that the Foley Artist would be chilling in the center of the room, where the acoustics seemed controlled and pleasant. But later on, I found an annoying resonance at frequencies of 150-170 Hz right in this spot that needed to be looked at.
I came up with a simple idea: I would install two cloud ceiling panels to absorb the problematic frequency range. To prevent the sound in that area from becoming too dry at mid and high frequencies, I had to attach a thin, hard material to the front of the panels to reflect the sound waves.
There are several calculators online that can help in designing such panels to ensure they work efficiently within a specific frequency range. It's important to note that the distance of the panel absorber to the hard ceiling surface and the thickness of the absorber itself are the primary factors that influence the absorbed frequency range, Q, and absorption coefficient. To enhance the panel's effectiveness across a broader frequency range and increase Q, the panel should be suspended from the ceiling at an angle.
I made modifications to the ceiling panel to improve its reflection of high-mid and high frequencies by attaching 3 mm fiberboard material to the front side, which has a pattern with holes, allowing some of the sound to be absorbed by mineral wool, while the rest of the waves are reflected back into the room at an angle. This setup helps in creating a neutral acoustic environment and reduces the risk of high-frequency fluttering echo between the panel and the hard floor.
After the installation, I took measurements and discovered that the resonance had disappeared. Mission accomplished!
Additional Acoustic Treatment
In the studio, I put up round diffusers on the left wall to make the sound better. They're made of thin plywood and filled with absorber, and they work pretty well at absorbing low frequencies and spreading out the mid and high ones, making the room sound nice.
I'm not saying the Foley artist's sound in the middle of the room would change drastically during recording because of these diffusers, but I had the materials and the time, so why not give it a shot! I know the sound will probably change once we fill the room with stuff, and these designs might just end up being used as stands, but as an acoustic designer, I always hope that my creations will be put to good use.
I also did a similar thing on the front wall right above the Foley artist's work area, just to improve the sound a bit without going overboard, since the room already sounded nice.
Oh, and I'm really thankful to my new buddy Dmitry for doing an awesome job with the final acoustic finishing of the studio.
Tests on Real Work
In April 2023, my team was working on an exciting feature film that required us to record various props, including large plants.
While Russia was still all snowy, Turkey had palm leaves, reeds, and tall plants just outside the studio. I saw this as a great opportunity, so I decided to capture these sounds in the Turkish studio. The room wasn't fully set up—there were no desks or chairs even. But I was really eager to check out the studio under real working conditions.
So, my first impressions were like,
“Whoa! Such a wide sound and so much depth! I could work four meters from the mic and not feel how the room significantly adds its colors.”
It was freaking awesome! I enjoyed the whole process. Honestly, it wasn't until that moment that I could finally relax and fully embrace that all the hard work had actually paid off, haha.
Shelves and Other Stuff
The next tasks on our list included building shelves to store our main props and creating Foley surfaces for footstep sounds.
I opted against using aluminum for the shelves because it resonates noticeably, much like the other metal props in the room. Wood has always been my preferred choice due to its simplicity, ease of use, and its acoustic properties, which are ideal for recording rooms.
Together with Dmitry, we decided to build the shelves ourselves (actually, he did most of the work). After calculating the costs, we found that it was only about 150 TL (approximately $7 at that time), which was incredibly cheap.
By that time, I had some reliable connections with local wood traders in the city. Their prices were fair and trustworthy for me. However, out of curiosity, I wanted to see how much it would cost me, as a foreigner, to get a ready-made structure. Across the street from the studio, there was a workshop where they produced wood products. Dmitry and I decided to visit and inquire about the prices. Can you believe it? They quoted 800 TL for one unit! We thanked them politely, smiled, and went back to the studio to build the shelves ourselves. A couple of days later, everything was ready.
At around the same time, a large desk was delivered by a courier service. I absolutely adore large desks! Normally, large desks in control rooms tend to cause acoustic problems, but interestingly, I didn't notice any negative effects from this particular large tabletop. However, I did have to cover all the metal legs of the desk with a material often used for soundproofing cars. This material consists of 4 mm sheets on a bitumen base, which can be easily glued to the resonating surface under high temperatures. This helps to dampen the treated surface and reduce the decay time of ringing frequencies caused by hollow steel and aluminum. Additionally, to address the issue of standing waves between the table and the tiled floor, I also had to attach a layer of acoustic foam rubber to the underside of the tabletop.
Building Foley Surfaces
I was really looking forward to getting all the tough stuff done quickly so I could move on to the final step: collecting the props for the studio. All I had left to do was build the surfaces for the steps, which involved making a concrete frame for dirt and a separate concrete surface for recording steps on asphalt.
I made the decision to hold off on hiring additional builders as there wasn't much work remaining, and it was crucial that these structures were of the highest quality. If the job wasn't executed properly, the surfaces would produce unpleasant sounds and resonances, and I certainly didn't want to start over because I was so close to done.
I thought about using the thick foundation slab of the floor we poured earlier for recording steps and other surfaces, but after a month, I discovered that the builders had used too much sand and not enough cement in the mixture. As a result, the floor started to crumble and felt pretty soft. It had good acoustic specs, but it needed to be covered with ceramic tiles to stop it from falling apart and releasing a ton of dust into the studio—dust is always a huge problem in Foley studios.
Foley Pit for Dirt Surface
Dmitry and I got our hands on some steel reinforcement and cut it to build a frame measuring 160x220 centimeters. To keep the metal rods steady, we anchored them into the existing floor.
We used 20x150 mm planks for the formwork, which would create walls tall enough to shape the dirt's surface.
When it came time to mix the ingredients, I saw it as a great opportunity to experiment with the proportions of sand, concrete, and water before moving on to an even larger surface for the asphalt steps. Dmitry and I used a drill attachment to thoroughly blend all the ingredients. We decided to try a 1 to 1 ratio, using equal parts sand and pure cement, and then adding water gradually until the mixture smoothly filled the wooden formwork.
After three days, I checked the surface hardness, and it turned out just as I'd hoped—matching the usual results from building materials available in Russia. I was all set to get started on constructing the concrete Foley surface.
Concrete Pit
As I mentioned before, the current floor in the studio, while it provided adequate soundproofing, was deteriorating. We still use it for recording to capture the unique texture of the loose concrete, which adds depth and character to the sound of footsteps. However, it's clear that this floor will need repairs soon, as it wears down quickly.
To create a sturdier concrete surface, we needed to construct a wooden formwork and an aluminum frame to provide reinforcement. This mini-foundation in the studio serves as a versatile platform for creating various surfaces, and not just for footsteps. Once we achieved a sufficiently smooth and level plane, it became apparent that it could be used for other textures. For instance, when we need to use a hollow wooden sound for recording footsteps, we don't necessarily require a pre-prepared Foley pit on the other side of the studio. Instead, we can simply place the hollow wooden structure directly on the concrete base. While it may seem inconvenient to move heavy stuff around the studio repeatedly, our experience has shown that it offers greater flexibility for fine-tuning each surface. Furthermore, in all cases, the room's acoustics remain controlled and easily adjustable as needed, since we are positioned at the most acoustically advantageous point in the room—its center.
Without delving into the intricacies of constructing such a surface, you can observe the entire process in the video below.
A few days after the concrete had set, I was eager to compare the rigidity of the mixture Dmitry and I poured with that of the existing studio floor. The difference was striking!
Collecting Props
When a Foley artist moves to a foreign country, it's not easy to track down all the stuff needed for a Foley studio. Where do you go to grab shoes? And, most importantly, where do you go to snag secondhand stuff at a decent price? Price is key because you have to try out about twenty pairs of shoes to pick at least five for Foley work. Some will work, but usually more than half will be a no-go for any given project.
When I worked at the Foley studio in Istanbul, I had this problem. The available shoes for recording just didn't cut it for me, but getting new shoes required both budget and time. In Russia, we’d usually check out thrift stores, where shoes are often cheap and there's a good selection. As another option, we’d hit up the local online classifieds where we could find what we needed in bulk at a good price. It’s best if you can buy a bunch at once. So I started looking for big thrift stores in Istanbul out of habit, only to find that there are hardly any. What a letdown!
My colleague suggested checking out one of the central markets in the city, instead. It turned out to be a goldmine for any Foley artist! I didn't take any photos, but let me tell you, in that 300-square-meter area, you could find 150 different pairs of used shoes, priced from $3 to $7 per pair. If you bought ten pairs at once, you could easily negotiate down to $3 per pair. It was a Foley artist's paradise! Not all the shoes were suitable, but at such low prices, I didn't hesitate to buy fifty pairs, ensuring I had ten to twenty pairs for work in the end.
After that awesome experience in Istanbul, I decided to search for similar markets in Mersin, but no luck. I looked up the nearest cities and found a big market in Adana, 100 km east. And guess what? It was awesome too! The shoes were still super cheap, and on top of that, I could buy essential props there.
During our first trip to Adana, we ended up purchasing around thirty different bags, purses, backpacks, etc from the market, and it only set us back about $50, which was pretty amusing. Knowing how to haggle was definitely crucial.
Afterward, I discovered that Mersin has flea markets where you can find all sorts of odds and ends that might seem like junk to some, but not to someone in the Foley industry! These items are scattered around either on the streets or indoors. You can stumble upon just about anything there, from chains and bags to refrigerators and even real carriages! I was thrilled by the abundance of props available in Turkey. During our first visit to a market like this, we left with a whole pickup load of props, which cost around $200 including delivery.
As the studio started filling up with props, I felt reassured that if needed, I could almost certainly find and purchase anything I required in the city. Over time, as I kept returning, the sellers attempted to hike up prices for me, noticing my consistent interest. I had to push back against this every time.
May 2023: Launched!
I was feeling pretty confident that the studio construction project would finally be done. So I started scheduling new projects with strong hopes. It turned out even better than I expected, which felt like a little thank-you from the universe after all the pain the construction put me through, haha. My guys and I are having a blast enjoying the acoustics of this room. By the way, you can also check how the room sounds using the video below.
While we've been working on projects in the new studio, I've also been trying to tackle the high humidity issue in the room. I experimented with household dehumidifiers, but they didn't quite cut it for such a large space. The air conditioner has been the most effective means of getting rid of the moisture in the room, but it means we have to pause our work to turn on the air conditioner and ventilation system to air out and dry the room.
After working for a year and keeping an eye on the climate in the room, we decided that it's best to take a break from June to August. The city becomes pretty unbearable during this time, with temperatures hitting 45 degrees Celsius during the day and humidity rising to 95 percent at night. It's really tough. So it's just better for all of us to leave the city for the sake of our health. But once September rolls around, the climate starts to get back to normal, and we're raring to go with new projects!
Conclusion
Well, I believe I've finally come to the natural end of my story, and I'm thrilled to share it with you, dear reader. Thank you so much for sticking with me to the very end! I hope you found it as engaging to read as it was for me to write.
I got the idea for this article a year ago, but between my busy studio schedule and my still-raw emotions about the whole experience, I didn't feel ready to write about it without potentially causing offense due to cultural differences that often frustrated me.
But come on! Failures and setbacks are just part of the experience. Acoustic design is intricate and sometimes unpredictable. It can really test your patience and your wallet. The truth is, there are no perfect studios. They're like the "perfect sync"—everyone talks about it, but no one has ever seen it, haha.
Penning such a lengthy article was a major undertaking for me and it took me several weeks of nonstop work. If you enjoyed it, please share it on your socials. Maybe your colleagues would also find it worth a read!
Now, with a clear conscience and a great sense of accomplishment from wrapping up another project, I'm off for a brief sailing trip. Turkey is a fantastic country that offers something for everyone.
Thank you once again to all of you!
I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Faik, the owner of the premises, who has been an unwavering source of support during all this time, constantly standing by me through my struggles. His son Safa has also been a pillar of strength, always ready and willing to lend a helping hand. I am truly grateful for their selfless assistance. Thank you both from the bottom of my heart!
I also want to extend my thanks to Murat from Mute Istanbul, who not only provided me with the opportunity to work in his studio but also made every interaction a pleasant experience. Conversations with him about the industry, acoustic design, and shared experiences over a cup of tea were truly invaluable. Thanks, buddy!
My deepest appreciation goes out to Dmitry and Nikita, my Russian brothers, who dedicated their efforts, pursued perfectionism, and handled responsibilities with great care while assisting me with construction. Your contributions have not gone unnoticed, and I am truly grateful for your unwavering support. Thank you, guys!
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Thanks for reading!
Text edited by Rebecca Wilson Jones
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Yuri Pridachin
Own and operate at Foley First. Foley Artist / Foley Supervisor
