Hi:
I am running the
http://www.MoversSupplies.com and wanted to give you some background on creating Producer’s Choice Moving Blankets for soundproofing.
About Sound Blankets:
Information below was gathered from Sound recording forums. I hope it might be helpful:
Some questions people ask:
- “Can I get reasonable (not necessarily best possible) results just using inexpensive quilted furniture moving pads?”
- “If suspending the blankets gives better sound, what's the best way to do it? “
- “shouldn't you find out what frequencies the 'blankets' attenuate before ordering. shouldn't you have a rough idea what frequencies your blankets will absorb rather than diffuse?”
And some answers I read:
1. … Yes, moving blankets work well as sound blankets. But, you want the good, thick ones, not the thin ones. And, if you have an option, get them in both light and dark colors. Your lighting team will thank you.
2. … What really makes the difference, is the surface area the blanket covers, and the distance from the speaker. As sound leaves a speakers mouth, the closer the blanket is to them, the less surfaces the noise can be reflected off before it gets absorbed by the blanket.
3. …The blankets are not for sound proofing but diffusion. A lot of things work to do this, including the human body, but blankets are the most convenient tool that can be taken from set to set easily.
4. ... From a post perspective you probably cant make it [set] too dead. If you sound post is all going to be in FCP or another NLE then I would try to avoid REALLY dead but you don't have much chance of ever getting a set dead, there is just too much other stuff around.
We listened to these concerns and created a Producer’s Choice Moving Blanket for Soundproofing (
http://moverssupplies.com/MOVING-BLANKET/BW-Cotton-Blanket-P roducers-Choice/ )
We simply followed recommendations of the film producers who were NOT satisfied with performance of regular moving blankets that were available elsewhere, and thought that blankets marketed as "sound blankets" were too expensive. It started with an e-mail from a member of one of the forums (namely, DVX-User), who asked if we can design a special blanket for soundproofing. So we asked what did they want to see in the ideal sound blanket.
After some soul searching they came to the conclusion that blankets over 8 lbs would have sufficient mass for soundproofing, but heavier blankets would be too difficult to handle. They also requested that the blankets be Black and White for special light reflection/absorption. So they can be used to either block light with the black side or reflect light with the white side. For outer fabric material we selected 100% cotton, which is not shiny and does not interfere with the lighting on the set.
We made some further improvements, such as white fabric is now more dense than what it used to be and the binding in now 100% woven polyester for added durability, especially if you have to wash the blankets.
After a year of testing, when i asked members of the forum if there was anything i needed to do to improve the quality - they told me that "the Producer's choice blankets were perfect" and suggested that i "DO NOT DO ANYTHING!".
We offer adding grommets to blankets at your request.
As a bragging point I can say that 20-th Century Fox Studio was using our Producer's choice blankets for soundproofing, when filming movie "Marley and Me", which is in “the theater near you” . Paul Green School of Rock Music ordered our blankets for several of their franchises and told us that police visits became much less frequent after they started to use our blankets.
If you browse the net – you will be glad to notice that our sound Blankets Producer’s choice priced half of what other comparable blankets cost and if you buy by the dozen savings are even better!
We did not make any specific sound dampening measurements, so I can only refer you to testimonials:
http://MoversSupplies.com/testimonials.phpI hope this was useful.
Jeff.
