Electronic Voice Phenomena Techniques
Environment Control, Microphone Placement, Personal Approach

SILENT ENVIRONMENT

BE AWARE OF SURROUNDINGS
Appliances, HVAC, people, pets
Doors, windows closed
Phones in airplane mode or off

RECORD THE NOISE FLOOR
Record the dead silence for later noise reduction

TAG EVERYTHING

NOTE ALL SOUNDS ABOVE THE NOISE FLOOR IN REAL TIME
...Breaths Coughs Sniffs Footsteps Planes Skateboards Fishtank Filters Neighbors Cars Any and All Human Body Sounds EVPs Pipes Mid-Sized Trucks Birds Windows Wind Windmills Water Alarms Toys Candles Couches Floors Walls Lights Equipment Ice Thunder Rain Large Trucks Bicycles Hamster Wheels Fans Toilets Clothing Adjustments Static Electicity Sounds UFO Hum RF Interference SUVs Racoons Rodents Windchimes Demons Zombies...

TALK. DON'T TALK. BUT LISTEN.

YOU'RE EXPECTING TO HEAR PEOPLE. TREAT THEM LIKE PEOPLE.
Ask questions, be courteous, and leave plenty of time for a response to manifest.

Use your higher quality headphones and listen in real time if possible.

And always tag.

ADVANCED AMBIENT CONTROL

RF SCREENING
Radio Frequency and sound screened rooms eliminate many natural explainations

SOUND BOUNCES
Smoother surfaces (glass, cement walls) will reflect sound, possibly distorting ambient noise

SOUND ABSORBS
Radio Frequency and sound screened rooms eliminate many natural explainations.

MICROPHONE PLACEMENT

A: BEDROOM
B: BEDROOM
C: HALLWAY
D: BATHROOM
E: DINING AREA
F: LIVING ROOM

VOICES HAVE BEEN HEARD in both bedrooms, in the bathroom, and in the southeast corner of the Living Room.
YOUR EQUIPMENT IS LIMITED to 3 digital audio recorder sources. Where would you place them for best results?
ALSO ASSUME that you can monitor all of them in real time. Where would you establish your base?
(NOTE: there is no outdoor noise to consider, no neighbors. Only focus on the room elements.)

DOUBLE CLICK IMAGE FOR SOLUTION

BEDROOM A:
Microphone placement facing away from the door, but not near the window. Between the bed and couch or similar padded surfaces will reduce capturing bouncing soundmp3es, which could quickly double up and produce a slapback or phase effect, distorting what the listener is interpreting.

BEDROOM B: There may not be a best solution with the fishtank, but away from the window, and not facing the door.

BATHROOM: Given the limit of 3 microphones and 4 hotspots, the bathroom is ignored as it is the most likely to produce it's own noise.

FAMILY ROOM: The hotspot is the southeast corner, but there are two large windows in the southeast corner. Sound heard near the table could be reflecting from anywhere in that room or even the dining area, which shares a wall with the bathroom.

The DINING area is possibly the best option for a monitoring station.

VENTS can be ignored, as we can assume we turned all HVAC sources off.

Congratulations narrowly avoiding the TRAP DOOR on your way in.