When I started as a sound designer, the idea of hiding a speaker was finding a space for a 5" x 10" box somewhere off set or behind a wall - somewhere as close to the action or object (breaking glass, magic trick, radio) as I could get it with the assistance of the carpenters or - if I was lucky - hiding it in an oversize piece of furniture. I did a little bit of experimentation with smaller home or computer speakers, but never got something I was happy with.

Now - with the consumer market flooded with home stereos and various portable gadgets, its a different game all together. Products are smaller, louder, and many of them... very affordable.

Two weeks ago in the blog On Stage Cell Phone Call, I talked about my rig for "faking" a phone ring, using an in ear monitor and a mini speaker. With or without the wireless element, what makes this possible is the speaker itself.

This compact speaker is noise making end of the cell phone rig. To make it slightly thinner, I removed the lid of the compact. The actor wears the compact along with the in ear pack.

Before finding the compact - my shows have been known to include:

This little Hello Kitty figure has proven a great speaker - with a surprising volume. (The fact the figure is Hello Kitty is a inside joke - a number of other similar speakers are out there with other characters.) Hello Kitty has played the role of the infant Princess Elizabeth in Henry VIII, as well as the baby in In the Book Of and a tourists child in Lettice and Lovage.

The compact has a "on off" switch that has to be taped, where Hello Kitty is sound sensitive Both charge with a cable with a USB connector, plugged into any computers USB jack. Hello Kitty will take any 1/8" headphone type cable, where the compact uses a custom mini-usb for both charging and playback.

Neither of these units have a volume control - so I don't have to worry about "setting" anything on the unit.

The down side I've discovered to Hello Kitty is a limited battery life - so hook-up had to be done closer to the top of an act rather than in advance at half hour.

An alternate to a chargeable speaker is a portable system that requires batteries. There are lots of options out there, and they do require a little more real estate.

In a desk and radio application I used this tube style speaker that had both an AC and AAA battery option. You have to be careful with iPod ready speakers - and make sure they have an 1/8" or other standard input rather than the iPod jack - unless you're using an iPod as your source.

I've also experimented with a "bag" style speaker:

Hope this is helpful!

Until next time, cats and kittens!

~R