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In my last post 'Muse from The Booth no 17, I discussed audiobook narrators recording for the first time in a Pro Studio. Today, the opposite - remote recording an audiobook from your own personal studio. Remote recording is the norm when recording audiobooks for the majority of publishers on the US - though not yet in the UK. However, as more British audiobook publishers can clearly hear the quality of the audiobooks that remote narrators are recording from home studios, they're becoming more flexible. What is expected of the narrator recording remotely - and what do we need to do to ensure quality and production values don't fall? |
I have been recording audiobooks remotely from my personal professional recording space since 2013. I have remotely recorded titles for Audible Studios, Harper Audio, Penguin Random House and Blackstone Publishing in the US and for Audible Studios, Lamplight Audio, Quercus, Whole Story Audiobooks, Wave Sound Audio, Rosa, Author's Republic and Ukemi Audiobooks in the UK. I have also recorded eight titles via ACX: four working remotely with US producers (Push Play Audio and Crossroads Press) and four as an independent producer and narrator.
Of the more than fifty titles that I have recorded since 2013, three have been recorded in a mainstream recording studio.
While remote recording is regarded by almost all US publishers and production companies as being on an equal footing with recording in a mainstream studio, this is not the case in the UK though things are changing slowly. Publishers are slowly recognising the quality that narrators are able to deliver when working remotely and appreciate the added flexibility that remote recording brings. Thankfully, an increasing number of major publishers are beginning to explore the possibility of remote recording.
Remote recording is not going to lead the Audiobook industry into the jaws of hell!
So what is expected of the narrator recording remotely - and how do those of us who regularly work remotely safeguard technical quality and high production values - how do we ensure that our performances match what we deliver when recording in a mainstream recording studio?
Of the more than fifty titles that I have recorded since 2013, three have been recorded in a mainstream recording studio.
While remote recording is regarded by almost all US publishers and production companies as being on an equal footing with recording in a mainstream studio, this is not the case in the UK though things are changing slowly. Publishers are slowly recognising the quality that narrators are able to deliver when working remotely and appreciate the added flexibility that remote recording brings. Thankfully, an increasing number of major publishers are beginning to explore the possibility of remote recording.
Remote recording is not going to lead the Audiobook industry into the jaws of hell!
So what is expected of the narrator recording remotely - and how do those of us who regularly work remotely safeguard technical quality and high production values - how do we ensure that our performances match what we deliver when recording in a mainstream recording studio?
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First Time Audiobook in a Pro studio?
The world of audiobook narration has changed immensely even over the past three or four years - and a recent email from a colleague highlighted something I hadn't previously considered. There are an increasing number of established professional narrators who record audiobooks remotely - so despite having a significant number of reads to their credit, plus Earphone awards, Audie nominations and awards - and other significant gongs, there are an increasing number who have only ever recorded remotely. Being invited to record in a professional recording studio for the first time is pretty daunting - but perhaps even more so if you are used to flying solo. I know it was for me! |
The first audiobooks I narrated were recorded in a pro studio in the early 1980s! Technology has brought about huge changes in recent years, so I feel that a thirty-year-old experience barely counts. Of the fifty plus audiobooks that I have recorded in recent years, only three have been recorded in a professional studio with another person on the other side of the glass - and frankly, I was a bag of nerves on each and every occasion.
Why? Why is it so daunting to work in a pro studio for the first time - even when you have a shed load of audiobook experience? What did I learn from the experience? What is good etiquette in a pro studio?
Why? Why is it so daunting to work in a pro studio for the first time - even when you have a shed load of audiobook experience? What did I learn from the experience? What is good etiquette in a pro studio?
About me
Photo Credit: Paul Haynes
I've gleaned quite a lot of knowledge over the years, knowledge that might be of interest to others, especially authors, actors and voice actors. Because I read so much, for pleasure and professionally, I also occasionally write reviews of what I read - so they're here too.
My opinions are mine and my views are my own!
My opinions are mine and my views are my own!
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