The grandmother in Sydney wants to record a bedtime story for her grandchildren. The father in a care home can no longer travel, but the family wants to preserve the story of his life. At Tonstudio Leipzig I produce remote recordings for exactly these families. When the person you love cannot come to the studio, the recording comes to them.
Most audio projects for families are made at the studio in Leipzig. Parents read bedtime stories, grandparents record fairy tales, grandchildren interview grandparents, couples record their interview for an anniversary. That works wonderfully when everyone involved can come to Leipzig. But that is often exactly the problem. The grandmother has lived in Australia for decades. The daughter emigrated to Canada. The father is in a care home and can barely leave his room. The siblings are scattered across the world. Travelling costs time, money and energy. Sometimes it is simply impossible.
Remote recordings exist for exactly these situations. The person who is to record stays at home, in the care home or abroad. They record with a phone, a simple USB microphone or a voice recording app. They, or a family member, upload the file through my password protected cloud server in Germany. And at the studio in Leipzig I do what I would do with a recording on site: cutting out pauses and slips, noise reduction, sound optimisation, adjusting the levels. On request, background music too, combining several recordings into an audiobook or family interview, and a CD cover for handing over the present. The finished audio sounds warm, clear and high quality.
What makes these recordings so valuable: they make family projects possible that would otherwise never happen. Bedtime stories from a grandmother in Sydney in a child's room in Leipzig. Life interviews with a father in a care home, before it is too late. Birthday audio from family members on three continents. Memory audiobooks from siblings who emigrated. The distance gets smaller. The family comes together again, at least in the audio. If you are thinking about a project like this: you book the initial consultation online in the studio shop, and short questions beforehand can go by email or phone. Afterwards you get a clear assessment of which package makes sense and which preparation is really necessary.
Remote recordings come out of specific family situations, usually because the person who is to record is far away, too old, too ill or tied down by time. Here you see the typical occasions families come to me with.
Grandparents who emigrated or have always lived abroad can still record fairy tales for the grandchildren, bedtime stories or family tales. The recording is made at home in Sydney, Toronto, Buenos Aires or Auckland. At the studio in Leipzig it becomes an audiobook CD with a professional sound, as if the grandmother had come round in person.
When the children have emigrated and the parents in Germany are celebrating a milestone birthday, an audio message is the most honest present. You record from your new country: a personal story, an anecdote, a letter in the form of your voice. At the studio I turn that into a finished gift CD that your parents can play on the CD player on the morning of their birthday.
When someone you love is too ill or too weak for the journey to Leipzig, but the family wants to preserve their stories for those who come after, the recording is made right there in the care home, the hospital or the hospice. A family member helps with the recording setup, the resident speaks at their own pace, with pauses, in several short sessions. The finished recording becomes a family heirloom.
When the family lives scattered across the world, three siblings in Berlin, Melbourne and Vancouver, remote recording makes possible what would otherwise be impossible: a shared audiobook for their mother's 70th birthday, with contributions from all the children. Each person records at home, and in Leipzig it all gets combined into one coherent piece of audio. With transitions, background music and a shared gift CD.
Sometimes the journey to Leipzig is no longer possible because of dementia, Parkinson's, a serious diagnosis or great age, even though the person still has a great deal to tell. A remote recording at home, in familiar surroundings, at a calm pace and in short sessions, still makes a life interview, an audiobook recording or a letter in the form of a voice possible. A present for the whole family.
Young people on a semester abroad or professionals on a long posting abroad often want to record an audio message for a farewell, a birthday or a particular occasion. Instead of a written email it becomes a real audio production with professional editing, perhaps a whole letter, perhaps a text you wrote yourself, perhaps a small audio story from a foreign country.
Remote recordings range from a short audio message to a complete family audiobook with contributions from around the world. Here you see the three most common package sizes, from simple and quick to the large family project.
Ideal for a personal birthday message, a bedtime story from a grandmother abroad or a spoken letter from one person. Up to 10 minutes of final audio, the raw recording made by the person at home, studio work with editing and sound optimisation, a finished file or CD.
The most popular package. A complete audiobook by one person abroad, a life interview from a care home or a detailed letter in the form of a voice. Up to 90 minutes of final audio, several raw sessions possible, editing, background music optional, a chapter structure.
When several family members from different countries contribute: a birthday audiobook with contributions from all the children, a memory recording with several siblings, a family project across several generations. Coordinating the contributors, consistent editing, transitions, mastering. With pauses, pace and dignity.
If the person recording is unsure about technology: a personal briefing by phone or video call, written step by step instructions with pictures, and a recommendation for a suitable microphone at a modest price.
Quiet piano music or discreet atmosphere under the recording, matched to the occasion: gentle with bedtime stories, warm with birthday messages, dignified with life interviews. Produced by me, with no complications over usage rights.
The remote recording becomes a CD with an individually designed cover that can be sent directly to the person receiving it, abroad too, to care homes or hospitals, without you having to travel for it.
So that it is clear how a recording at home becomes an audio production in studio quality, here are the three steps. Simple enough that older family members or people unsure about technology can manage it well.
In the simplest case a modern phone is enough. Apple iPhones and newer Android devices have microphones good enough that a surprisingly clean recording can be made in a quiet room. For more quality I recommend a USB microphone for 100 to 200 euros. You get simple instructions from me with pictures, understandable for grandparents too.
You or a family member upload the finished audio file through my password protected cloud server, mindful of data protection, without storage in someone else's cloud, and reachable from any country in the world. If the person recording is unsure about technology, a helper from the family can step in, or I give a short briefing by phone.
At the studio I do the real magic: noise reduction, optimising the sound of the voice, cutting out pauses and slips, adjusting the levels, background music on request, combining several recordings into an audiobook, a chapter structure, mastering. The finished audio sounds warm, clear and high quality.
For very demanding requirements, or when you want to be guided live, I can also set up a real time connection through Cleanfeed or similar browser based tools. Entirely free, with no software to install. Just mention it when you ask.
A remote recording is more than a technical solution. It makes family projects possible that would otherwise never happen. Here are six moments where the effort particularly pays off, from the day of the recording to years afterwards.
When the grandmother in Sydney records a bedtime story for the grandchildren in Leipzig for the first time, something important happens: she feels part of everyday family life again. She is no longer only the distant voice on the phone but someone who is in the grandchildren's room every evening. That gives grandparents a role and a new kind of closeness.
When the child in Leipzig hears a story in the voice of their grandmother in Sydney before falling asleep, a gap closes that phone calls and video calls cannot fill. A calm, well made audio recording works differently: it comes every day, without an internet connection, without a time zone, without anyone having to be awake. Family becomes family again, across continents.
When a mother gets an audiobook CD for her 70th birthday with contributions from her children in Germany, Canada and Australia, that is a present nothing else can replace. Three voices, three stories, one shared piece of audio, as if the siblings had sat down together especially for her. That touches people more than any journey for a single birthday.
When someone you love lives in a care home and can no longer travel, a remote recording is sometimes the last opportunity to preserve their voice, their stories and their words for the family. One short recording session a week, spread over several weeks, adds up in the end to a family heirloom that can no longer be lost. Sometimes it becomes the most important recording in the whole family history.
When the audiobook gets old enough, the grown up child in Leipzig hears the voice of their grandmother in Sydney again, who may no longer be alive. A voice from a distant time that is suddenly very close. That is exactly the priceless value of remote recordings: they make voices available that would otherwise only have been reachable by phone, and one day not at all.
If you have several remote recordings of different family members made over the years, of relatives who emigrated, of people in care homes, of family on other continents, you build up a family audio archive over time that will still give an authentic picture of the whole scattered family in 50 or 100 years. Even when nobody can trace where which ancestor really lived, the voice remains.
A recording at home can come astonishingly close to studio quality if a few simple points are followed. Here are the six steps that make the decisive difference with every remote recording.
The ideal is a small bedroom with curtains, a carpet, a bed and a wardrobe. Anything made of fabric absorbs sound and reduces echo. Avoid: empty rooms with tiled floors, large living rooms with high ceilings, rooms with nothing but glass or concrete. The sound of the room matters more than the microphone.
Before the recording: windows closed, air conditioning off, the fridge switched off briefly if possible, the phone in flight mode, other family members told. Even the quiet hum of a radiator or the whirr of a fan is clearly audible in the microphone and gets in the way of listening later.
The most important rule: not too close and not too far. With a phone, hold it right in front of your chest, about 15 to 25 centimetres from your mouth. With a USB microphone, a hand's width away. Too close gives a booming, bassy sound with breath noise, too far sounds echoey and roomy.
Before the real recording starts: record 30 seconds of test audio and send it to me. I hear whether the sound is right, whether the microphone distance works, whether the room is quiet enough, whether the level is good. A short reply from me stops a two hour recording from turning out unusable.
If the person recording is older or ill, several short sessions are better than one long one. 15 to 30 minutes at a stretch is often better than a 90 minute marathon. Pauses, a sip of water, a look out of the window, all fine, I cut that out later. The quality of the recording counts, not the efficiency.
With grandparents, people in care homes or anyone unsure about technology: a family member takes over the recording, pausing and uploading. The person speaking only has to speak into the microphone, and the helper does everything technical. That keeps the focus on what actually matters, not on apps and buttons.
So that you know exactly what happens between the enquiry and the finished audio, here are the four calm steps of every remote production.
You send me a short enquiry: who is to record, where does that person live, what is the occasion, roughly how long. I get back to you the same day with an honest assessment, a fitting package suggestion and a note on whether the person needs particular support (older, ill, unsure about technology).
The person recording gets short, understandable instructions with pictures: the microphone setup, choosing a room, a free recording app, a test recording. On request a phone call or video call to settle any questions. The test audio comes to me for a quality check.
The person records at home, in one session or spread over several short appointments. A pause, a glass of water, a third attempt, all fine, I take care of the editing later. The finished audio comes to me in Leipzig through the password protected cloud server, without the data sitting in someone else's cloud.
At the studio: noise reduction, sound optimisation, editing, background music on request, a chapter structure, mastering. Delivery as a WAV file in studio quality, an MP3 for sending quickly, or as a CD with a cover, sent directly to the person receiving it if you want, abroad too.
While my studio is in the south of Leipzig, the reach of remote recordings is worldwide. Here are a few typical situations that come up again and again, from the care home round the corner to Australia.
When a family member lives in a care home or hospital in Leipzig or nearby and cannot travel, a remote recording still makes the life interview or the audiobook recording possible. Family members help with the setup on site, and the editing happens at my studio only a few kilometres away.
Within the German speaking world remote work is particularly simple: the same language, the same time zone, often a similar mentality too. Grandparents in Hamburg, parents in Vienna, relatives in Zurich. The recordings are made with German instructions and everything runs as smoothly as with an appointment in Leipzig.
Emigrants in Spain, Sweden, Italy, Poland, France. Europe is full of families whose members live in different countries. With remote recordings, shared audio projects are still possible. The time difference is minimal, a good internet connection is available almost everywhere, and sending CDs is no trouble.
The classic countries of emigration with a large German diaspora. When the family is scattered across the Atlantic or as far as Australia, remote recordings make family projects possible that flights would make unrealistic. The time difference calls for a little planning but is easy to manage.
The classic scenario: siblings in Berlin, Toronto and Melbourne, a shared audiobook for their mother's 70th birthday. Everyone records at home, and in Leipzig it all gets mixed into one coherent piece of audio. With transitions, background music and a shared gift CD, as if the siblings had been sitting in the same room.
The finished CD can be sent directly to the person receiving it if you want, abroad too, to care homes, to hospitals. You do not have to travel yourself to hand the present over. The cover is designed personally, with a photo, a dedication and a date, so that the handover still has character.
Here you find the most important answers before you ask about your remote project. If your question is not here, a short message is enough, and I answer confidentially and without any sales pressure.
A remote recording is an audio production where the person speaking or reading does not have to come to the studio.
They record from home, from a care home, from a hospital, from abroad, and I make a full audio production out of it at the studio.
This service is meant for families whose loved one is too far away, too old, too ill or too limited to make the journey to Leipzig.
In the simplest case a modern phoneis enough. Apple iPhones from recent years and newer Android devices now have microphones good enough that a surprisingly clean recording can be made in quiet surroundings.
For higher quality I can recommend a USB microphone available online for about 100 to 200 euros.
For very demanding requirements I guide you through setting up a small home studio by phone or video call.
You or the person recording upload the audio file through my password protected cloud server in Germany , mindful of data protection, without storage in someone else's cloud.
The link works from any device and any country.
With people who are unsure about technology I help with the upload by phone or video call, or a family member takes that step on.
At the studio I work on the raw recording professionally:
noise and interference are removed, the sound of the voice is optimised, pauses and slips are cut out, the level and the tonal balance are brought up to studio standard.
On request background music is added, as is editing into a coherent audiobook or family interview. The finished result is often hard to tell apart.
That happens very often. Older family members in care homes, grandparents abroad, people with limited mobility are rarely at ease with technology.
In those cases a younger family member , a daughter, a son, a grandchild, helps with the recording setup. The older person only has to speak into the microphone, and the helpers take care of everything else.
Where needed I give the helper a 20 minute briefing by phone.
Yes, that is in fact one of the most valuable occasions for remote recordings.
When someone you love is too ill or too limited for the journey, but the family wants to preserve their voice, their stories and their words for those who come after, this is exactly the right solution.
Recordings can be made in short sessions across several days , so that nobody is overtaxed. With consideration, pace and dignity.
Yes, gladly, and it is in fact one of the loveliest formats.
Siblings on three continents, children scattered across several countries, grandchildren studying abroad. Each person records from home, and all the recordings get combined in Leipzig into one coherent family piece.
Editing, sound matching, background music and a shared handover of the present go without saying.
Yes, that is a popular combination.
Part of the family comes to the studio in Leipzig, part records from abroad, and it all gets combined into one coherent audio project.
An audiobook with several chapters, birthday audio with contributions from around the world, a shared family interview across several generations. The distance is no longer a technical obstacle .
It depends on the scope.
A A short audio message is often finished within one to two weeks: the enquiry, sending the instructions, the recording at home, the upload, the studio work, delivery.
A A complete family audiobook with several contributors from several countries typically needs four to eight weeks, because several people have to be coordinated in time.
Remote projects are priced individually.
The factors are: the length of the recording, the number of contributors, the amount of work involved (preparing the sound of a recording made at home takes more work than with a studio recording), and any extras you want such as background music or a CD cover.
When you get in touch you receive an honest estimate the same day. You book the initial consultation online in the studio shop, and short questions beforehand can go by email or phone. Afterwards you get a clear assessment of which package makes sense and which preparation is really necessary.
As standard you get the finished audio production as a digital file by cloud link , WAV in studio quality or MP3 for sending to the family quickly.
On request there is also a CD with an individual cover, which you can hand over as a present or send by post to the family abroad.
That way even grandparents with no experience of phones get something to listen to in their hands.
This page is written for private remote audio projects for families and personal occasions.
If you work for a a voice artist, an audiobook publisher, a dubbing studio, an advertising agency or a professional studio and want to book a live session over professional tools such as Source Connect or Session Link, have a look at the separate business site of Tonstudio Leipzig for companies and freelancers.
Write me a short note about who is to record and from where: the grandmother in Sydney, the father in a care home, the siblings on three continents. And what the occasion is: a birthday, bedtime stories, a life interview, a family audiobook. I often reply the same day with an honest assessment and a fitting suggestion. You book the initial consultation online in the studio shop, and short questions beforehand can go by email or phone. Afterwards you get a clear assessment of which package makes sense and which preparation is really necessary.