Life Story Film, Life Story Book or an Audio Memoir, which is best for me?

How should you record your family stories? With an audio memoir, a Life Story film a life story book or a Sounds Familiar recording, which service to choose? We discuss the options as this is often a tough call and I hope my little thoughts might help you.

And I have a cunning plan that may save you from making that decision entirely!

So, have a read below where I outline the different options that you have.

Audio Memoirs

Now, audio is the simplest method to capture stories for sure and the traditional method for an oral historian.

But, why chose audio? An Audio Memoir is fantastic to capture stories, memories, and thoughts, as well as the storyteller’s voice, humour, and mannerisms. The other plus with audio is its affordability. As it is relatively simple to produce, it is a more affordable option and is often the quickest to complete. Audio is also good if your storyteller is a little camera shy, and while I make every effort to use a small unobtrusive film kit, some people just prefer recording audio.

In this new world of remote working, audio is a fantastic option for storytellers who live far away, or abroad, while I am still delighted to record audio face-to-face, recording remotely works surprisingly well.

Once completed, the recording can simply be shared. We give our storytellers a copy of their recording on a USB in a Story Keepers gift box. This can then be copied and saved with your own files as well as shared with friends and family for them to keep, or even uploaded on to a family website.

Sounds Familiar

A Sounds Familiar recording is an audio recording with music, or tracks included that help to tell the story of your life, think Desert Island Discs. This is always recorded remotely and is a really fun way to help capture stories and memories. The interview is a little shorter than the others so a lovely way to capture specific stories and memories and a lot of fun with the music. This is really popular as a birthday or anniversary gift!

Life Story Films

So there are two real advantages of film. First and foremost you get to see your storyteller; their mannerisms, their smile, what they look like, where they live even, and all that good stuff. Second, we add further family images, or even films to add context to your film. So, for example, when the storyteller is speaking about their parents, we insert a photo of said parents! So, really film gives you a very complete picture.

As with the others, the films can be shared as many times as you like, many of my storytellers watch the films with the family as part of a celebration event, alternatively they can easily be sent and shared with friends and family the world over.

Life Story Books

Finally, books, certainly a more traditional method to tell a life story, giving you a tangible product to hold, touch and enjoy. It might be helpful to add here, that my process in creating books starts with recording the stories, in exactly the same way as for an audio memoir or even a film. This means that books can be created alongside an audio memoir, or indeed after an audio memoir has been created.

Another thing to note is that books allow more flexibility when editing, so words can be changed, or details can be added later maybe, furthermore, images and photos are added to your book to provide context. But, also, it might be worth noting that the turnaround time is longer than for the films or audios and they nearly always require a little more work from the storyteller to ensure the final book is exactly what you are wanting.

Remote Films

Yes, I can do remote films, a great hybrid, but to hear more about that we need to talk …

Oh, and my cunning plan? So, oftentimes it is the adult child or partner of a potential storyteller who ponders on the best format, they are looking for something that they will enjoy, but also want to ensure that their parent or partner is also happy with the process. So, why not buy a gift token, you buy a gift token, they chose which service to use! Just call me to find out how 07903 582474!