Selected Audiobook  Case Studies

Produced and Directed  by IAIN McKINNA

The audiobook was 150,000 words in length and took 5 days to record. 

In this commission by Penguin Random House, we recorded the audiobook with Chris using the drop in/ replace method, which  involves recording over any mistakes or extraneous noises by rewinding the  audio just prior to the where the issue occurs and the dropping into record at the end of the preceding sentence. 

As well as being a more efficient way of editing, the continuity of the reading is also maintained as the narrator is able to match the tone throughout. 

We sent the audio at the end of each day to Penguin where they edited and finished the audiobook with their own in-house editors

Produced and Directed  by  IAIN McKINNA & ID AUDIO, London

This book was 25000 words in length and took 1 day to record. 

Our in house narrator Steve Worsley  narrated this short novella convincingly in a New York Bronx accent.

Steve has narrated all Stuart MacBride's novels although this was the first that wasn't voiced in his native Scots accent.

After the days recording session we sent the resulting audio to ID Audio in London who edited the end result.

TIME ON ROCK
Produced and Directed  by  IAIN McKINNA

This book was 70000 words in length and took 2 days to record.

This beautifully narrated work by author Anna Fleming was her first experience of being in a studio, so Gaia from Canongate arranged for her to come to the studio for a test recording prior to the sessions we had booked. 

This was a very good idea,  because after the session Anna was able to gauge her test performance ,which she though thad been delivered a little too slowly. 

She adjusted the pace accordingly and was able to confidently narrate the entire book as a result.

Produced and Directed  by  STEVE WORSLEY & IAIN McKINNA

This book was 80,000 words in length and took 3 days to record. 

Andrew Macfarlane is the voice of the main detective character Harry McCoy in Alan Parks series of  tartan noir thrillers and this is the second book we have produced in the series. 

We recorded using the drop in method throughout, and once the recording was complete we did an initial edit which we then went through the process of Quality Control (QC) which involves checking the recording against the script for deviations. When the author isn't voicing an audiobook, the publisher is under an obligation to produce the work exactly as it is in the printed version.

We then ask the narrator back in to the studio to correct any issues that arise from the QC prior to a final edit which has to pass all ACX specifications before the metadata is added to each chapter file. This contains all the information including the book title, the chapter name, the ISBN code, the publishers name and publication date.

We then upload all the files to Canongate's portal ready for distribution.

Produced and Directed  by  IAIN McKINNA

This book was 30,000 words in length and took several sessions to record. 

Recording 31 narrators recording their own work was a particularly challenging from a production point of view. The sessions were attended by the publisher Rebecca which was helpful as many of the authors had never recorded before so she was able to help and encourage them through the process of performing their works.

The levels of each author had to be consistent throughout and to sound natural from one narrator to the next. The resulting 31 chapters were then put through the ACX and embedding process prior to uploading to the retail portal

Produced and Directed  by  MEGAN TUSLING

We recorded a chapter of this audiobook for Megan while she was in Edinburgh for the International Festival in 2018. She had a deadline for the project and came to the Offbeat studio while she was in Scotland to complete the project.

Megan has her own studio in Brooklyn, New York and the challenge here was to match the audio recorded at Offbeat with the previously recorded work done at her own studio and insert into the audiobook seamlessly.

JANUS
Produced and Directed  by  IAIN McKINNA

We recorded, produced and directed this Audiobook for John and it was narrated by Offbeat's Steve Worsley.

Following the production we distributed the audiobook and ebook Worldwide through Ingram Core Source using our own publisher Imprint Offbeat Audio.

GRANDPA JOCK AND THE INCREDIBLE IRN BRU MAN INCIDENT

Produced and Directed  by  IAIN McKINNA

This book was 65000 words in length and took 1 day to record.

Stuart does an incredible job of voicing the many characters in this funny, intelligent and poignant novel, and as well as producing the audiobook in the standard way here from beginning to end - Recording : Editing : Quality Control : Re-Recording : Final Editing to ACX specs and Metadata Embedding of the files for uploading to Audible - various sound effects that Stuart had created for live performances he does of his works were sprinkled throughout the narration which really brought this audiobook work to life.

Post Production by IAIN McKINNA

This audiobook was recorded by the author Mary Gunn on her laptop. Due to Mary's health issues, which are chronicled in the book, it was recorded over a period of time and as a result the audio was of varying quality with varying audio levels. There was also a fair amount of background noise in the original recordings due to a lack of soundproofing which we removed.

It was our challenge to pull together the audio and produce a work which passed all ACX specifications and was consistent throughout.