www.ExactingEditor.com/QuickAnswers.html
*** Quick Answers to the Natural Questions ***
How much does one of these audio packages cost?
Anywhere from $2,500 to $9,000 -- it depends on whether Frank has to travel and
on how many audio CDs you'd like your package to contain.
Who owns the content?
You do. It can never be used by Frank Gregorsky in any way without your explicit
permission. You can also duplicate and circulate your CDs, because they are
not "copy-protected." In fact, if there are teens in the family, they can
put specific "tracks" on their i-Pod. A "track" on one of these discs is just
like a song, except it's all voice. One track follows another, naturally.
Why couldn't I get a video?
There are people in every state who produce those -- but Frank Gregorsky's
expertise is all audio, and nothing but audio. He believes a video camera
intimidates older people and the equipment gets in the way of having a relaxed
conversation. He also knows he can deliver much more "coverage" -- more stories,
more time, more of a person's life -- when you just stick with sound and go with
conventional CDs that work everywhere. More, and more deeply, for less of an
outlay.
Can he help me use the Internet to figure out my family tree?
Sorry, no. That would be genealogy, which has become very popular: Millions of
people use low-cost Internet help -- especially from
www.Ancestry.com -- to see what they can
learn. They come across birth records, death certificates, and clear up
geographical mysteries. Frank's biggest stockholding happens to be that company,
because it dominates its realm and has a spotless balance sheet.
But -- any type of oral or audio history differs
profoundly from family trees.
Building an oral history -- sometimes called an
AUDIO BIOGRAPHY -- really centers on stories, themes, opinions, big
events in detail, and lifetime values. No way does it confine itself to the
demographic info that makes up a family tree. An all-sound biography preserves
vastly more history by, and about, one or two specific people who are still with
us today; in contrast, genealogy is "just the facts" about many individuals in
an extended family over the centuries.
Does Frank work only in the D.C. area?
No. He has carried out family-recording assignments in
And the price range you give above is quite wide. We'd like more
specifics...
Okay. Each CD plays for 80 minutes and is meticulously edited to keep the
conversational "feel" yet remove whatever would hinder the flow. The original
recordings have been re-organized by topic and theme. An index lets any listener
pick and choose among "tracks," just as they would when selecting from a
greatest-hits musical CD. The
precise cost of a package is determined by the number of original or "master"
CDs a client wants. Each master disc costs $1,200 and, as noted, delivers 80
minutes. A three-CD package therefore costs $3,600 and plays for four hours. A
five-CD package -- best when you're commemorating a married couple -- costs
$6,000 and plays for six and one-half hours.
How long has he been doing such interviewing and editing?
Since 2002. About three dozen projects. It's not a full-time profession, but he
would like for it to be. (He also helps nonfiction authors prepare their books.)
Thank you for reading this page of quick answers to the common questions.
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