Remote Recording

Source LiveWe offer remotely monitored recording sessions, allowing you to monitor and participate in recording sessions via a live broadband link to your home or studio.

This is the perfect solution for those who want to save time and money by not travelling to attend the recording sessions in the Czech Republic in person.

No software needs to be downloaded or installed on your computer. We will send you a website link to a page containing an embedded audio player which will enable you to listen in directly to the mixing desk in any of our studios. Clients using this service can also communicate directly with the producer during the sessions.

There is no extra charge for using this service.

  1. 1
    How does it work?

    For the remotely-monitored, “per hour” sessions, we schedule normal length orchestral recording sessions throughout the year and divide each of them into three 1-hour segments. Clients can book these individual segments for a fraction of the cost of booking the full-length session. In other words, the orchestra will play a 1-hour session, have a 30 minute break, play a second 1-hour session, have another 30 minute break and play a third 1-hour session.

    Clients can book each 1-hour slot individually so, effectively, the cost of a full three-hour recording session is divided among up to three clients.

    If you want to reserve time with the orchestra on this basis, you simply contact us and we will book that slot for you. We will provide you with webpage URL that is free to access (you don’t need any special software on your computer) and this will give you a direct feed (over a standard broadband connection) into the mixing desk in the control room. You will also be able to communicate directly with the producer during the session, listen to all the orchestral takes live as they happen and make comments.

    At the end of the session, the edits will be delivered to you by a free file transfer service.

  2. 2
    What size orchestra do I get?

    The standard orchestra size for remotely-monitored sessions is 70. This breaks down as follows:

    2.2.2.2/4.2.3.1/timp-2perc.hp/12.12.10.8.6

    2 Flutes
    2 Oboes
    2 Clarinets
    2 Bassoons

    4 French Horns
    2 Trumpets
    3 Trombones (2 tenor, 1 bass)
    1 Tuba

    1 Timpani
    2 Percussion
    1 Harp

    12 First Violins
    12 Second Violins
    10 Violas
    8 Cellos
    6 Double Basses

  3. 3
    What if I want extra musicians or items of technical equipment that are not included in the standard lineup?

    This is normally fine. Just let us know your requirements and we will let you know if we can provide them. Depending on the nature of your requirements, there may be a charge in addition to the standard hourly rate (see below). For example, if you wanted a pianist instead of a harpist, we would have to charge a fee for the pianist as we need to pay the harpist to be in the session for the other two hours anyway. If more than one client wanted the same musician/extra equipment, the cost would be shared between you.

  4. 4
    What if I want fewer musicians than the standard lineup?

    This is fine. However, unfortunately there is no reduction in cost as the musicians are paid to be available for the full three-hour recording session even if they only play in one or two hours of it.

  5. 5
    How much music can I record in an hour?

    We don’t set a limit on how much you can record in your session and different types of music will require different amounts of time to record. As a rule of thumb, most clients can expect to record 5-7 minutes of music in a one-hour period.

  6. 6
    How much does it cost?

    The cost of remotely-monitored recording sessions is currently €2,750 (EUR) per hour for the symphony orchestra outlined above.  For a 48-piece string orchestra the cost is €1,750. If you are inside the EU VAT is applicable.

  7. 7
    When do I pay?

    Your session booking is secured on receipt of payment (see below). We need to do things this way for the simple reason that if one 1-hour client drops out of a three-hour session, we would make a loss if we didn’t secure payment in advance. If you book a session and need to cancel, we will happily refund the cost of your session to you if we can fill the time you have booked with a new booking from someone else. We would much rather do this than for you to pay and not have your recording session.

  8. 8
    How will I receive the takes?

    By default, we use a servce called wetransfer.com It’s a simple online service that is free to use and which allows us to send large sets of files over the internet.  For sets of files more than 2GB, we will send them to you on a hard drive or USB stick.

  9. 9
    Is editing, mixing and mastering included in the fee?

    We provide three hours of complementary post-production editing, mixing and mastering per one-hour session.  If more is required we can do this for you at an hourly rate.  There is no need to use our post-production services – we are very happy to send you all the raw recorded materials for you to edit, mix and master yourself.

  10. 10
    How do I book a session?

    Contact us and we will let you know about forthcoming availability.

  11. 11
    I want to book the orchestra for more than two hours. Is this the system for me?

    Possibly. If you do not need to attend the sessions in person and are happy to monitor them remotely, you may still save time and money by not having to travel and stay in the Czech Republic. On the other hand, we are happy to setup a bespoke, remotely monitored recording session for you which is individually tailored to your requirements. If you are unsure what the best option for you is, the best thing to do would be to contact us and we will give you costings for all options and will try to provide the solution that best suits your needs.

  12. 12
    I want to book the orchestra for an hour but I want to attend the sessions in person too. Can I do this?

    Yes, of course. We will be happy for you to come to your recording session in person. If you need any advice on booking travel/accommodation, we will be happy to help if we can. Just let us know!