life story services

This service is a beautiful gift for a loved one or a gift to self. It includes initial discovery of your most treasured memories or the times in your life you most want to capture for your loved ones. I’ll create your interview to help you tell your stories.

You will be amazed how easy it is to tell your story; responding to really thoughtful questions is so much easier than trying to start from scratch.

I will make a 90 minute recording our of interview in one session. Whilst this is the shorter option, you would be surprised how many things we can cover in 90 minutes.

Then I'll take care of the sound-engineering and editing to create a high quality recording. This is where the majority of the time and effort is with audio recordings, and you won’t need to think about it. Your recording will be polished until it sounds like a great radio interview or podcast.

You will receive a beautifully presented final recording of 45-60 minutes that you can keep forever. You can leave the story-weaving to me and I’ll guide you on a pleasant journey through your favourite memories. The Memory Showcase package is $1,600 AUD and usually takes 2-3 weeks to complete.

This service is a gift of legacy for the people that love you. Our most popular service, because you really get to explore the key parts of your life that matter the most to you.

I guide you through a discovery conversation to understand your life’s timeline. Then I create an interview series that is just for you. You will be amazed how easy it is to tell your story; responding to really thoughtful questions is so much easier than trying to start from scratch.

Together we make at least four hours of interview raw recordings over three sessions. Then I'll take care of the sound-engineering and editing to create a high quality recording. This is where the majority of the time and effort is with audio recordings, and you won’t need to think about it. Your recording will be polished until it sounds like a great radio interview or podcast. In the end you receive a beautifully presented final recording of up to two hours that you can keep forever.

You can leave the story-weaving to me and I’ll guide you on an enjoyable journey through your favourite memories. The complete Your Story service is $3,500 AUD and usually takes 4 weeks to complete.

The Whole Story is our premium service that includes all the time and careful planning needed, for someone to share their whole life story. This service is a fuller biography, ensuring we don’t miss any of the precious moments that make up a life. It is perfect for the person who loves sharing stories.

This service includes a detailed discovery conversation of your life’s timeline and the defining moments within it. Then I create a long-form interview that is just for you. You will be amazed how easy it is to tell your story; responding to really thoughtful questions is so much easier than trying to start from scratch.

Together we make up to nine hours of raw recordings over multiple interview sessions. Then I'll take care of the sound-engineering and editing to create a high quality recording. This is where the majority of the time and effort is with audio recordings, and you won’t need to think about it. Your recording will be polished until it sounds like a great radio interview or podcast series, only it has been made just for you.

This is a wonderful journey, delving deep into what you know of your family history and a full exploration of your life story. We will meet weekly for a number of weeks, recording for 90 minutes each time.

l will be your guide to help you unlock the many special moments and small details that make up a lifetime. If you have ever wanted to write your life story but are struggling to get started, this service takes out the hard work and allows you to shine as the storyteller.

The complete package for a Whole Story is $6,500 AUD and usually takes 6-10 weeks to complete. Contact Nina on 03 9112 5772 to make a booking.

Talk to me about your ideas, as I can create a service that is just for you, your timeline and your budget.

I’ve made all kinds of life story recordings including: intergenerational recordings that get the whole family involved, or just grandchildren interviewing grandparents; capturing the journey over a year for a newborn and her parents; preparing an obituary recording for someone organising their own funeral; and a recording prepared for an 80th birthday where family members recalled special moments together and thanked their grandparent for being part of their life. There are so many ways we can celebrate a life and create a really personal keepsake for your family. Audio recordings are a meaningful way to capture a moment or many moments, so you can keep them forever.

Let me know if you would like a quote for me to facilitate a unique recording for you or your family.

Eulogy recordings and speeches can be made in a number of ways. The options depend on what you want and what the circumstances are.

If the person the eulogy is for has passed away, then we can make a recording or I can prepare a speech for you, based on the memories of the people that loved the departed. This may include close family, a partner and dear friends - anyone you would like involved.

If you are planning ahead for your own funeral, making a recording is a beautiful way of sharing something that is special to you with the people you love. We can either make a short recording with this in mind, or you can choose a particular story or highlight from a broader life story recording.

Talk to me about what you are looking for and I’ll provide you with a quote.

This service is perfect if you want an oral history recording. This is an un-edited raw recording. It includes discovery of what you want to share and creation of an interview just for you - to help draw out all your wonderful stories. The end product will be un-edited, meaning that the recording will be a full record of the interview, including the pauses, ums, ahhs, sentence fumbles and one-off sounds. This means that no nuance can be lost and the historical record of your recording is in tact. I will provide some sound engineering to bring up the voices and remove consistent background sounds, but otherwise the final product will be the raw recording. If you are interested in a formal oral history recording, let me know as there are a few additional guidelines we will follow.

We will make the recordings in 90 minute sessions that are charged as follows: First 1.5 hours: $500, 3 hours: $700, 4.5 hours: $900 and an additional $200 per 1.5 hours thereafter. This can take 1-5 weeks to complete, depending on how much you want to record.

For a special and meaningful gift, a life story recording has it all. The experience for the receiver, is one of joyous reminiscence and delight in sharing their life stories with a kind, patient and respectful listener. They will complete the process with a life story recording that they can feel really proud of, as I make sure everyone sounds great.

If you are purchasing this gift for a parent or grandparent, you will have the peace of mind in knowing that their voice and their stories are preserved for all time. This means the recording will be there for you and for future generations to enjoy forever.

You can purchase a gift voucher of any value for someone you love. I recommend that you choose a value that matches a service offering or call me to talk about a bespoke recording idea you have and I’ll quote it for you.

Talk to Nina on 03 9112 5772 to order a gift voucher for a loved one.

At Memory Lane, we value all life stories, from people of all walks of life. If you have a story you want to record and also have a low income (eligible for a health care card) or are supporting yourself on government benefits (Age, Single Parent, Veteran or Disability Support Pension) give me a call on 03 9112 5772. Talk to me about the story you want to record, and what you can reasonably afford to pay. There is always more than one way to approach these things, so let’s see if we can work something out.

If you are interested in creating your life story, let's have a chat and talk through your ideas and questions. Call Nina today on 03 9112 5772. This is a 20 minute call with no cost, no obligation and no hard sell.