To go further than simple memories printed on photo books, Akasha Editions had the idea of adding sound to them.
Around a beautiful object combining photos and audio, Vanessa Buhrig has created an unprecedented offer about to see the light of day.
His book whose pages can be listened to will be sold for 199 euros and available at the end of the summer, which gives you time to prepare it.
Audio in your photo book!
With Akasha editions, the paper sound photo album is about to become a reality.
Or how to associate audio recordings with each page of a photo book.
If we already knew the photo book to which we could associate sounds and videos using a QR Code printed to scan (but valid for a limited time), the experience promised by Vanessa Buhrig, founder of Akasha editions, has nothing to do.
"20 Minutes" went to meet the young editor.
Find the voice of his own
“I have wanted to put sound in books for seven years and offer the photos that we print an emotional baggage that the written word does not allow”, confides Vanessa Buhrig, 36, to “20 Minutes”.
First cries of a baby during a birth, unique atmosphere of a village lost at the end of the world, animal sounds recorded during a journey in the heart of nature?
Yes, but not only.
The young woman, who is also a biographer, also wants to become attached to the memory of the families, with a book in which one can find on each page the voice of her family.
That of grandparents recounting their memories and commenting on old yellowed photos;
that of parents remembering important stages of their existence;
that of the first words of children that we would like to preserve forever.
And then the fields of possibilities open up…
A book to cross the generations
That of the technical difficulties to overcome, too.
Viscerally attached to paper, Vanessa Buhrig did not want a QR Code to scan to find, under a photo, an audio recording, as is already done.
“I wanted a beautiful object, which lasts, studied to cross the generations.
Hence his idea of combining a real printed photo book with an electronic base that is as durable as possible, which can serve as a base for various photo books created on the Akasha editions site.
Using software, you build your photo book page after page.
This operation can be carried out by several people, each member of a family being able, for example, to contribute to the creation of a memorial work remotely.
In addition to downloading and laying out photos with captions, each sheet can accommodate sounds that you have previously recorded from your smartphone (voice, music, noises.)… The printed book is then sent with its base of welcome.
Containing a microSD card, it acts as an audio player with a loudspeaker, a headphone jack, playback and volume keys, like on a walkman.
On the edge, a tiny LCD screen allows you to choose the number of the page you want to “read”.
No QR Code, therefore (“it's a real choice, we are not immune to servers that give up!”, insists the editor), but also batteries instead of a battery hypothetical lifespan, and wired headphones ("I don't want Bluetooth").
Question of savings?
"No", defends the editor, but a desire that there is "no planned obsolescence".
"I am for the paper book, access to literature, for an object that stays in families, in short, for a real return to authenticity" adds Vanessa Buhrig.
And of course, the books will be interchangeable on their base, others can be ordered and delivered with their microSD card.
Everything will be Made in France, with the exception of the electronic card, logically made in Asia...
120 pages and 33 hours of listening!
The idea is appealing.
It is all the more so when one consults the first photo/audio books produced by Vanessa Buhrig: here the story of an entire life with the memories of Josiane;
there that of a wedding where we hear the bride and groom say “yes” to each other, or make a speech during the reception, etc.
One can imagine the emotional value that the association of images and sounds will take on over time.
It will be all the more so when the people who may express themselves through the story of their life are no longer there...
For their part, the layout possibilities offered by Akasha editions are a thousand miles from those offered by classic photo books.
Here, no catch-all layout as we often see.
"I want it to remain elegant and classy, readable", comments the young editor whose ambitious project is about to see the light of day.
Waiting to double her
crowdfunding
funding on the Ulule platform, Vanessa has already registered pre-orders for her first photo/audio books.
Count 199 euros for a 120-page book with up to 99 soundtracks and 33 hours of listening.
"I am aware that there is an entry price", confesses the young woman.
On closer inspection, it's a little more expensive than a classic “beautiful” photo book, but much less expensive than a biography written by a specialist (from 3,000 to 4,000 euros).
The first deliveries are scheduled for August.
Until then, you still have time to sort your photos and make your recordings!
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