Interface administrators, Administrators (Semantic MediaWiki), Curators (Semantic MediaWiki), Editors (Semantic MediaWiki)
82,369
edits
Oral Personal History: Difference between revisions
m
no edit summary
mNo edit summary |
mNo edit summary |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
''History is merely a list of surprises. It can only prepare us to be surprised yet again.''(Kurt Vonnegut)<br> | ''History is merely a list of surprises. It can only prepare us to be surprised yet again.''(Kurt Vonnegut)<br> | ||
Recording Personal Histories from Friends and Relatives You may have relatives or friends whose life story you’d love to have. You may feel that their stories, as well as your own should be given to your descendents. If your parents or grandparents haven’t written theirs yet, you’ll certainly want to get them too. | Recording Personal Histories from Friends and Relatives You may have relatives or friends whose life story you’d love to have. You may feel that their stories, as well as your own should be given to your descendents. If your parents or grandparents haven’t written theirs yet, you’ll certainly want to get them too. | ||
<br>However, as much you try to encourage them to write their personal histories, they may not be very willing to do so. Interviewing them with a voice recorder or camcorder may be your only option. | |||
<br>However, as much you try to encourage them to write their personal histories, they may not be very willing to do so. Interviewing them with a voice recorder or camcorder may be your only option. | |||
<br>I would very much encourage you to use some kind of digital camcorder rather than just recording the voice. With a video recording, you can include pictures, old family films, voice recordings of other people, background music and even narration if you want. <br> | <br>I would very much encourage you to use some kind of digital camcorder rather than just recording the voice. With a video recording, you can include pictures, old family films, voice recordings of other people, background music and even narration if you want. <br> | ||
Here are some do’s and don’ts on the recording of personal histories either for yourself or others. These ideas also apply if you are using a camcorder. | Here are some do’s and don’ts on the recording of personal histories either for yourself or others. These ideas also apply if you are using a camcorder. | ||
| Line 15: | Line 11: | ||
=== Know Your Equipment === | === Know Your Equipment === | ||
*Know your equipment well and make sure it is working that day. There is nothing more unnerving to your interviewee, than seeing you fumble with your machine trying to figure out why it is not working.<br> | *Know your equipment well and make sure it is working that day. There is nothing more unnerving to your interviewee, than seeing you fumble with your machine trying to figure out why it is not working.<br><br> | ||
*Have extra disks. Make sure you have extras batteries, if you will not have power available. <br><br> | *Have extra disks. Make sure you have extras batteries, if you will not have power available. <br><br> | ||
*Use headphones that plug into the recorder so you can to listen to see if the machine is receiving the voice of your interviewee. You will know extreme frustration, if you have had a wonderful interview and then find the machine was not recording correctly or the volume was so low that you can’t hear anything. | *Use headphones that plug into the recorder so you can to listen to see if the machine is receiving the voice of your interviewee. You will know extreme frustration, if you have had a wonderful interview and then find the machine was not recording correctly or the volume was so low that you can’t hear anything. | ||
| Line 28: | Line 23: | ||
=== Start The Interview Right A Way === | === Start The Interview Right A Way === | ||
Set up your recording machine as soon as you arrive. Don’t engage in small talk before you turn on the machine. There may be some things in the small talk that should be recorded.<br>To start, put the person at ease by asking some opened ended questions like: | Set up your recording machine as soon as you arrive. Don’t engage in small talk before you turn on the machine. There may be some things in the small talk that should be recorded.<br>To start, put the person at ease by asking some opened ended questions like: | ||
*”How are you feeling today?” <br><br> | *”How are you feeling today?” <br><br> | ||
*” Have you been looking forward to this?” <br><br> | *” Have you been looking forward to this?” <br><br> | ||
*“Are you nervous?”<br><br> | *“Are you nervous?”<br><br> | ||
*”Do you have any questions before we start?”<br><br> | *”Do you have any questions before we start?”<br><br> | ||
| Line 39: | Line 34: | ||
=== Have a list of questions to ask === | === Have a list of questions to ask === | ||
Here is a list of [https://wiki.familysearch.org/en/Creating_A_Personal_History 1800 possible questions] you can use in the interview. | Here is a list of [https://wiki.familysearch.org/en/Creating_A_Personal_History 1800 possible questions] you can use in the interview. Just so I'll know I have filled 10 -12 hours of recording if the person was old enough to go through all the questions. | ||
=== Be A Good Listener === | === Be A Good Listener === | ||