Video camera and mic for family oral history
April 30, 2018 5:59 PM Subscribe
What's the necessary video and audio equipment for a family oral history project? Goal is to preserve these special people for a few generations. Budget is Best Buy or similar.
Response by poster: I have a smartphone... but not a lot of storage/unsure of storage capability. How would I manage that?
posted by Jason and Laszlo at 7:47 PM on April 30, 2018
posted by Jason and Laszlo at 7:47 PM on April 30, 2018
You could import them to a Mac/PC.
You want to then Export them to a format suitable for long-term archival. There are lots of opinions about this but it's a touchy and tricky subject. (if in doubt export to .mp4 with default settings)
Then you want to make sure you have a copy on at least one external hard drive, preferably more. Bonus points for getting it into a flash or optical drive or cloud.
Then you want to check in a couple times a decade to make sure you can still access and view the content on modern computing devices.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:26 PM on April 30, 2018
You want to then Export them to a format suitable for long-term archival. There are lots of opinions about this but it's a touchy and tricky subject. (if in doubt export to .mp4 with default settings)
Then you want to make sure you have a copy on at least one external hard drive, preferably more. Bonus points for getting it into a flash or optical drive or cloud.
Then you want to check in a couple times a decade to make sure you can still access and view the content on modern computing devices.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:26 PM on April 30, 2018
(you could also record with a decent quality webcam connected to a Mac/PC instead of phone)
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:53 PM on April 30, 2018
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:53 PM on April 30, 2018
I'd invest in a standalone camera + mic. The internal mic on a smartphone is not your best bet for audio quality, and I would spend my whole time worrying about reaching capacity in the middle of an interview on my phone. Obviously it depends on the length and quality of your videos, but you'd probably have to transfer files almost every time you completed an interview.
Unfortunately I don't have exact product recommendations, but the generalized guidelines on this page are still relevant. (Many of the same site's essays may be of interest, though they're slightly disorganized and pitched at professionals.) Video codecs and file formats are complicated, but people usually agree that uncompressed (WAV) audio is best.
Whatever equipment you get, long-term digital storage is even more important. I'll second multiple backups, on hard drives AND the cloud, and scheduling regular checks for playability and migration if hard drives wear out or technologies become obsolete (happens fast with digital formats). Flash drives and optical discs can be pretty volatile, so I wouldn't recommend relying on them for preservation.
Good luck with your project! Audiovisual documentation of family members is really special to have.
posted by impeachnixon at 8:59 PM on April 30, 2018 [2 favorites]
Unfortunately I don't have exact product recommendations, but the generalized guidelines on this page are still relevant. (Many of the same site's essays may be of interest, though they're slightly disorganized and pitched at professionals.) Video codecs and file formats are complicated, but people usually agree that uncompressed (WAV) audio is best.
Whatever equipment you get, long-term digital storage is even more important. I'll second multiple backups, on hard drives AND the cloud, and scheduling regular checks for playability and migration if hard drives wear out or technologies become obsolete (happens fast with digital formats). Flash drives and optical discs can be pretty volatile, so I wouldn't recommend relying on them for preservation.
Good luck with your project! Audiovisual documentation of family members is really special to have.
posted by impeachnixon at 8:59 PM on April 30, 2018 [2 favorites]
Two opinions: I think that in a quiet room and enough light, any smartphone of the past few years would be fine. On a stand. I like this phone tripod clamp with this little tripod. We have a few iPhones and I'm shocked at the quality of video and even audio with the onboard cameras and mics.
I think any media of family memories will be beyond boring to most people but incredibly compelling to loved ones. As such the quality of the medium is distant second to the subject portrayed. I used to have a crappy cassette tape from my grandparents when they were stationed in Fiji for the Peace Corps, we would mail the tape back and forth and make voice recordings on the crappy internal mics of tape recorders like these. I would kill to find that tape now.
Or you could buy some cool kit - and for that I recommend you rent the camera from LensRentals for a few days to try it out and see if you like it and can make good use of it. Yes, the rental becomes a sunk cost, but if it prevents you from spending a grand on gear that you'll never use, then it's worth it.
posted by sol at 9:58 PM on April 30, 2018
I think any media of family memories will be beyond boring to most people but incredibly compelling to loved ones. As such the quality of the medium is distant second to the subject portrayed. I used to have a crappy cassette tape from my grandparents when they were stationed in Fiji for the Peace Corps, we would mail the tape back and forth and make voice recordings on the crappy internal mics of tape recorders like these. I would kill to find that tape now.
Or you could buy some cool kit - and for that I recommend you rent the camera from LensRentals for a few days to try it out and see if you like it and can make good use of it. Yes, the rental becomes a sunk cost, but if it prevents you from spending a grand on gear that you'll never use, then it's worth it.
posted by sol at 9:58 PM on April 30, 2018
Its not the equipment, its the space you record in. Make sure its comfortable, sound quelling (lots of rugs, cloth, blankets, etc) and those being recorded are close to each other. Make sure the people you are recording are ready to talk, are prepared, maybe have notes about the topics you'll cover.
Like most everyone is saying, a relatively new smartphone has more than enough quality for audio recordings. (I don't know much about video.)
posted by RajahKing at 8:32 AM on May 1, 2018
Like most everyone is saying, a relatively new smartphone has more than enough quality for audio recordings. (I don't know much about video.)
posted by RajahKing at 8:32 AM on May 1, 2018
I'm planning a small oral history project at work, and we bought this audio recorder based on the recommendation of our local community college.
posted by toastedcheese at 9:58 AM on May 1, 2018
posted by toastedcheese at 9:58 AM on May 1, 2018
Digital archivist here. Please remember that if you are recording digitally, you should also build in plans to migrate/duplicate your files on a fairly regular basis so that you don't return to your files 10 years from now and find out they are corrupted or unplayable. I would even say this issue is probably more important than what equipment you use, and one that a lot of folks neglect to plan for!
The Library of Congress has some good resources on personal digital archiving.
posted by mostly vowels at 3:53 PM on May 1, 2018
The Library of Congress has some good resources on personal digital archiving.
posted by mostly vowels at 3:53 PM on May 1, 2018
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posted by Sebmojo at 7:44 PM on April 30, 2018