Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with oralhistory

Documentary theater tips?

HeroZero — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 08:55:01 -0800

HighSchoolDramaTeacherFilter: Any tips for doing documentary theater with students? I'm teaching a new advanced high school drama class this year. We spent first semester studying and doing a production of a Shakespeare play. I'd now like to switch gears into something completely different: documentary theater in the tradition of The Laramie Project, The Exonerated, and the work of Anna Deveare Smith.

Has anybody out there done documentary theater work with high school or college students? I've found a syllabus or two online, but does anybody have concrete tips? Articles on the topic that students might find particularly engaging? Tips and pitfalls? Ethnographic/oral history interview advice? Anything whatsoever? I know I'm being broad here, but though I've done plenty of theater work, documentary theater is something I've only experienced as an (enthusiastic) audience member.

Help me interview my parents for posterity.

ocherdraco — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 11:43:41 -0800

How much time should I set aside to interview my parents for an oral history project? How many topics should I expect to cover? And who can I get to transcribe the video later? My parents aren't old (they're both in their mid-fifties) but I've decided to start an oral history project with them while I'm home for Christmas. My aunt tried to do this with my great grandmother when she was in her nineties, and by then it was too late, so I want to get a head start.

Searching through old MeFi and AskMe posts pointed me toward this great book on personal histories, to the Smithsonian's guide to oral history, and to Story Corps' DIY guide to interviewing, so I'm all set for good questions to ask and for how to set up. But since this is going to be an ongoing project (which I intend to work on pretty much every time I'm home, a few times a year) I want to figure out how many hour-long interview sessions (which is the limit my camera gives me before I have to upload) I should try to do over five days, and how much ground I ought to try to cover—how focused or unfocused I ought to be.

I'd love to discuss my parents' childhoods, but I'd also really like to discuss how they met and the first few years of their relationship, before my sister and I came along. Should I focus on specific stories that I know about (my mom's family at the 1965 World's Fair, my dad's road trip with his grandparents), or will that narrow things too much?

Also, as my digital video isn't guaranteed to last, I want to have someone transcribe the interviews. Know any good transcription services?

Questions for Mom and Dad

extrabox — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 04:43:51 -0800

I just got a video camera, and the first project I would like to do is a family history. I'm going to see my parents this weekend (76 and 80 y.o.). What are some creative and interesting questions to ask to get them started talking? I'm looking for fun and unusual questions - I have googled the topic of family histories for some of the standard ones. I want the stuff you really wish you knew about your folks but never asked. Thanks!

Advice for finding an interviewer to record family oral history?

chr1sb0y — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 12:17:00 -0800

Can anyone give me any advice on finding and hiring a professional to interview an elderly family member, to preserve family oral history? (located in upstate NY)

Oral History tape recorder and microphone recommendations?

Coffeemate — Mon, 12 Dec 2005 09:56:28 -0800

I need to buy a recorder and microphone(s) to record an oral history. I will be taking an oral history over the next several months for a project of the American Bar Association. I currently have no equipment, and I have received the following guidelines:
1) I must record to a standard cassette;
2) I should use an external microphone, or two external microphones if lavalier mics;
3) The quality of the recorder itself matters less than the quality of the microphone(s) and tapes used;
4) The equipment should be easy to transport – small and lightweight, if possible;
5) My budget for all the equipment is $100 to $150.

With these three guidelines, what cassette recorder and microphone(s) should I buy? This looks like it would be a good setup for this project, but are there other, better options out there?

Also, while I would prefer to use minidisc, a hard-drive or flash-based recorder, the transcription service I will be using will accept only standard cassette tapes.