Getting Ready to Shoot an Oral History Movie

An oral history is someone talking about their life. It involves recording someone's memories to create a living history of a person's unique experiences. An oral history can be about a particular event, a time, or an entire lifespan. It can be an interview with grandparents or older relatives. Most essentially, an oral history is the best way to record and preserve family history.

An oral history movie begins with the right preparation, including both the technical and creative aspects of your shoot:

• On the technical front, you need to review the essential equipment to bring to your shoot, as well as think about bringing extra, helpful items.

• On the creative front, what shots would you ideally like to have in your finished movie? We'll review what shots are most important to get and a list of other shots that are "nice-to-haves."

You need to bring to your shoot your camcorder, power cord, tripod, and a clip-on microphone. Audio is very, very important in shooting family memory movies, especially oral histories. Your camcorder mike will not be able to record your interviewee's voice well enough to hear it audibly on your video.

Here is a list of essentials you should bring with you to your shoot:

• Camcorder

• Videotape

• Tripod

• Power supply

• Fully charged batteries

• Extra charged batteries

• Your camera's power cord (for recharging batteries)

• External microphone and audio extension cord

In addition, you should bring any photos, old movies, or video you want your interviewee to talk about.

Here is a list of other equipment you should consider taking with you:

• Extra batteries

• Duct tape (to cover audio extension cords or power cords)

Shooting an Oral History Movie

You should prepare for your oral history movie by writing down a list of questions ahead of time. If you already know the person you're interviewing, you can ask him or her about things you are curious about in the person's life. The following sections present lists of questions you can use to dig into the details of your interviewee's life.

Asking Questions About Birth and Childhood

You can use the following list of questions to explore the person's early life in detail:

• Where and when were you born?

• What were your parents like?

• Who were/are your siblings?

• Where did you go to school?

• What were your childhood and your education like?

Asking Questions About Adult Life

You can use the following list of questions to explore the person's adult life in detail:

• How did you meet your spouse?

• How did you get your first job? What was your big career break?

• How old were you when you had children, and what was your family life like?

• When did you move from one place to another?

• Did you take any memorable trips?

• What were your most memorable family holidays or vacations?

• What are your favorite foods?

• When did you have grandchildren?

Asking Questions About Broader Themes

If it's appropriate, you can also ask questions about your interviewee's life that address themes. What does the person want other people to rememberabout a certain time, about the family, about him or her?

Tips for Conducting Your Interview

Here are some additional tips for conducting your interview.

Using Photos to Prompt the Interviewee for Specific Memories

If there are photos (or old movies or videos) you want to know more about, write down your questions about the photos and bring them with you to the interview. Having props is a great way to get people talking.

Limiting Your Interview to a Comfortable Length of Time

If your subject is a senior, you should plan to interview the person for no more than an hour (or less, especially if the person is not in good health). You can schedule additional follow-up sessions if you need more time with the person.

Providing Questions in Advance

If your interviewee wants to or would benefit from seeing the questions in advance, you can share your list of questions with him or her ahead of time. That way, the person will have time to think about what to say.

Promising to Provide a Copy of Your Edited Movie

You might offer to give your interviewee copies of the interview if he or she can would like one, so he or she can review your edited version and ask you to remove anything he or she doesn't like.

Choosing a Quiet, Comfortable Setting

In shooting an oral history, you should arrange to interview the interviewee in the quietest place you can find. A private place is best so you won't be distracted or interrupted.

It's a good idea to make pleasant conversation to put the person at ease while you're setting up.

Asking for Permission to Use a Clip-on Microphone

You should put the camera on a tripod and explain that you would like the interviewee to use a clip-on microphone so the audio will be the best it can be.

If video makes your interviewee uncomfortable or if you want to create a more intimate setting, you can record an audio-only interview with your camcorder.

Conducting a Good Interview

You should ask your questions and give your interviewee plenty of time to answer. If he or she doesn't remember something, you can come back to it at a later point during this interview or a follow-up session.

Remember that your role is to get the interviewee to talk. You don't want to interrupt the person. It's what that person says that's most important to your videotape. But if you like, you can be in the video, too.

If you allow the interviewee to tell you what's on his or her mind, you might uncover new material you never knew about the person.

Directing an Interviewee Who Needs Help

If your interviewee gives an answer that is too long or too detailed, you can ask the person to repeat it more succinctly, or, if the answer is too short, you can ask more detailed follow-up questions.

Including More People in Your Shot

Often people are more at ease if you interview two or three of them together because they overcome their natural camera-shyness if they have other people to relate to. You can also choose to be in the video with them.

Tip

For more ideas and tips about interviewing family members, see the web page "How to Interview a Relative" by Kimberly Powell, at http://genealogy.about.com/cs/oralhistory/ht/interview.htm.

Considering Making a Transcript of the Interview

You might want to transcribe the audio from your interview to edit it more easily or to share it with others. A transcript gives you a written version of everything that was said, which you could give to family members or include in print or on a CD or website.