Recording - December 2012 - 43

instead of “Were you in the Army?” ask “Tell me about basic training” or “What happened on your first day in the Army?” If you have a notebook or index card for your questions, keep a pen handy to jot down new questions that arise during the interview. You may run into a difficult issue, something painful for the subject to remember. Try not to push them; remember that this project is an act of love. Don’t necessarily back away from the hard stuff; stay supportive, but let them talk if they can and want to. If they tell you, in so many words, “I can’t talk about that,” that’s the time to step back and go elsewhere, maybe say, “I understand” and move on to a less-loaded topic. Surprisingly, the subject may eventually veer back to the rough area on their own; when they do, shut up and let them talk. At ease There are various ways to put an interviewee at ease. The great documentarian Studs Terkel used to cultivate the illusion that he didn’t quite know how to work his recorder, even occasionally giving it a gentle kick. He found that this

is the archive copy, the one you (or a descendant) can go back to for future reference. The editing is straightforward enough, and can be done in a simple 2-track editor like Audacity (which is free) or the track editor in Adobe Audition. How much should you edit? That’s really your call; do you want it to sound NPR-tight, or looser and more informal? Whatever you do, try to keep the person’s speaking style intact; if they like to pause, you might shorten the pauses a bit without eliminating them completely. Stay true to the speaker’s rhythm. If there are extraneous noises (someone bangs the table, say) you should usually take those out, if you can do so without interfering with the narrative. Remember, it’s about the story, not the recording. I don’t recommend over-producing; resist the temptation to load the recording into a DAW and add “mood” music. The talk should create its own mood, without artificial help. Format The most likely format for your final product will be a CD-R. Use good ones; at the moment Taiyo-Yuden blanks are probably the most favored for long life. You may wind up with several interviews on a single disc; allow some silence at the end of each track to give listeners a chance to make the transition. Again, back up everything. Do it on multiple formats; CD-R, thumb drive, hard drives galore. Some of your family’s narratives may be of interest to the wider community. Ask your local historical society or public library if they maintain an oral history section, and whether they might be interested in your family’s

Foam or Towel

created a sense of camaraderie with the subject; “You and me against this infernal machine.” I’ve never been able to pull that trick off; instead, I try to develop an attitude of, “We’re in this together. Let’s explore.” One important bit of housekeeping: always say the date and place of the recording, who the interviewee is, and who you are. For example: “I’m talking with Jerry Steinberg on January 5, 2013, at his house in Palo Alto, California. I’m Joe Steinberg, Jerry’s nephew.” How long should an interview last? You’ll have to play that by ear; I’ve done some as short as half an hour, some as long as two hours. Do what’s comfortable. Sometimes, two or three short interviews may be better than one long one, particularly with older subjects; you don’t want to tire them out. Later After you’ve done your interview(s), what are the next steps? First, do backups; remember the principle that “If you ain’t got it in three places, you ain’t got it.” Back up the interview on an external hard drive, on your thumb drive, and/or as a data CD. Keep at least one copy offsite; if you live in an active seismic zone, ship a copy out of town. Do the backups before you do any editing; this

material. If so, you must get the permission of your subjects to deposit their recordings in such an archive. These are the subjects’ words, and whether they are to be shared outside the family circle is the subjects’ choice. I’ve barely scratched the surface of oral history here; it’s a huge field, and doing it can be quite addictive. It can also be incredibly rewarding; when you learn about your family, you learn about yourself and how you fit into the world. If you try it, you might find yourself creating a gift that resonates for years and generations. Who knows? People might even start calling you “Studs.” Paul J. Stamler (stamler@recordingmag.com) is a recording engineer, producer, musician, and educator, living and working in St. Louis.
RECORDING December 2012

Recording - December 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - December 2012