Oral History Interview & Importance Part 8
Required Equipment & Accessories
Hamid Qazvini
Translated by Natalie Haghverdian
2017-6-7
Oral history interviews require equipment & accessories and the scholar shall procure and prepare all such equipment prior to their departure for interview. In case of audio or visual interviews, proper and quality equipment shall be in hand. There are few considerations as follows:
- Quality
Obviously, the equipment shall be of proper quality to conduct high quality audio or visual recording. Nowadays, technology development provides ever changing and advancing audio visual recording equipment. Oral history interviewer shall be considerate of such progress. In the past, not very far, journalism recorders and cassettes were the most advanced interview tools, but now, we don’t see them anymore and small digital recording devises with large memory volumes and higher quality have made life easy for the scholars.
In general, the oral history scholars shall always use cutting edge equipment to record the sessions with higher and acceptable quality. Don’t forget that each session might be the last change for us to record the memoirs of the narrator and any negligence might damage the reputation of the scholar and the narrator which inadvertently affect history.
- Preparation & practice
One important issue concerning the interview equipment is responsibility of the interview team, preparation and practice with such equipment prior to interview. There have been cases where the interviewer or the interview team have realized a technical issue or equipment deficit after attending the interview session which has disrupted the process and violated the rights of the narrator and that of the project.
This is of grave importance when there are multiple users.
On the other hand, once the audio and visual recording groups is other than the interview team, proper coordination shall be made prior to the session in provision of required equipment and briefing on the context.
- Accessories
Each equipment has accessories which are essential to be provided and prepared; for instance, batteries, chargers, memory cards, tripods, and other accessories of cameras, document filming equipment (if necessary), stationary, etc.
It is worth considering that once the equipment is developed in small sizes some accessories are eliminated. For instance, advanced audio recording devises do not require microphones.
Also, it should be considered that the narrator is willing to cooperate with the interviewer; however, any equipment deficit and requesting the narrator to compensate usually affects the narrators’ attitude adversely towards the interview team.
- Equipment Volume
The volume and number of equipment shipped to the interview session shall not be a hassle or of concern for the narrator. In fact, equipment shall be compatible to the type of interview and the context and place in which the narrator is present. For instance, if the interview is conducted at home or work place of the narrator, the equipment shall not be in the volume of a TV station.
Also, if there is one interviewer, they shall not use equipment which affect their control and concentration and hurdle proper pursuit of the interview.
Oral History Interview & Importance Part 1 - Oral History, Path to Cultural Dialogue
Oral History Interview & Importance Part 2 - Characteristics of an Interviewer
Oral History Interview & Importance Part 3 - Selecting a Subject
Oral History Interview & Importance Part 4 - Narrator Identification & Selection
Oral History Interview & Importance Part 5 - Goal Setting
Oral History Interview & Importance Part 6 - Importance of Pre-interview Data Collection
Oral History Interview & Importance Part 7 - To Schedule & Coordinate an Interview
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The Necessity of Receiving Feedback in Oral History
Whenever we engage in a task, we naturally seek ways to evaluate our performance — to correct shortcomings and enhance strengths. Such refinement is only possible through the feedback we receive from others. Consider, for instance, a basketball player whose shots are consistently accurate; should he begin shooting blindfolded, his success rate would rapidly decline, as he would be deprived of essential feedback from each attempt.Sir Saeed
The book “Sir Saeed” is a documentary [narrative] of the life of martyr Seyyed Mohammad Saeed Jafari, written by Mohammad Mehdi Hemmati and published by Rahiyar Publications. In March 2024, this book was recognized as one of the selected documentary biographies in the 21st edition of the Sacred Defense Book of the Year Award. The following text is a review on the mentioned book.Morteza Tavakoli Narrates Student Activities
I am from Isfahan, born in 1336 (1957). I entered Mashhad University with a bag of fiery feelings and a desire for rights and freedom. Less than three months into the academic year, I was arrested in Azar 1355 (November 1976), or perhaps in 1354 (1975). I was detained for about 35 days. The reason for my arrest was that we gathered like-minded students in the Faculty of Literature on 16th of Azar ...A narration from the event of 17th of Shahrivar
Early on the morning of Friday, 17th of Shahrivar 1357 (September 17, 1978), I found myself in an area I was familiar with, unaware of the gathering that would form there and the intense reaction it would provoke. I had anticipated a march similar to previous days, so I ventured onto the street with a tape recorder I had brought back from my recent trip abroad.
