{"id":6664,"date":"2017-06-27T01:30:06","date_gmt":"2017-06-27T05:30:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=6664"},"modified":"2017-06-28T09:55:01","modified_gmt":"2017-06-28T13:55:01","slug":"lets-get-technical-recording-oral-histories-at-scrc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=6664","title":{"rendered":"Let’s Get Technical! Recording Oral Histories at SCRC"},"content":{"rendered":"

The George Mason University Oral History Program has come a long way since its inception in 1999, undergoing important developments in terms of recording and editing interviews.<\/p>\n

From 1999 until 2004, oral history interviews were audio only recordings captured on audiocassette. Because there was no dubbing equipment, subjects were not sent copies of their interviews-which today is an essential part of the oral history program. Beginning in 2004, audio interviews were digitally recorded and the transition from analog to digital recordings made giving participants copies of their interviews possible. In 2006, the program moved to digital audio\/video recordings and since then many oral historians have recorded over 125 interviews with students, staff, alumni, politicians, and others from the local community.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s Setup:<\/p>\n

Presently,\u00a0we conduct oral histories\u00a0in the Special Collections Research Center Seminar Room in Fenwick Library on Mason\u2019s Fairfax campus. We record video and audio on a Sony Handicam HD video camera, capturing footage on mini-DV cassettes in high definition. Two Audio-technica omnidirectional microphones are used- one for the subject and one for the oral historian- and connected to the camera to record the audio for the interview. As a backup, in case of video loss or sound syncing issues, we record an audio only copy on a Tascam digital audio recorder. Lighting equipment is also used for interviews. We are currently using two Genaray Spectro-LED lights, which are adjusted based on the time of day and weather conditions to accurately light the subject.<\/p>\n

Digital recordings are then edited using Adobe Premiere Pro. The mini-DV cassette footage is captured by the Adobe Premiere program and then altered\u00a0for clarity and a title containing the name of the subject and the date of the interview is placed in the video. After editing, the footage is converted to MP4 video, Quicktime video, and a preservation copy is kept on an external hard drive in case of loss. Exporting the edited footage to Adobe Encore, which is used to make DVD\u2019s, makes one physical copy of an interview. Extra copies of DVD’s are made using a TEAC DVC copier \u2013 two are kept in the George Mason University Oral History Program Collection and one is sent to the subject along with a copy of their signed Deed of Gift and a short letter thanking them for their participation.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

An example of a typical oral history setup.<\/p><\/div>\n

The transition from analog to digital recordings has made editing, sharing, and accessing interviews easier for oral historians and researchers, and the ability to store digital and physical copies of interviews aids in the preservation and future access of these materials. Storing oral histories in multiple formats ensures that access is available even when current playback technologies become obsolete.<\/p>\n

If you have any questions regarding the George Mason University Oral History Program, contact Emily Curley at ohp@gmu.edu or visit SCRC\u2019s website<\/a>. Aside from oral histories we conduct, we also have a few other oral history collections<\/a>.<\/p>\n

To view snippets of completed interviews, visit http:\/\/oralhistory.gmu.edu\/<\/a>\u00a0or our Youtube<\/a> channel.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The George Mason University Oral History Program has come a long way since its inception in 1999, undergoing important developments in terms of recording and editing interviews. From 1999 until 2004, oral history interviews were audio only recordings captured on audiocassette. Because there was no dubbing equipment, subjects were not sent copies of their interviews-which […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[194,272,104,5,121,339,299],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fairfax-history","category-gmu-fairfax-campus","category-oral-history","category-scrc-interest","category-scrc-picks","category-virginia-2","category-virginiana"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8Ep5i-1Ju","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9112,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=9112","url_meta":{"origin":6664,"position":0},"title":"History from the Ground Up: Voices of Virginia","author":"Bob Vay","date":"March 25, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"It is fascinating how oral history has a way of describing a social, political, or environmental situation by putting the listener right there in the middle of the action. An interviewee has nothing to lose or gain by recalling events as they saw them, but a listener can get tremendous\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fairfax History"","block_context":{"text":"Fairfax History","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=194"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/VoVimg.jpg?fit=794%2C998&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/VoVimg.jpg?fit=794%2C998&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/VoVimg.jpg?fit=794%2C998&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/VoVimg.jpg?fit=794%2C998&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9652,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=9652","url_meta":{"origin":6664,"position":1},"title":"CLIR Grant Helps SCRC Utilize New Technologies to Access Old Recordings","author":"Bob Vay","date":"June 29, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"SCRC is completing an exciting grant project, which will provide users the opportunity learn more about federally-sponsored arts projects during the Great Depression from their computer, tablet, or phone in the voices of those who took part in them.\u00a0 The grant, generously provided by the Council on Library and Information\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Digital Collections"","block_context":{"text":"Digital Collections","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=557"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/voices.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/voices.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/voices.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/voices.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/voices.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/voices.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6233,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=6233","url_meta":{"origin":6664,"position":2},"title":"Reorganizing the GMU Oral History Program Collection","author":"admin","date":"March 24, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"This post was written by Emily Curley, our Oral History Program Coordinator. The George Mason University Oral History Program has conducted over 200 interviews since 1999. Because we\u2019re always adding to the collection, it\u2019s time to reorganize the physical collection and the finding aid. What we\u2019ve done so far: We\u2019ve\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fairfax History"","block_context":{"text":"Fairfax History","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=194"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/ohb.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/ohb.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/ohb.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5220,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=5220","url_meta":{"origin":6664,"position":3},"title":"The Booknotes Oral History Program","author":"admin","date":"January 12, 2015","format":"aside","excerpt":"One of the many unique collections housed here at University Libraries\u2019 Special Collections & Archives department is the Booknotes collection. Booknotes was a popular television program on C-SPAN hosted by the network\u2019s creator, Brian Lamb, which ran from April 1989 through December 2004. 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At 26-6,\u00a0 Mason has compiled its best pre-NCAA Tournament season record to date, and for several weeks the Patriots have been included in various lists of the top-30 teams in the nation.\u00a0 Though it fell in the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=3"},"img":{"alt_text":"Andre Smith (left) and Lamar Butler (right() embrace after the Patriots' victory over UConn.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/season2beleive.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6664","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6664"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6664\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6670,"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6664\/revisions\/6670"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6664"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6664"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}