Oral History Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Below you will find a growing list of frequently asked questions posed by members about all matters of Oral History, with the most recently added items displayed first. If you have a question, for which you feel the answer would benefit other visitors to this site, contact Rob Perks, (rob.perks@bl.uk).
Q. We are a small community organisation without any institutional support. How can we insure our oral history collection?
A. Firstly. you can minimise the risks by keeping copies of all your interviews and associated documentation in a separate location from your originals. There are some insurers who may consider insuring archives and artefacts such as recorded interviews, and these are listed below. Inclusion here does not constitute a recommendation.Before contacting them, you need to consider how you value your archives for these purposes, e.g. how much it would cost to make new copies of them, or to restore the documents that relate to them. There is an article on this subject, ‘Valuing Archives for Insurance’ by Lieselotte Clark, in Business Archives Principles and Practice, No.75 (May 1998).
Hiscox Insurance: 25 London Road, Sittingbourne, Kent, ME10 1PE; tel. 0870 084 3777 (8am - 6pm Monday to Friday); email customerservices@hiscox.com; or request a quote at http://www.hiscox.com/.
Stamp Insurance Services, CGI Services Ltd, 29 Bowhay Lane, Exeter EX4 1PE, 01392 433949.
Contributor: Cynthia Brown
Category: Ethical IssuesQ. Where can I study oral history?
A.London Met University now runs an MA in Life History Research:
Click hereSussex University also has an MA in Life History Research:
Click hereUniversity of Huddersfield now runs an MA in Oral History:
Click here
Contributor: Verusca Calabria
Category: Training OpportunitiesQ. Frequently asked questions when using a Marantz PDM 660 recorder:
A.Q: How do I set the correct volume level?
Once the Marantz PDM 660 recorder has been set up (cables plugged in, microphones inserted and adjusted onto interviewer and interviewee), attach the headphones onto the machine (jack on the front of the machine, turn the volume on (side of the machine) and you can then hear the quality and volume of the sound. Use the colour bar to adjust the volume for both the R (right microphone) and the L (left microphone), aim for both to be showing at number 6 of the volume bar, in other words, the first line of orange lights that follows the green lights.Q: How can I set the volume level without creating unnecessary tracks?
You can set the volume as you create the track on which you will record your oral history interview by pressing REC PAUSE. This function will create a track number but the sound will only start to be recorded once you press: REC.Q: How much recording time is available on each flash card?
Each Marantz recorder has been set to record in Wav format, which means that a 2 GB flash card will record up to 3 hours of audio. Please note each equipment bag is supplied with two 2 GB flash cards, one normally inserted in the machine and one available on the side pocket. Each flash card can be reformatted for new recordings. Under no circumstances should any tracks be deleted or the flash card reformatted until a back up copy has been made.
Q: What is a Wav file?
Wav files are large and uncompressed, high quality, standard audio files. Because they are uncompressed their life span is considerably longer than other audio file formats. Wav format is a digital standard audio file so any audio editing or playback program should be able to open them.Please note it is also possible to record in MP3, which is a compressed audio format, by changing the setting, this option allows for about 35 hours of recording time on a 2GB flash card. However it is not recommended to record in this format as the quality of the audio files is of inferior quality to a Wav file.
Q: How do I convert a Wav file to an MP3 file?
You can download Audacity 1.2.6 and the MP3 Encoder Lame free of charge from http://audacity.soundforge.net/.
Q: How do I delete a ‘test’ track?
To delete a test track press Menu/Store button and the Shift button simultaneously until TrkErase is displayed. Press Enter and the track you want to delete will flash. Press Enter again to delete.
Q: How do I upload files from Flash Cards onto a Personal Computer
Remove the flash card from the Marantz recorder.
Insert the flash card onto the card reader (ensure the ‘teeth of the flash cards are facing the card reader).
Plug the card reader into your PC using the USB cable.
The flash card folder should open onto your Desktop. Open the file and click on the folder MPGLANG1.
Drag the Wav file from this folder onto your desktop.
If the flash card folder does not open automatically go to My Computer, click on the USB connection (it should appear in Drive J).
Always retain a copy of the Wav file after conversion to an MP3 file until the project team has confirmed receipt of your flash cards.
Q. How do I convert Wav Files to MP3 Files?
Download free Sound Editing Software Audacity 1.2.6 from the web: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
Download MP3 Encoder Software Lame from the same web site.
You need to unzip Lame by selecting the command: Extract, located on the Lame Folder.
Open up Audacity.
Drag the digital file from the Desktop into Audacity, wait for the upload.
Go to File, select the command: Export as MP3.
Note that you need to locate the MP3 Encoder for Audacity for the first time only. Audacity will guide this process by requesting if you want to locate Lame. Click OK and Select the Lame File on your Desktop.
Your file has been converted for transcription use.
Contributor: Verusca Calabria
Category: TechnologyQ. Where can I get some basic training in oral history?
A. Visit our Training page within this site for more information!
Contributor: Graham Smith
Category: Training OpportunitiesMore information can be found at this link here.
Q. Can you suggest any audio editing software which is fairly straightforward for me to download?
A.For an excellent, easy to use and powerful audio editing application, you may wish to consider "Audacity". Below, you will find the many features available, taken from their website, which can be found at: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/about/features
Features
This is a list of features in Audacity, the free audio editor. For more information on how to use these features, go to the help pages.
Recording
Audacity can record live audio through a microphone or mixer, or digitize recordings from cassette tapes, vinyl records, or minidiscs. With some sound cards, it can also capture streaming audio.
- Record from microphone, line input, or other sources.
- Dub over existing tracks to create multi-track recordings.
- Record up to 16 channels at once (requires multi-channel hardware).
- Level meters can monitor volume levels before, during, and after recording.
Import and Export
Import sound files, edit them, and combine them with other files or new recordings. Export your recordings in several common file formats.
- Import and export WAV, AIFF, AU, and Ogg Vorbis files.
- Import MPEG audio (including MP2 and MP3 files) with libmad.
- Export MP3s with the optional LAME encoder library.
- Create WAV or AIFF files suitable for burning to CD.
- Import and export all file formats supported by libsndfile.
- Open raw (headerless) audio files using the “Import Raw” command.
Note: Audacity does not currently support WMA, AAC, or most other proprietary or restricted file formats.Editing
- Easy editing with Cut, Copy, Paste, and Delete.
- Use unlimited Undo (and Redo) to go back any number of steps.
- Very fast editing of large files.
- Edit and mix an unlimited number of tracks.
- Use the Drawing tool to alter individual sample points.
- Fade the volume up or down smoothly with the Envelope tool.
Effects
- Change the pitch without altering the tempo, or vice-versa.
- Remove static, hiss, hum, or other constant background noises.
- Alter frequencies with Equalization, FFT Filter, and Bass Boost effects.
- Adjust volumes with Compressor, Amplify, and Normalize effects.
- Other built-in effects include: Echo, Phaser, Wahwah Reverse
Sound Quality
- Record and edit 16-bit, 24-bit, and 32-bit (floating point) samples.
- Record at up to 96 KHz.
- Sample rates and formats are converted using high-quality resampling and dithering.
- Mix tracks with different sample rates or formats, and Audacity will convert them automatically in realtime.
Plug-Ins
- Add new effects with LADSPA plugins.
- Audacity includes some sample plugins by Steve Harris.
- Load VST plugins for Windows and Mac, with the optional VST Enabler.
- Write new effects with the built-in Nyquist programming language.
Analysis
- Spectrogram mode for visualizing frequencies.
- “Plot Spectrum” command for detailed frequency analysis.
Free and Cross-Platform
- Licensed under the GNU General Public License (GPL).
- Runs on Mac OS X, Windows, and GNU/Linux.
If these features have whet your appetite, you can download the software, (which helpfully includes documentation on how to use it!), from http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/.
Contributor: Anthony Greenwood
Category: TechnologyMore information can be found at this link here.