Re: [ARSCLIST] Industrial Design Historians Seek Help in Selecting Technology

[Marcos Sueiro <mls2137@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I just realised that my explanation of a tape sync was very poor. You 
need *two* separate people to record (with good mics, etc) the 
interviewer and interviewee separately, but simultaneously, so that one 
person is recording the questions and another, in a different location, 
the answers. Then you edit these together into a seamless interview.

I hope this makes sense.

Cheers,

Marcos

Marcos Sueiro wrote:
> Hi Barbara,
>
> If you want to do telephone interviews, you will get much better 
> quality by using a high-quality microphone on the interviewer's side 
> (Shure SM7, ElectroVoice RE-20 are classics; Rode 
> http://www.rodemic.com. makes some very nice ones at good prices) and 
> an interface like this one: http://www.jkaudio.com/broadcast-host.htm.
>
> Even better quality is achieved (but with far more work) by doing a 
> tape sync: You hire someone to record the interviewee and interviewer 
> separately at their locations,  and later edit it all  into one 
> seamless interview. This is how radio interviews are often done.
>
> To record in person, it depends a lot on the setup and how noisy the 
> environment is. Tabletop PZM mics often work well because they are 
> less physically intrusive and distracting for the interviewee: 
> http://www.crownaudio.com/mic_web/pzm.htm (tip: place them on a mouse 
> pad to dampen tabletop rumble).
>
> Finally, although expensive, I have only heard good things from the 
> Sound Devices family of audio recorders: 
> http://www.sounddevices.com/products/702.htm. Marantz also makes 
> well-respected machines such as the PMD-660 http://tinyurl.com/goyv7.
>
> Make sure you record your oral histories as good-quality wav files, 
> and only generate the lower-quality file when you are ready to podcast.
>
> As for archiving, I would use hard drives with redundancy, be it tape 
> , RAID, or all of the above.
>
> Good luck!
>
> Marcos
>
> > 1. We have just conducted our first podcasts to be available online 
> > in the near future.  These were done over the phone through a 
> > contracted conference-call company. The sound quality is good for the 
> > interviewee but the interviewer's in-phone mike is causeing some 
> > 'slurring' sounds.  Could you recommend an external mike for a phone? 
> > Is there something more low-tech which might be used to reduce this 
> > problem (I've heard that covering the mike holes with something like 
> > cotton or foam works)?  Is there a particular model of podcast 
> > quality phone that you can recommend?   
>
> > 2.  For non-podcast oral histories done by phone what equipment would 
> > you recommend? Phone make and model? Mike to attach to phone?
> > 3.  For oral histories done in person what equipment would you 
> > recommend?
> >  
> > 4.  What is the best way to archive these until they find a permanent 
> > home and which would be acceptable to a library?  On what media: cd, 
> > dvd, dv or magnetic tape?  Is it okay to house them in a standard 
> > climate controlled self-storage unit?
> >  
> > 5. What cataloging system do you recommend?  What easy-to-use 
> > software might facilitate transfer to a library archive in the 
> > foreseeable future?
> > Any help you might lend will be greatly appreciated.  We have an 
> > impending deadline to use our budget so time is of the essence.
> > Thank you in advance for your responses,
> > Barbara Egan
> >