6th lecture for my course Transient Spaces at RMIT University. Lecture uses sections of my Participatory Documentary Cookbook.

2. Agenda
 More tips on ways to find great online content
 Interview tech options
 Interview tips
 Vox pops v. ‘proper’ interviews
 Using the zooms
 Let’s get the zooms

3. More ways to find
online content

4. Interview recording options
1. Using the voice memo function on your phone
 Audio quality can be quite good, but remember to
keep the phone close, and find a quiet place.
 But not too close or it might distort!
 The problem is that you can’t test the levels, except
by doing a test recording and listening to it through
headphones.

5. Interview recording options
2. Using a Zoom
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_emb
edded&v=T9GIzarhwyE
 Most important things:
 Check the levels
 Make sure you are actually recording, not on pause.

6. Interview recording options
3. Recording a Skype interview
 My test with quicktime resulted in poor quality
 As usual, I’m more concerned about audio than video, if
the vid is too bad, you can always just use a still.
 Great tips for audio improvement here, but rather
technical – and you may not be able to get around the
Firewall
http://www.blogarithms.com/index.php/archives/2007/12/23/s
kype-for-interviews/

7. Interview recording options
Summary of the easier things:
 Quit all applications except what you really need
 good broadband
 Make everything as quiet as possible
 Both parties should use a headset USB mic if possible
Eg,
http://shop.skype.com/headsets/#/#categoryid=1&sortby=3&subcategoryid=&fil
ter=&manufacture=&price_range=~30|30~60|60~90|90~&page=1

8. Interview recording options
 They recommend audio recording software called CallBurner
http://www.callburner.com/ Free 30 day trial
 And post-production audio level software called The Levelator:
http://www.conversationsnetwork.org/levelator FREE
 You’d also edit out the clicks, umms, stutters etc in Audacity (or
similar)
Note: don’t edit the audio if you’re going to marry it up with video, it
will get out of sync.

9. Interview recording options
4. Recording a phone call to the Zoom / computer

10. Interview recording options

11. Interview tips

12. Interview tips

13. Interview tips

14. Interview tips

15. Interview tips

16. Vox pops v.
‘proper’ interviews
 A vox pop is a stranger off the street who you ask a
couple of questions to as they walk by. You will get
an unreflected, off-the-cuff opinion rather than a
carefully thought through response. They are useful
for capturing the public mood, but it will be
superficial.
 A proper interview is organised in advance, you’ve
given the interviewee warning about the subject
matter, you’ve found a good (quiet, well
lit, uninterrupted) location. You will get more
interesting answers this way.