I support Steven Allison-Bunnell's recommendations but would also add my own conservative note that in addition to a video camera I would also like to have a separate audio recording. There are numerous good digital formats available including a new digital Marantz and a whole bunch of mini-disk machines. I would also like to suggest a possible alternative to buying a DVCam. Oral history recordings with a single camera are notoriously boring and can only be tolerated by most folks as edited snippets in a larger work. I would therefore suggest that if there is a three-camera public access studio or a three-camera high school studio available in your community that you try to gain access to those facilities. Using these existing facilities would preclude the necessity of buying equipment and could render a superior product. An added advantage to using these facilities is that your museum might more easily find the volunteer personnel to run the equipment. A three-camera in-house setup with necessary lights and editing equipment is a major commitment. nburlakoff -----Original Message----- From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Steven Allison-Bunnell Sent: Thursday, February 12, 2004 2:54 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Audio Visual equipment. A prosumer miniDV or pro DVCam camcorder on a tripod with a good-quality lavaliere microphone on both the interviewer and the subject can capture both the audio and video at CD quality sound. (Use a simple Y splitter to plug the 2 mics into the stereo input of the camera, or use an outboard mixer box to put both mics on both channels.) Shoot onto a high quality DVCam tape ($10/hour) and then you have what passes for archival quality in digital media. The sound can be put on CD for later listening and/or transcription. Video and sound can be dubbed from the camera onto VHS for viewing. You can also make a DVD with the video for viewing, but this is NOT an archival copy (DVD is a lossy format). The interviews can be edited to remove pauses, interruptions, etc., and rendered back to DV tape without any loss if desired. Throw in a portable light with a diffuser to make sure your footage doesn't have blah color. Total cost for camera setup, depending on camera (Canon and Panasonic are two very good brands): Under $3000 Editing and processing can be done on a $2000 iMac with the software that comes with it. On 2/12/04 12:17 PM, "Susan English" <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Our museum is embarking on a project to preserve the stories of our local > residents. Although we are calling it the Oral History project, we are > looking for easy to use equipment which we can document the interview both > orally and visually. We are a medium sized institution so cost is a > concern, but also we do not want to produce the interviews on obsolete > techniology. Any suggestions from more technology savvy colleagues would be > appreciated. > > > > Susan English > > Executive Director > > Joliet Area Historical Museum > > Joliet, Illinois > > > > > > > ========================================================= > Important Subscriber Information: > > The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ > . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a > one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the > message should read "help" (without the quotes). > > If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to > [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff > Museum-L" (without the quotes). > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Steven Allison-Bunnell, PhD Senior Producer & Writer ~ Educational Web Adventures 418 Woodford St., Missoula, MT 59801-4044 voice 406-829-3876 ~ fax 309-273-3718 [log in to unmask] ~ http://www.eduweb.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes). ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).