February 1, 2010 Reflection (#2)

Today was the true introduction into this unit's objective of Hong Kong Heritage. I thoroughly enjoyed the presentation given by the two representatives from the Hong Kong Heritage Group, talking to us (as mentioned in my previous blog entry) what the Hong Kong Heritage Group is all about and what oral history is and how to conduct it. I learned many new things today, beginning with the fact that I have never heard of oral history before.

After being introduced to the concept of oral history, I immediately recognized and understood the concept as I had previously conducted a similar type practice. Whereby I interviewed my grandfather all about his memories in World War 2, and that is when I connected with what the speakers were mentioning the importance of asking open questions because the interviewee tends to answer them and then span on to many other just as interesting subjects. I found he worked best, when you let him speak and just ask for more details when possible, rather than constantly breaking his thought train. I really enjoyed the process and am really looking forward to carrying out similar type interviews in this unit.

I also found today's lesson particularly interesting because I have met Sir Michael Kadoorie on several occasions, as he is a friend of my father's. I wasn't aware of this heritage group and found it extremely interesting, and if I run into him again I will be sure to ask him some questions about it.

When listening to the presentation, some thoughts were rushing through my mind of ideas of my film but I feel that I really need to research and investigate a little bit more still into this type of filming and what type of questions I will be wanting answered and so on. I've already been thinking about possible interviewees such as a family friend, Michael Jebsen, who has a long interesting family history in Hong Kong.

Today, from the IB Learner Profile, I feel I was particularly an inquirer, because so many questions and thoughts were running through my mind and this brought me to go onto some of their suggested websites such as http://www.hongkongheritage.org and find out more about the project.

I found the clip on the above link particularly helpful as a reference to a quick reminder of what the Hong Kong Heritage group is all about. To find it: go to http://www.hongkongheritage.org > about the project > on the right hand side there is a clip and press play!

Here is a screenshot of what the video should look like:

Hong Kong Heritage Speaker Notes Feb 1

Today two speakers from the Hong Kong Heritage Group came to our class to give a presentation on what the Hong Kong Heritage Group is all about and an introduction to oral history and how to best film it. Here are the notes I took from this presentation for future reference when going through the interview process myself:

Hong Kong Heritage:

• is a big archive about the history of Hong Kong, in particular the legacy of the Kadoorie Family.
• see website at http://www.hongkongheritage.org

Below is a photo of Des Voeux Rd Central in old Hong Kong.

http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/38160.jpg

Oral History:

• interviewing individuals
• recording, preserving and interpreting
• early --> fold passed down from generation to generation
• modern --> first oral history at Columbia University in 1940's
• today --> record "minorities" of people e.g. women, labour history
• academic history
• increasingly popular in schools and communities
• be careful of copyright issues
• audio vs audio visual

Who?

• community
• universities and schools
• academic researchers
• journalists
• historians

The Con's of Oral History:

• subjective - one-sided
• memory can be fallible
• embellishment of the stories
• co-constructed
• collective memories
• society chooses not to rely on it as heavily as the written word

The Pro's of Oral History:

• gather different perspectives
• new method
• captures community history before it is lost
• individuals can be addressed and thus value the people

How to choose an interviewee?

• work out your purpose/objective
• choose whether you want a life interview or a topic based interview
• find the interviewee via e.g. family, friends, community, church etc.
• age
• preferably someone who has lived in HK for a long time and through important events
• should be talkative, open, happy to be filmed

Interview Preparation:

• do some background research
• let interviewee know how the film will be used after its taken and make them sign the consent form before beginning
• choose a good location - think about sound, background and lighting but also somewhere where the interviewee is comfortable
• give plenty of notice
• no pre-interview because interviewee tends to not repeat what was mentioned in the pre-interview
• know your equipment!

Interview Begininning:

• say to the camera the date and time
• his/her name and ask interviewee to spell it out
• date and place of birth to bring it into context

Questions (life history):

• hand control of interview to the interviewee
• don't have a specific object in mind
• avoid pushing your own agenda
• don't talk at the same time as the interviewee because it sounds terrible
• don't be afraid of awkward silences because this allows viewers time to think and process the information they have just received
• avoid a questionnaire type interview
• avoid yes/no questions
• ask questions relevant to the subject you have just been discussing to break it down and get all of the details rather than switching subjects
• start with an open question
• always ask for specific examples
• don't comment on their answers but summarize them, and they will often add a little extra

Body Language:

• eye contact, smile, nodding --> encourages interviewee to confidently speak
• you should not be seen on the film when the interview is in action
• don't be confrontational or pushy
• be relaxed, this will also relax the interviewee

Do's:

• be upfront about the interview
• send DVD to interviewee at end
• take your ID along to the interview
• get as much information and details out of the interviewee as possible
• be objective
• listen
• edit out any crude language etc.

Don't:

• use photos midway, save these for the end because it disrupts the interview
• interview more than 1 person at a time, because they will often be interrupting each other (esp. married couple)
• make a time limit
• interrupt
• be afraid of awkward silences
• be afraid to ask questions

Filming tips:

• location! - be very picky about this. remember: sound, background and lighting
• the seating position of the interviewee should be comfortable for them
• have the camera around 5ft away from the interviewee

Some good resources:

• www.oralhistory.org.uk
• www.oralhistory.org
• www.iohanet.org
• www.hongkongheritage.org
• public records office
• youtube
• RTHK online
• old photographs
• asia art archives
• Hong Kong itself!