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!