A Non-Terrifying Interview

How long will it take?

As long as you want to.

At bare minimum, 1 hour is required. An amazing amount of "work" can be accomplished in an hour if you stick to the facts. You can, in essence, capture your whole lifetime in that hour, so that, if this is all you ever do, it is certainly better than nothing.

Often this one-hour crash course through your life awakens other memories that had gone stagnant. This is a good thing. The embellishments can come later, and it doesn't all have to come "in order".

Will it hurt?

That's a good question.

Even those who live so-called "exemplary lives" have troubled times, up's and down's. The thing to remember, however, is that we ALL can learn from those times.

In many people's experience, it is wonderfully liberating and healing to finally get skeletons out of the closet. Even if you're not ready to share with the whole family right now, you can have a seperate record all ready to share (with them) when you are.

We are not here to judge. We're just here to support you in recording a totally honest personal and family history. Yes, it can be hard. And yes, it is totally worth it.

The Digital Audio Advantage

Although it is still practical and acceptable to make audio casette tapes of interviews and group conversations for preservation of oral history, there are many advantages to digital recordings.

* The quality of recording depends on the method and equipment used, however digital does not deteriorate. A recorded CD is expected to last 100 years.

* There is no tape to get stretched or "eaten" by a machine.

* There is significantly less storage space required, no rattling cassettes to box up.

* Editing, splicing, and cataloging sound clips- no matter how long- will not lessen the quality. It can be done in a similar way as a word document is created and edited.

* Sharing the sound files can be as easy as an email or burning a CD. Minutes vs. hours.

* CD's can be created with chapters/tracks and listened to just like a pre-recorded audio CD.

* Sound files can be added to slide shows or movies to share with a group or on the net.

Vintage Voices Family Archivists are equipped with digital voice recorders and editing capabilities to make your oral histories a pleasure to listen to for generations to come.

Just imagine surfing a CD of Uncle Jack's jokes...

(Cassette recordings are still available if you prefer)