A park ranger had the chance to interview a Deaf narrator about a crucial part of her park's history. She was hearing and happened to be fluent in American Sign Language (ASL), but she wanted advice on how to record the interview and what else to consider. The Oral History Association's basic principles and standards apply to every narrator and interview — but interviewing a Deaf narrator raises questions of its own.
Where to start
A good orientation is "Filming Deaf Stories: Interviews in American Sign Language," in the Journal of Folklore and Education (vol. 6, 2019). Its authors, Jean Lindquist Bergey and Zilvinas Paludnevicius, worked at the Drs. John S. & Betty J. Schuchman Deaf Documentary Center at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., and drew on long experience interviewing Deaf people about their histories.
"Whether you are Deaf or hearing, documenting ASL interviews presents complex film making challenges. Unlike audio or spoken language filmed interviews, recording a conversation in ASL requires full documentation of a signed message along with careful editing decisions to determine what the viewer sees."
What to think about
| Before | During | After |
|---|---|---|
| The narrator's language preference and signing style | Asking the narrator to show an answer — ASL has a cinematic quality, and "show me" can draw a rich response | Making the recording accessible to as many people as possible, with captions, audio descriptions or voiceovers |
| A space that gives privacy while people sign | Lighting the dominant hand, the one used to fingerspell | Planning to preserve the film |
| A neutral background and clothing that do not distract from the signing | Placing cameras and lights to capture the signing of both the narrator and the interviewer or interpreter | |
| How many cameras the interview needs | The complexities of ASL conversation and interpretation in an interview |
Sources
Based on "Case Study: Interviewing Deaf Narrators," National Park Service oral history resources, a work of the United States government in the public domain. It draws on Jean Lindquist Bergey and Zilvinas Paludnevicius, "Filming Deaf Stories: Interviews in American Sign Language," Journal of Folklore and Education 6 (2019).
Licence: CC0 1.0 (public domain) · Adapted from www.nps.gov
1
0
0
0
Comments
