MIDDLEBURY — The Vermont Folklife Center will offer a workshop on “Recording Audio for Ethnography, Oral History, and Digital Storytelling,” on Friday, Sept. 22, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the center at 88 Main St. Andy Kolovos, VFC director of archives and research will lead the program.
Audio is a powerful medium for capturing human experience and human expression. In the context of cultural sustainability efforts, audio is an extremely useful tool for documenting local knowledge, exploring values and perceptions, and building resources for understanding and supporting cultural practices.
Intended for students, community members, staff members of non-profit cultural, community and social-service agencies, as well as professional researchers interested in learning more about audio recording options, this class will provide a basic introduction to the use of contemporary digital audio recording equipment in the context of ethnographic and oral history interviews.
Attendees will receive a thorough introduction to the fundamentals of digital audio, types of common field-recording microphones, and the use of digital audio recorders. The workshop includes hands-on exercises with equipment in an actual interview setting. The TASCAM DR-40 and mobile devices will be used for these exercises, but the fundamental skills demonstrated will be applicable to most currently available digital audio recorders.
In addition to the use of this equipment, the workshop will also cover the selection and purchase of audio recording equipment and Android and iOS recording apps.
“Recording Audio for Ethnography, Oral History, and Digital Storytelling” is a part of the Vermont Folklife Center’s Cultural Sustainability Institute workshop series. (See vermontfolklifecenter.org/education/cultural-sustainability/). Cultural Sustainability provides a framework for examining human experience in the present with an awareness of the past and a view toward the future.
Attendance is limited to 14 participants and the registration deadline is Wednesday September 20. For tuition information and to register call 802-388-4964, or visit our website at vermontfolklifecenter.org.