We did a test here at our museum during a summer camp program. I built a computer with a good quality web cam and touch screen, I wrote code that would record video (and audio). The children were asked questions and the system would record 1 minute of video.
Our next phase is to place the unit in the museum and have visitor record an oral history. We plan to create a new user interface that will ask visitors questions and allow them to record 1 minute of video. We plan to use the videos on our web site visitors would have to approve a digital "video release" in order for visitor to record a message.
Some issues I ran into is audio, I would add an external mike what has noise filtering; in our test we recorded a lot of background noise. Another issue was storage, each 1 minute video was 1 gigabit so we ran out of storage fast. I would recommend connecting the unit to your network so it is easier to move files off the system. The moving of files can also be automated.
Good luck
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Raymond Stivala
Manager of Web & Multimedia Development
Newark NJ
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Original Message:
Sent: 02-11-2015 09:07 AM
From: Merritt Colaizzi
Subject: Museum Testimonials - Personal Stories
We at the Clark Art Institute are in the early stages of an oral history-type of initiative called "Your Clark Story." The idea is to gather from our members and museum visitors personal stories that speak to meaningful experiences they have had with art at the Clark.
Our hope is that these stories will take the form of audio interviews (think StoryCorps), slideshows, blog posts, and/or video formatted for publication on our website. Does anyone out there have suggestions or know of good examples we might look at?
I would especially appreciate any thoughts you might have on this initiative from a membership and cultivation standpoint.
Any advice would be sincerely appreciated! Thank you.
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Merritt Colaizzi
Campaign Director
Clark Art Institute
Williamstown MA
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