The following elements should be evident in the final film product:
1) Quality of the oral history interviews
– thoughtful questions asked
– listening skills demonstrated
– sufficient preparation including background research evident
– interviews support purpose of project and its significance
– consent form signed
– appropriate interviewees selected, and treated with respect
2) Quality of the film
– you film should be compelling; make an argument, highlight an issue or investigate an aspect of history.
– if you are doing a family/friend’s history, try to contextualize the stories. How does this person’s narrative inform our understanding of history?
– use the methods we will learn about during the term (i.e. b-roll, photographs, music, titles, etc) to make your final project more engaging
3) Technical aspects
– film is no less than 5 minutes long (no more than 6 minutes)
– audio is audible
– video is in focus and properly exposed
– film has a title and title is shown
– credits (if necessary); no longer than 20 seconds!
– any documentary film methods (i.e. b-roll, photographs, music, titles, etc) are well executed and support the overall film
– the more visually or aurally engaging your film is, typically the better impression it will make. This will be considered, but remember that ultimately a more compelling story will always trump a film that “looks great” but fails to produce a good narrative.