The written analytical component should support your film product.
Tell me what you want me to notice, and where you placed your efforts.
It should contain the following 3 elements – aim for 250-500 words for each of the 3 elements:
About my project – the significance and purpose of your project (why should this story be told?); scope of work; what historical problem you are addressing; choice of your interviewees (how representative are they?); choice of sites. Justify why your approach is a good one – e.g. how carefully you chose your interviewees; how your project goes beyond “an interesting story about a particular person” to address larger issues; how the oral history interviews are able to fill in the gaps in our understanding of history and tell previously untold stories.
Historical context – how your story fits within the larger picture; how the interviewee’s life is one example of larger historical trends. Past research done on your topic; historical sources consulted. You can use Lee’s book as a starting point, but will need to search beyond this – at least 2 more secondary sources (e.g.chapters in a book, academic articles) in addition to Lee’s book. You may of course include more secondary sources as well as primary sources as you see fit. Connecting is the key here, so you are free to incorporate visual aids and timelines to illustrate your point.
Self-reflection – questions asked (self-assessment of how appropriate they were), interview bias (your assumptions, values, and attitudes), how you listened, how you posed your questions, and other factors that influenced the interview