Pair up with a classmate whom you do not know.With your partner, arrange a mutually convenient time for you to conduct a sort of "get-to-know-you" interview. The subject of the interview is loose--ask your partner a series of questions designed to elicit interesting stories (that is, stories that would be appropriate to share with others.) You might, for instance, ask about interesting travel experiences, hobbies, jobs, weird happenings, etc. Each person should spend 15-30 minutes interviewing your partner.

Of course, you'll want to record the interview, and to do that you'll need the minidisc recorder. Unfortunately, we only have one (which I purchased for the course), so each team will have to check it out at the Fondren Circulation desk for two hour periods. The mini-disc recorder (which is in a video camera bag) should be with the rest of the reserve materials for HANS 320. So that several groups are not trying to use the recorder at once, each pair should sign up for a two hour block during which they intend to use the recorder.

You'll also need to purchase a mini-disc. I can sell a disc to you for $2 a disc (I'm losing a few cents on the deal, but that's OK), or you can pick up a 5-pack of mini-discs for around $10 at any electronics store. Right now I only have 8 discs, so get to me quickly before supplies run out. Try to record your interview by September 19.

For information on recording with a minidisc player, see:

• ETEXT Guide to MiniDisc Recording: http://www.rice.edu/Fondren/ETC/tutorials/minidisc/ (handed out during class)
• David Isay, "RECORD YOUR OWN RADIO DOCUMENTARY": http://www.soundportraits.org/education/how_to_record/
• Charles Hardy III, Producing Historical Documentaries for Broadcast and Internet Radio (class syllabus): http://www.albany.edu/faculty/gz580/documentaryproduction/
  
  

For information on conducting interviews, see:

• Jay Allison, "Interviewing Tips." From the Radio College Web site. http://www.radiocollege.org/rc/rj7.html
• "Tips for Interviewers." From Willa K. Baum, Oral History for the Local Historical Society. http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/BANC/ROHO/rohotips.html
  
  

Editing the interview

Hold on to the mini-disc onto which you recorded your interview, because the next step will be for you to edit it using a tool such as Cool Edit. Between September 19 and September 26, there will be self-paced tutorials during which you cab learn how to use audio-editing software. Your goal will be to use the audio editing tools to extract a three-to-five minute segment from the interview--something coherent and interesting.

The guide to audio editing with Cool Edit is online at http://www.rice.edu/Fondren/ETC/tutorials/cooledit.htm. Ultimately you will need to convert the audio files to real audio files and place them on the server; there will be instructions on how to do this in WebCT under "Class Resources." (Contact me if you have trouble with this, and be sure to email me after you have added the file to the site.) Save the real audio file under the first name and last initial of the person you interviewed, e.g. lisas.ram