A producer may be involved at any stage of an oral historydigital indexing project, and can focus on concise published content that features parts of a collection even as comprehensive annotation and indexing proceeds. Production can begin immediately after an interview is recorded or long after an interview was performed. Naturally, finding the best segments to produce from older footage is more convenient when the content is annotated and/or indexed.
Producers work in a variety of
different ways, but fundamentally their role is to identify content they wish
to work with, redact that content as part of an editorial process, and
reproduce the material in edited videos, podcasts, segments for radio, etc. The producer uses the content of the audio/video resource, brings additional
research and vision, and adds other historical recordings, music, images and
other documents to create palatable products to
audiences. Annotation and indexing is crucial for creating access to oral history audio and video, but production and publication is important for spreading awareness of and exposure to the collection. Even as we attempt to preserve and create better access to oral history collections, ultimately we want to see them be used for the education and enjoyment of others, and producers are crucial players in that effort.
Return to Oral History Digital Indexing Roles.