This starts off my first week on the Story Catchers project! Marsha and I met before the term started and discussed the goals for this practicum. My general schedule is to start working on the indexing project next week and continue that throughout the term. I don’t know yet how long the indexing will take, but I definitely plan to have the stories indexed by the end of the term. I will be focusing more on the indexing at the beginning of the term and the editing at the second half since my audio editing class doesn’t start till May. However, I plan to work on my audio editing skills through the Audacity program over the next 4 weeks and attempt to edit one story on my own. This way I will be able to perfect that story with the knowledge I gain from class and use it as an example for KLCC. This will also allow me the time to edit at least 2 stories this term. The schedule for these projects will develop overtime, but for now that is my general timeline.
This week I listened to most of the stories Marsha gave me. I still have to listen to Ibraham Hamide and Scott Barkhurst, which I will be doing this week. So far, my favorite stories are from Alito Alessi and Minalee Saks. Alito’s interview has so many amazing stories in it that it’s going to be hard to edit down, but I think that may be the story I start off with. I was originally excited about Nikos Ridge’s story because I am a fan of Ninkasi, but I found that most of the interview was centered around the beer making and felt very promotional for Ninkaski. I think it would be difficult to create a good personal story out of that interview. On the other hand, Minalee talked a lot about her Birth to Three organization, but in a way that discussed the Eugene community and the importance of building support systems for parents with young children. I also liked Fern Jacobson story, especially her experiences as a woman in the military, but I didn’t find any stories in her interview that could provide a good 5 minute story arc. Her interview was more of an overview of her life than an in-depth discussion. But perhaps I can edit together a 5 minute story focused on the theme of women in the military, although that part isn’t based in Eugene. I don’t know if the stories should represent Eugene or the people of Eugene. Can I share a story about Fern’s experience in Washington DC and still call it “The Face of Eugene?” This will have to be something I discuss with Marsha and KLCC (when the time comes). Now to start working on the indexing project!