Presented by David Walker 4 July 2015 Ottawa TMG Users Group

Adding a live audio or video file to a TMG project can be very rewarding, from the onset to setting up the interview, to publishing the end result. In this presentation I will focus on creating an audio file from an interview to publishing with Second Site.

 Of course you can record an interview with pen and paper, but you would likely miss capturing every spoken word, and nuances of the conversation.  I suggest use of a digital voice recorder. They are compact and run with batteries.  Once back in your home office you can transfer the recordings to computer, where they can be edited as needed.

 The recorder shown here is typical of what is available.  It takes 2xAAA batteries and records up to 4,175 hours of audio on internal memory of 4GB  This particular model from Sony sells for $60. You can spend much more, but this is more than adequate for the task at hand.

 As a matter of courtesy always ask permission of the person you are wishing to interview.  For best sound quality, I recommend having the voice recorder microphone port facing the person, and at the same level as their mouth.  I usually clip the recorder to my shirt pocket, or suspend it on a cord around my neck.

 There will likely be some amount of editing of the sound file.  It might involve removing the opening noise of getting settled, and/or cropping a sample of the recording that you wish to use as a TMG exhibit.  There are several excellent, and free, audio editors available, such as WavePad, Audacity, Power Sound Editor, Music Editor Free. Check here audio-editors/for descriptions and download links for 25 free editors.

“Music Editor Free (MEF) is a multi-award winning music editor software tool. MEF helps you to record and edit music and sounds. It lets you make and edit music, voice and other audio recordings. When editing audio files you can cut, copy and paste parts of recordings and, if required, add effects like echo, amplification and noise reduction.”

“Audacity is free, open source software for recording and editing sounds. It allows you to record live audio, converts tapes and records into digital recordings or CDs, edit Ogg Vorbis, MP3, WAV or AIFF sound files. You also can cut, copy, splice or mix sounds together with Audacity. Built-in effects are given to remove static, hiss, hum or other constant background noises.”

Once edited, copy/move the audio file to the Exhibits folder.

TIP: When editing your sound files, save as an mp3 file, not wav. I discovered that a wav file I had added to TMG could not addressed by Google Chrome. All other tested browsers were fine. John Cardinal came to the rescue and suggested that I convert the file to mp3 format. I used a program called Switch Sound File Converter Pro, free for non-commercial home use.

Step 1: Create a Custom Tag Click ‘Add’

Step 1: Create a Custom Tag Enter desired text

Step 1: Create a Custom Tag 1. Create sentence format 2. Click ‘OK’

Step 1: Create a Custom Tag 1. New tag appears in Tag Type List 2. Primary & Witness sentence structure 3. Click ‘Select’

Step 1: Create a Custom Tag Enter date Enter place information Enter Witness(es) Edit Role Enter Citation Click Exhibit icon

Step 2: Inserting the sound exhibit From the Exhibit Log select ‘Add’

Step 2: Inserting the sound exhibit 1. Highlight the desired file 2. Click ‘Open’

Step 2: Inserting the sound exhibit Sound file is now in the Exhibit Log Click ‘Properties’ to include a caption

Step 2: Inserting the sound exhibit Select Description

Step 2: Inserting the sound exhibit 1. Type desired text. 2. Click ‘OK’

Step 2: Inserting the sound exhibit Sound file Click ‘Close’ Caption

Step 2: Inserting the sound exhibit Exhibit icon is now green Click ‘OK’

Details window with new tag

Step 3: Exit TMG, run Second Site

Here is the cousin I interviewed, aged 103

When viewing on-line or as a virtual web site, clicking here will allow you to listen to the interview. This is a portion of the profile of Bruce Blacklock, including the recently created Interview tag.

Bruce: I’m going to have my mother on one side and my wife on the other side David: That’s nice. Bruce: I’m going to have to behave meself. Much laughter all around. David: Yeah, your mother and your wife. I guess. I can just hear it from both sides, “Bruce, you behave!”.

 Audio based interviews are a useful and rewarding method to record memories of those who enjoy telling stories  You may also wish to consider recording conversations using a video camera  Old family movies pre-dating sound can also be added as TMG exhibits  Videos must be in avi format to be compatible with TMG  ‘Freemake Video Converter’ works well, and is free

Tip: You must check the appropriate audio and/or video boxes in Second Site to enable their inclusion in the subsequent compilation.

Link Event Video Link Event Audio

B&W video ca. 1940, before sound.

Today’s presentations will be available later today from our web site: or ~ ug.ca/articlesandpresentations.htm