APPENDIX A Case studies General note In any resource development, it is important to have a clear initial plan. Careful planning of the design of the resource should be done before the digitisation is started, so that decisions about how the materials are to be delivered to the user can be taken into account during the process. For instance, you should know before embarking on digitisation whether the sounds are to be used for downloading, whether they accompany images, whether they are to be streamed etc, and the technology and human resource implications of creating and supporting the digital resource should be known. The following case studies serve to highlight the main stages of developing resources which use digitised audio. As with the rest of the guide, they are not intended to be exhaustive. Case 1 As part of a proposed research project, a Theatre Studies symposium will be hosted consisting of workshops and discussion groups that will be recorded onto audio tape. The recordings are to be made available as a resource to other researchers via the project's web site. 1. Permission to record and broadcast participants' contributions should be obtained. 2. The sessions must be recorded. This is best done straight to DAT or some other digital audio recorder which has direct inputs for microphones. Keep a log of recordings made. 3. Licences will need to be sought for any copyright materials appearing in whatever form in the recordings; for instance, if music exists in part of the symposium, or if published works are spoken or sung. 4. Transfer the DAT recordings to computer. 5. Document the soundfiles. 6. Integrate the soundfiles into the website design. Case 2 A project investigating cultural practices in South American indigenous societies is to build and disseminate a multi-media application involving text, images, video and audio recordings. 1. Video material will be captured using a digital video cam, with an audio track. Materials which are audio only should be recorded using a portable recorder (probably DAT or minidisc). 2. Transfer to computer. Video tracks and DAT recordings can be transferred digitally, but the computer will require digital video card, as well as an audio card with digital input. 3. Document the files 4. Integrate into the materials into the application, using multimedia application software. Case 3 A project in music is to catalogue and publish a large collection of early phonograph cylinder field recordings of folk songs, and to make them available over the web. 1. Any project which involves the handling and recording of such delicate source materials as cylinders should seek expert advice initially. The work of preparing, recording and de-noising cylinder transfers in any quantity is a major undertaking and will have significant cost and time implications. Organise recording sessions for the playback and transfer of the recordings to a digital format such as DAT. A careful log should be kept during this process. 2. Transfer the DAT recordings to computer. 3. Document the data. 4. Integrate the sound materials into the website. Case 4 One outcome of a music research project is to be a set of teaching materials delivered via the web, exploring the songs of a particular 19th century composer. The materials will consist of manuscript extracts and corresponding musical recordings. 1. The manuscripts and suitable recordings need to be obtained. Recordings may be pre-existing, commercially available or not, or recordings may need to be made. 2. Ascertain the rights inherent in the materials, both printed and recorded. If the recordings are commercial, contact rights holders (probably record companies, or in the UK the MCPS) for the recordings. If non-commercial, the rights holder in the first instance is likely to be the producer of the recording. The performers will also need to be approached. If the recordings are very old, they may be out of copyright (for instance if it is more than 50 years since the producer's death and the recording company or any successor no longer exists). 3. If no recording exists, or a licence cannot be obtained for it, arrange for a recording to be made. Agreement will need to be made with the performers and producer for the use of the recording. 4. If the works are published, contact the publisher, the MPA and/or the PRS; if not, and it is at least 70 years since the composer's death, the works can probably be considered to be in the 'public domain'. 5. Once recordings and copyright licences are obtained, the digitisation can take place. The recordings should be made in a digital format in the first instance, and then these can be transferred to computer. If very old recordings are being used, such as from gramophone discs, recording sessions will need to be arranged to transfer the sound to a digital format. 6. Keep a careful and detailed log of all recordings and digital transfers. 7. Document the data with appropriate information. 8. The sounds are now ready to be integrated into the design of the web resource. Case 5 A film project is to establish a database of recordings of interviews with film directors of the 1940s, 50s, and 60s. 1. The main challenge here is likely to be the range of media on which the interviews reside. It is feasible that this may include gramophone or radio broadcast discs, magnetic tape, early video tape format, and film. 2. Permission will need to be sought from the interview participants themselves, as well as from the producers and/or other rights holders of the original recordings, such as film, TV and radio broadcast companies. 3. The digitisation process is likely to be fairly complex if a large number of different media are present, particularly if there are old or obscure formats. For instance, digitisation from broadcast discs will require historic equipment and may require specialist skills to restore disks etc. 4. It may be possible to digitise direct from these formats onto a computer, but it is probably better practice to make a digital 'hard copy' onto DAT, which can then be used to make digital transfers to computer. 5. Keep a detailed log of all digitisation. 6. Document all soundfiles. 7. The materials are now ready for integrating into the wider resource. Top of Page
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