Case Study: Interviewing Deaf Narrators

Scenario

A park ranger had the opportunity to conduct an interview about a crucial aspect of her park’s history. The narrator was Deaf. Although the ranger was hearing and happened to be fluent in American Sign Language (ASL), she sought guidance on how to record the interview and other considerations.

Response

A good orientation is “Filming Deaf Stories: Interviews in American Sign Language.” It appeared in the Journal of Folklore and Education (2019: Vol. 6). Authors Jean Lindquist Bergey and Zilvinas Paludnevicius worked at the Drs. John S. & Betty J. Schuchman Deaf Documentary Center at Gallaudet University in Washington, DC, and they drew on extensive experience conducting narrative history interviews with Deaf individuals.

“Whether you are Deaf or hearing,” they write, “documenting ASL interviews presents complex film making challenges. Unlike audio or spoken language filmed interviews, recording a conversation in ASL requires full documentation of a signed message along with careful editing decisions to determine what the viewer sees.”

The article notes that while basic principles and standards of the Oral History Association apply to all narrators, issues to consider when interviewing Deaf narrators include:

• Determining language preference and signing style.

• Realizing that ASL has a cinematic quality so asking narrators to demonstrate an answer visually (“show me”) can evoke a rich response.

• Conducting the interview in a space that ensures privacy as people sign.

• Ensuring visual clarity—background and clothing are neutral and don’t distract from or interfere with seeing the signed message.

• Understanding the optimal position of videorecorders and lighting to capture the sign language of both the narrator and the interviewer (or interpreter).

• Correctly lighting the dominant hand, the one used to fingerspell in ASL.

• Determining how many cameras you need for recording the interview.

• Deciding how to make the interview recordings accessible to as many users as possible by using captions, audio descriptions, or voiceovers.

• Understanding the complexities of ASL conversation and interpretation in an interview setting.

• Planning for preservation of the interview film.

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