A: Anyone is welcome to use the archive. Users must register/login in order to save videos or to post comments
A: Interviews were recorded on 40-minute tapes, with a single interview typically requiring 8-10 tapes to complete. The longest interview has 16 tapes - some 10 hours of interview.
A: Each interview has been time stamped at approximately 30 second intervals. A time stamp format such as “08:38:30:10” indicates tape number 08, at time 38 minutes 30 seconds and frame 10 within that tape. There are 25 frames per second.
In the transcript, we display just the minutes and seconds; the full timestamp is shown when the mouse hovers over the timestamp, eg
"Part 8/10, 38:30
08:38:30:10".
Since some interviews have non-consecutive tape numbers, the part number may be different from the tape number, eg
"Part 10/11, 10:00
756:10:00:00"
indicates that the interview has 11 parts, and the 10th part is tape number 756.
A: This website has digitised the raw, unedited video, including the colour bars leading in to each tape. These are of varying length, but are typically of 30 seconds duration. We have set the videos to play back from the 30 second point within each tape.
A: You can create a playlist of your favourite videos and video clips by clicking on the “Add to my videos” link on the interview page, and then your playlist will appear on the “My Videos” page. You will need to register and be logged in to the website to use this functionality.
A: We are currently working on adding this functionality to the Archive.
A: The archive contains 166 interviews with recent serving officers of the Australian Defence Force. These interviews have been completely embargoed, and are expected to be made publicly available around January 2020, subject to approval by Defence.
A: The majority of the interviews were filmed in the period 2002-2004. The Archive also contains the tapes of the interviews filmed for the Australians at War television series, and these interviews were filmed in 1999-2000.
A: Wherever possible, interviews were filmed in the interviewee's home. In the 10% of cases where the home was not possible, RSL clubs, local halls or rented accommodation were used.
A: Interviewees were asked before interview to gather together whatever photographs they might have of their wartime experience. Six of these, occasionally more, were photographed by the interview team along with a still of the interviewee taken at the time of interview.
A: All transcripts have been approved by the interviewee. Interviewees were given the opportunity to embargo any part of an interview both before and during the interview, for any reason. Embargoes were taken up by 82 interviewees - embargoed sections typically are short sections of average 2 minutes length within the interview, though they vary between a few seconds and 20 minutes. Some interviews contain several embargoed sections. These embargoed sections will be made publicly available around January 2034.
A: Interviews were transcribed by a team of approximately 50 transcribers, and were subsequently examined by a supervising editor, and then approved by the interviewee.
A: Yes, we would value any contribution that you wish to make to the further development of this resource. To donate, click
here.
