( All Seniors are considered for Interviews including NON-veterans with stories to tell about earlier times) NOTE: this document is a work in progress.. The "guidelines" are not cast in stone. The response has been OVERWHELMING. A database is in development. In a matter of days I hope to have this into a systematic plan so volunteers and veterans can effectively plan for mutual goals of recording history. Volunteers PLEASE check ME3TV office. ME3TV.org is designed to become a non-profit organization serving the community. In NW NJ, we have no public access TV and even if we did, projects such a video interviews with historians or with veterans - would be lost to the public once they aired on cable. If we had public access it would be nice, but another issue about cable-tv is only about 20% of the public in this county subscribe to it - so overall the exposure is low and only for a short viewing period. Presenting features on the web extends the life and usefulness of educational topics. Interviews with veterans is one of those unique educational projects that can return community value in education over a very extended time period. As a goal, ME3TV plans to donate one day a week to videotaping a veteran (or other senior's) story. It will help if the veteran is escorted and supported by students or other younger people who want to help their story to be told. Volunteers are also encouraged to join in the effort and - learn interviewing and taping skills and how to use tools like "youtube"- to submit their own veteran features ... or just help with tapings at other locations in the state.
Here are some general guidelines:
Email vic@buzzcreek.com with the information on the veteran you want to have interviewed (or your own information if you are a volunteer - name - location - phone - email - skill?) You can also open a dialogue for planning an interview on the ME3TV online OFFICE. Post a message to begin planning. Click HERE to request a subscription to the ME3TV office. You may need a Yahoo ID and password (free) if you don't already have one.

• Contacting and arranging the interview is the task of the veteran and/or supporters.
• For reasons of time and distance - local veterans to NW NJ are our FIRST focus.
• ME3TV will work with supporters and the veteran to lock in a time.
• Ideally several interviews are done at single convenint locations - VFW - American Legion Halls, Schools, Churches, Fire Houses, Nursing Homes, and other public facilities can be arranged. The supporters or the veteran may need to arrange any taping location other than places arranged for "a day of interviews". Some volunteers are workng to set up locations all over the state. When we have dates and places we will contact vets in the area who are in our list of contacts.
• The veteran will hopefully come with a collections of photos and memorabilia that support their story. See an example of an interview using photos at ME3TV "USS Franklin".
• Sample questions and some preparatory work - practicing for an interview is encouraged.
• Ideally the veteran will need to focus on a single event or period in their service to permit the best editing results for broadcast. Long stories and entire careers cannot be effectively presented in a short video - Typically one hour is allotted per interview and filling that time is OK.
• Plan on about a 5 minute "story" for best impact. Ten minutes is the long side of an effective video interview - or story. Longer interviews are FINE and can be helpful to record, but expect "archive to DVD" longer interviews. The shorter parts may be broadast on the web and offered as DVD format to Community Access TV Stations or ETV stations. A DVD of the whole interview will be sent to the Vet and to The Library of Congress.
• Bring friends to the interview - they will help put the veteran at ease (in most cases) and the story can be told more naturally as opposed to a "detailed account". However, veterans are individuals too and some may wish for a more private taping experience.
• Additional information and planning can be accomplished by email.

Vic Campbell volunteers his time to do this for ME3TV and the public. Campbell is a veteran of Vietnam, having served in the Navy. His ship is noted at www.ussocallahan.org. In his Buzz Creek media business, he has produced several veteran documentaries including Veterans of The Battle of The Bulge "Memories of Christmas - 1944" .. and "The Last Stand of the USS Houston".
These can be found at the Buzz Creek Website. I'll try to figure out a way to make these videos available to people who want to make contributions to ease expenses for volunteers in this effort.
ME3Tv has aligned itself with the national effort to record veteran's memories. THE VETERANS HISTORY PROJECT is sponsored by the Library of Congress. ME3TV will provide forms for groups that wish to participate and will provide training for interviewers. Forms and materials from the History Project can be obtained from ME3TV.org. Me3Tv is not yet an official Non-Profit. We are seeking an attorney that will work with us "pro-bono" to set up the necessary corporate structure and governance. Some veterans want to contribute printed material. I like that idea but I need to work out logistics. My thought is to scan it and make it available on the web and send the hard copies to the Library of Congress. But this may require some extra paperwork to clarify copyright ownership and freedom to re-pubish in print or on the web.
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Links www.ussocallahan.org www.usshouston.org www.buzzcreek.com www.nousnyc.org Vic Campbell - Sparta, NJ vic@buzzcreek.com

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