loveudad's comments

On: Tell HN: I interviewed my dad before he died

[loveudad]

It's hard to say for someone I've never met.

My dad knew he hadn't much time so it probably helped. If your mother has a unique story (war, achievement, migration...) maybe she'll be inclined to tell it. Also, it's easier to talk about others, so you could ask her about her parents. Then you could switch to her.

I hope it helps.

[loveudad → loveudad]

I'll emphasize that like anyone born before smartphones, she may wish she had more pictures and videos from decades ago. Assuming that, she may understand your point of view and accept being the subject.

On: Tell HN: I interviewed my dad before he died

[loveudad]

I enjoyed learning about how he lived decades ago. The 20th century brought so much change that there was a lot that surprised me.

On: Tell HN: I interviewed my dad before he died

[loveudad]

Does this answer your question? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32349581

On: Tell HN: I interviewed my dad before he died

[loveudad]

I talked about the questions here https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32349581

As for the production, I found that having a couple of smartphones were good enough for me. You do want to have backup capture. I wish I had had a better mic setup to record both voices with proper gain but modern smartphones are pretty good. Then I used Kdenlive for putting things together.

On: Tell HN: I interviewed my dad before he died

[loveudad]

I think this covers most of it https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32349581

I wish I had asked more though.

[Taylor_OD → loveudad]

Thank you for this.

On: Tell HN: I interviewed my dad before he died

[loveudad]

I'm sorry to hear that. May I suggest that you try and record a small session with specific questions? From my small experience with family members suffering from this, they may be able to talk to a small extent about some subjects (not the ones you want but still talk). It'll probably be ungrateful at first, but it may be better than nothing down the road.

[djmips → loveudad]

good idea!

On: Tell HN: I interviewed my dad before he died

[loveudad]

I partially answered there https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32349581

To be honest, I'm still under shock but what I feel is that I wish I had time to ask everything. The thing is you don't know what will resonate with them, so you have to ask a lot to have something to work with and connect to.

On: Tell HN: I interviewed my dad before he died

[loveudad]

I'm very sorry for your loss. The pain has been incredible for me.

I hope you'll get the opportunity to do it with your mother, doubly more so if she can shed light on your father's life.

On: Tell HN: I interviewed my dad before he died

[loveudad]

This sounds like a pretty good way to do it. I'd still recommend some video recordings because facial expressions and gesture language are something I want to remember.

My only plan is to share with family members and ensure records don't get lost.

[GBond → loveudad]

By the time gen-z kids become adults, video will be so common that they will wonder why our generation didn't document family moments more often.

On: Tell HN: I interviewed my dad before he died

[loveudad]

I'm very sorry for your loss. I'm very fortunate that he didn't have dementia so he could articulate some thoughts. I hope your story will push others to act before it's too late.