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The SMU Video Archive Series was produced by Bill Dworaczyk from Central University Libraries, who is currently Director of Personnel for CUL.
The idea for the SMU Video Archive Series started in the late 1990s, when Dworaczyk realized there was no planned effort to systematically record SMU retirees who could add valuable information to SMU’s history. There had been a few books published on the history of SMU, and some occasional audio recordings had been done of certain individuals on SMU history. Other than a few video recordings of lectures by retired faculty and staff, there were no video recordings of interviews on the history of SMU.
Dworaczyk approached a faculty member in the TV/Film Department, David Sedman, about the possibility of using that department’s TV Studio class to record the interviews. Sedman was very enthusiastic about the idea and allowed his class to participate in the effort.
Dworaczyk also ran the idea of doing a series of such interviews by several key individuals, who all thought it was a great idea. One of those individuals was Travis Jordan, retired director of the Norwick Center for Media and Instructional Technology, who agreed to be one of the initial interviewers.
The trio conducted a pilot in the spring of 2000 to determine the feasibility of an ongoing series. The first interviewees were Robert Cooper, James Early, Mary Alice Gordon, Bishop John Wesley Hardt, Harold Jeskey, Luis Martin, and Richard Rubottom. Besides Mr. Jordan, the other interviewers for the first series were Neill McFarland and Jo Faye Godbey.
The first recordings were done in the TV studio for the TV/Film department which was, at that time, in the basement of McFarlin Auditorium. The original seven interviews were videotaped by students, who worked as camera operators, technical directors, sound engineers, and directors. With the help of the interviewers, interviewees, and David Sedman and his crew, the SMU Video Archive Series quickly became a resounding success.
The original SMU Video Archive Series recordings were made on ¾-inch Umatic video cassettes and shot with three cameras. Professor Sedman and his students created the set, including the addition of archival photos in the background. After a couple of years in that location, the TV department moved to a new studio in Umphrey Lee building. The series, which continued to take place in these updated facilities, was eventually recorded on digital video.