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As an assignment for the Master of Arts in Interpreting Studies at Western Oregon University (WOU MAIS), I completed a videotaping of myself spending about 20 minutes interpreting a source text I had not heard before. I found my source text, Simon Lewis: “Don’t take consciousness for granted,” at TED.com. There is an interactive transcript that you can view by following the link above.

I would like to think that this is not a sample of my best work, but I am humble enough to accept that there are times when I am working in real situations that this is the best I can do with such an unfamiliar topic and fast pace.

Here are some facts about me and the circumstances under which this sample was recorded:

• The hearing speaker appears to be a 50-something-year-old white male from a foreign English-speaking country (South America, Australia, England?).
• I am a 44-year-old white American male.
• I began learning ASL when I was 21.
• I have 21 years’ experience as an interpreter and transliterator.
• I earned my RID CI in 1998 and my CI in 1999.
• I earned my RID NIC Master in 2010.
• I earned a Bachelor’s degree in 2003.
• This is my first recorded video assignment for the Master of Arts in Interpreting Studies at Western Oregon University (the WOU MAIS).
• I recorded this in my own home using a tripod, camera that records HD video, laptop connected to TED.com, amplified computer speakers connected to the laptop, and both artificial and natural lighting. I set up all of the technology myself just before recording this sample.
• I had no audience for this recording; all that was in front of me was my camera and my home.
• My only preparation was reading the “About this Talk” and “About the Speaker” paragraphs before interpreting/transliterating the video.
• I planned before I recorded this to publish it on YouTube for a global audience, even though this was not a requirement of the course assignment.

I post this more for educational purposes than as a part of a résumé, but if a potential employer were to judge my work based on this sample, I would not discourage them from doing so. As I said, this may not be my best, but it is an acceptable sample of current work considering the circumstance listed above.

Do you have any questions about any part of this video or the making of it? If so, please leave a comment. I have disallowed further comments for reasons stated in the two comments I made on this blog entry.