Tapes I-III, Milton Zolotow, graphic designer; Tapes IV-VII, Lawrence Weschler, assistant editor, UCLA Oral History Program, B.A., Philosophy and Cultural History, University of California, Santa Cruz.
Places: Engel's home in Beverly Hills; Engel's studio/office at the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, California; and the Charles Aidikoff Screening Room in Beverly Hills.
Dates, length of sessions: December 29, 1975; January 23, May 19, 1976; December 16, 22, 30, 1977; February 16 and April 1, 1978.
Length of sessions and total number of recording hours: Interview sessions were conducted at various times of day. They averaged between forty-five and ninety minutes. A total of approximately nine hours of conversation was recorded.
Persons present during interview: Tapes I-III, Engel and Zolotow; Tapes IV-VII, Engel and Weschler.
There was a one and a half year gap between the work of the original interviewer, Milton Zolotow, and that of the interviewer for the final four tapes, Lawrence Weschler.
Zolotow's approach was chronological and followed the course of Engel's life and work as an artist. Weschler began his sessions by viewing some of Engel's experimental films and having Engel discuss them. Further sessions focused on themes which explored in depth the range of Engel's creative activities. In several instances Engel returned to topics previously discussed with Zolotow, in particular Engel's interest in abstract art, his years at Disney Studios and UPA, and his present teaching position at Cal Arts.
Lawrence Weschler edited the entire interview. He checked the verbatim transcript of the interview against the original tape recordings and edited for spelling, punctuation, paragraphing, and verified spelling of proper nouns. Words and phrases inserted for clarity by the editor have been bracketed.
Engel reviewed and approved the edited transcript. He made no changes or deletions in the manuscript.
Richard Candida Smith, principal editor, wrote the introduction. George Hodak, editorial assistant, prepared the index and the table of contents.
The original tape recordings of the interview are in the university archives and are available under the regulations governing the use of permanent noncurrent records of the university. Records relating to the interview are located in the office of the UCLA Oral History Program.