Interview Techniques Media Production



Interview Techniques Media Production

In order to ask your interview subject insightful questions, you will need to know as much about the subject as possible. To prepare for the interview, think about who the subject is, what knowledge or expertise they have, and what role they are playing in your video. (Brown 2008) What answers will you be able to use to further your story? You can also get more information on your subject on the internet.

Interview Setup

Before doing the interview:

Make sure the chairs that the interviewer and interviewee do not have wheels or swivel.  A nervous person on a swivel chair will rock back and forth, (BBC 2009) which will be distracting to the viewer.

Make sure to arrive at least 1 hour before the interview subject is to arrive. This will give you time to set up before the interview subject arrives, and will give you ample time to troubleshoot any issues that may arise when setting up.

Set up and test camera

Set up and test sound

Set up and test lights

When the interview subject arrives, make sure to thank them and offer them some water. (Bauer 2000)

Starting the Interview

Make sure you do a sound check when the interview subject puts the microphone on. Have your interview subject count to 10 while you listen to his voice through the headphones. If everyone reports that they are ready, (Brown 2008) go ahead and roll camera. Let the camera roll 10 seconds before asking the first question. Start the interview out by asking the interview subject to say AND SPELL their name.  The reason for asking them to SPELL their name is so that when you are giving them credit in your titles, you know you have the correct spelling of their name.  Nothing is worse than having your talent's name misspelled in your video's credits. (BBC 2009)

Asking the interview questions

You will need to give your interview subject some guidance and direction in how to proceed with the interview. (Bauer 2000) Explain how long the interview will take, the kind of questions you will be asking, and where they should look (most likely at the interviewer and not at the camera).

Start your interview with simple questions to give the artist time to get comfortable with the camera and being interviewed:

What is your name?

Spell you name.

Tell me about your work.

Once you have warmed up you can move into the more challenging questions. Questions should be open-ended so that they can produce informative responses. You should also ask the subject to re-phrase the question in her/his answer. For example, you can say: “I'm going to ask you 'What is your favorite color?'  And we want you to answer “My favorite color is…”  This will enable you the filmmaker (or your editor) to eliminate the actual asking of the question as its recorded on tape, and just use the answer of the interview subject “My favorite color is…”.  This needs to be explained to the interview subject.  Give your interview subject at least 2 ...