Filmed interviews convey the information and the experiences that the subject discusses directly to the camera and saves it for posterity. Every interview will be as different as the person being interviewed, but there are still guidelines and structures that you want to follow to effectively film an interview. You should always research and prepare for your subject, set up a location for a good shot, and conduct the interview politely and efficiently.
[Edit]Steps
[Edit]Arranging the Inteview
- Schedule the interview in advance to allow your subject to prepare. Contact the person you want to interview and ask them when they are available to do an interview. Give them a brief summary of what you plan to talk about and ask them if they have any questions. Try to be as friendly and accommodating as you can be.[1]
- Be polite and professional when you set up your interview.
- Research the person you are interviewing. To conduct a professional interview, you need to be as prepared and knowledgeable about your subject as you can be. Learn as much as you can about them so you can craft an effective interview.[2]
- Ask people close to your subject for information about them, but be polite and respectful of sensitive topics.
- Look through your subject’s social media for information you can use in your interview.
- Watch other filmed interviews to get an idea of how you want to do yours. A great way to prepare yourself for your interview is to watch a bunch of different interviews with other people so you can use what you think works for your own interview.[3]
- Look online to watch other filmed interviews.
- Pay attention to the structure of the interview and model yours after one that you think is effective.
- Use questions that you thought worked well in the interviews you watch.
- Make an outline of the structure of the interview. As you research and prepare for your interview, create an outline of the main points that you want to cover. Add subpoints beneath them of specific items that pertain to the main points that you want to cover.
- Organize your outline in the order of the way you want to cover each topic to help guide your interview.
- Write out questions that you want to ask. When you finish your outline, write a series of questions that will help guide the interview according to the structure of your outline. Use open ended questions to get the subject talking and use specific questions to get direct answers.[4]
- For example, you could ask the person you’re interviewing, “What was your childhood like?” That will get them talking in broad terms about their life. Then you could ask them, “How old were you when your mother died?” That will get them to give you a clear and direct answer.
- Write your questions on notecards so you can reference them during your interview.
[Edit]Setting the Scene
- Choose a space that fits the look and feel of your piece. The background of the interview can communicate information as well. A solid white background feels more formal and professional while an interview conducted in an open space with a brick wall can make your subject appear more vulnerable.[5]
- Interviewing someone in their place of work can add another layer of interest by allowing people to see how and where the subject operates. For example, interviewing a painter in their studio or an executive in their office allow for an interesting perspective for the viewer.
- Make sure you have enough space to conduct the interview. You’ll have camera, lights, and possibly crew members that will all need to fit in the space as well.
- Use a location that doesn’t change over time. Sunlight coming through windows or framing a clock in your shot can distract and cause continuity issues in your piece. When you go to edit your interview, changes in the background can make it difficult for you to organize your final piece into a cohesive interview.[6]
- Avoid interviewing someone outside. The changing light and background noise can distract the viewer and make it difficult to edit without any continuity issues.
- Use blackout curtains if you’re conducting an interview in an open room to prevent the outside light from changing.
- Consider the ambient noise in the space you choose. An environment with distracting audio can ruin the sound quality and degrade the integrity of an interview. Check for air-conditioning noises or outside traffic to make sure your interview can be conducted undisturbed by any ambient noises.[7]
- A plane flying overhead or a siren outside can distract the viewer.
- Check that there are enough electrical outlets. You’ll have lots of equipment to conduct your interview, so you need to check to make sure there are enough outlets and that the circuitry of the space can support your devices without shorting out a fuse.[8]
- Use a surge protector or an extension cord to give yourself more outlets and a longer reach.
- Use a 3-point lighting system to illuminate your subject. Set up a key light, which is the main light shining on the person you’re interviewing. Use a smaller fill light to remove shadows on your subject’s face. Then, use a backlight to create a slight glow on the back of your subject that separates them from the background.[9]
- Test your lighting system by taking a few shots of yourself to make sure it looks good for your subject.
- Set up 2 cameras to film your interview. Set up 1 camera for a wide or medium shot, looking directly at the subject as an establishing shot. Then, set up another camera for a close-up shot, either on the left or the right side of the establishing shot camera.[10]
- The close-up shot should tightly frame the person you’re interviewing and the establishing shot should take in more of the background behind them.
- Frame the subject to the opposite side that they’re looking.
- Clip a lapel microphone on you and your subject. A lapel mic allows you to clip the microphone onto you and your subject so they’re hidden from the view of the camera. Because they’re clipped directly to the person, they’ll pick up the speech audio without too much background ambient noise.[11]
[Edit]Conducting the Interview
- Dress well for the interview. You don’t necessarily have to wear a suit and tie, but you do need to dress appropriately to make your subject feel comfortable talking to you. Regardless of what you choose to wear, you should practice good hygiene so you don’t offend the person you’re interviewing.
- If the person you’re interviewing is a strict businessman, you need to dress accordingly. If your subject is a laid-back, jeans and t-shirt kind of person, then it makes more sense for you to match their attire to elicit a genuine interview.
- Make sure your subject is comfortable before you begin. Offer them something to drink and ask them if they’re ready to begin before you start rolling. Make sure the lighting isn’t too bright in their face and they’re comfortable in their seat.[12]
- Ask them if they can hear you clearly so there isn’t any confusion when you ask them questions.
- Have the subject look right at you. When you’re asking your subject your interview questions, have them look directly at you when they speak. If they look at the cameras it can make editing a continuous shot more difficult later on.[13]
- Look at the subject when you ask them questions and when they speak to you to make them more comfortable and to give them a consistent focal point.
- Ask the subject to repeat the question before answering it. It can be really difficult to know what question a subject is answering when you edit the footage together. One easy way to keep track of their answers is the have them repeat the question back to you before they respond.[14]
- It also allows you and the subject to make sure they fully understand the question you’re asking.
- Follow your outline and ask questions in order. Use your outline to help guide your interview and keep it on track. Your subject may go off on a tangent for a while, and your outline and interview questions can help bring you back to the topic you were discussing.[15]
- Take a break if your subject needs it. Interviews can sometimes be long and tedious, and you want your subject to give you considered responses. If they need a break, take a short 5 minutes and pick up where you left off.[16]
- If the interview gets heated or contentious, suggest taking a short break to calm any tensions.
- Let your subject know that they can take a bathroom break whenever they need to.
- Keep the camera rolling at all times. You never know when you’ll get a great response from your subject. Sometimes, people being interviewed will answer a question and then add an interesting bit of information after their initial answer. Once you start filming, keep the camera rolling at all times, even during breaks.[17]
[Edit]Things You’ll Need
- 2 cameras
- 3 lighting sources
- 2 lapel microphones
- Notecards for questions
[Edit]Related wikiHows
- Create a Good Documentary Film
- Write a Documentary
- Conduct Yourself Professionally on a Movie Junket
- Mix Sound on a Small Budget Film
[Edit]References
- ↑ https://collab.its.virginia.edu/wiki/toolbox/Interviewing%20Techniques.html
- ↑ https://collab.its.virginia.edu/wiki/toolbox/Interviewing%20Techniques.html
- ↑ https://weareclearhead.com/filmed-interviews/
- ↑ https://www.mentorless.com/2013/08/28/9-tips-to-shoot-an-interview-documentary-style/
- ↑ https://collab.its.virginia.edu/wiki/toolbox/Interviewing%20Techniques.html
- ↑ https://nofilmschool.com/2016/01/7-simple-steps-help-you-shoot-interview
- ↑ https://nofilmschool.com/2016/01/7-simple-steps-help-you-shoot-interview
- ↑ https://nofilmschool.com/2016/01/7-simple-steps-help-you-shoot-interview
- ↑ https://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/how-to-shoot-professional-interviews/
- ↑ https://www.mentorless.com/2013/08/28/9-tips-to-shoot-an-interview-documentary-style/
- ↑ https://youtu.be/FElRjwAeiRw?t=362
- ↑ https://collab.its.virginia.edu/wiki/toolbox/Interviewing%20Techniques.html
- ↑ https://www.mentorless.com/2013/08/28/9-tips-to-shoot-an-interview-documentary-style/
- ↑ https://www.mentorless.com/2013/08/28/9-tips-to-shoot-an-interview-documentary-style/
- ↑ https://collab.its.virginia.edu/wiki/toolbox/Interviewing%20Techniques.html
- ↑ https://weareclearhead.com/filmed-interviews/
- ↑ https://www.mentorless.com/2013/08/28/9-tips-to-shoot-an-interview-documentary-style/
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