Being that I also want to include interviews in my documentary, but have never conducted a proper interview before, I knew that I needed to do some research on the topic as to not end up with dull and uninteresting questions leading to answers of the same kind. That is why for this blog post I read through the chapter “Conducting an Interview” in the book “Making Documentary Films and Videos” by Barry Hampe (Hampe, 2007) and I will try to sum up what I took from it and what could prove to be helpful for my own project.
As with every aspect of shooting a documentary, preparation is key for conducting interviews which drive your story forward and intrigue your viewers. You should find out as much as you can on the subject beforehand, also try to find out what you don’t know or what can’t be found that easily by just doing research. Those will be the questions you want to ask the experts on the topic.
Nonetheless, when actually conducting the interview, don’t forget who you are recording the answers for. The viewers of your film will most likely be much less informed on the topic than you will be after months of research. So ask the questions in a way that the answers will be understandable to listeners of any knowledge level. Also don’t shy away from saying things like “I don’t know about that” or “I don’t understand” even if it’s not true. It will help your viewers understand the full picture and follow the story more easily.
You can also ask the interviewees beforehand if they have any suggestions for questions you should ask, but always make it clear that you will also be asking other questions.
For filming the actual interview make sure you choose a location which is interesting and helps the story along, but also one where the interviewee will feel comfortable. Always make sure to arrive earlier than your interviewee in order to set up everything for the interview without them there. Hampe also suggests to shoot interviews first before getting any other footage of your interview partners where you might have to direct them to act in a certain way, as that might also bias them for the answers they give you during the interview. Moreover, shooting the interview first will give you an idea of what footage you will need to support what is being said.
Also always keep the edit in mind when shooting an interview. You only want to change your settings or camera whilst asking questions (if they’re going to be left out of the final film) in order to be able to use the answers cohesively. There is nothing worse than getting the perfect statement on audio but not having the visual to go with it.
Concerning the questions you want to ask, always make sure to avoid “yes or no” questions, instead aim for more open ended questions which prompt your interviewee to tell a full story from beginning to end. But maybe even more important than what questions to ask is to actually listen to the answers. Show the speaker that you are interested in what they have to say and don’t limit yourself to just your list of questions, they are more like a checklist of things you want to ask and suggestions for when the interview slows down. Questions that come up naturally in the flow of the conversation can lead to much more authentic and interesting answers in the end. Also don’t be afraid of silence, let them breathe for a bit after their answer to see if there might be something else they want to add. Often times silence will prompt more answers than more questions.
In the end, Hampe states that after every interview there are still two more questions to ask “Is there anything I should have asked you that I just didn’t know enough to ask?” and “Is there anything you’d like to say that you haven’t had the chance to?”. These two questions give the interviewee the opportunity to give answers they might have prepared but that they didn’t think fit any of the questions and might lead to some very interesting content.
With all of that said, conducting great interviews takes practice, and lots of it. Hempe suggests including that practice into your daily life by not just having conversations with the people you meet but to actually interview them.
Literature
- Making Documentary Films and Videos – Barry Hampe
