Tips to Conduct Documentary Interviews

1. Tips to Conduct Documentary Interviews Documentary interviews provide a great sense of authenticity to films but proper preparation is necessary to conduct the session. www.legaltranscriptionservice.com 918-221-7809 8596 E. 101st Street, Suite H Tulsa, OK 74133 MOS Legal Transcription Company

2. Documentary interviews provide audiences with exclusive information about people and specific topics. They allow the interviewees to talk to the audience directly about their experiences. Documentary interview transcription providers turn the recorded interview into written format, simplifying the editing process and cutting down on the time to produce the film. The power of documentary interviews is well-demonstrated by Arthus-Bertrand’s documentary that, according to www.wired.com, “found” humanity by interviewing 2000 people. Arthus-Bertrand was a goodwill ambassador for the UN Environmental Programme (UNEP). For their film, Arthus-Bertrand and his team interviewed 2,020 people in 60 countries. Respondents were asked same 40 questions, on serious subjects ranging from religion and family to ambition and failure. Titled HUMAN, the documentary was the first movie to premiere in the General Assembly Hall of the United Nations, to an audience of 1,000 viewers, including U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Google also launched six HUMAN-dedicated YouTube channels, offering the film subtitled in Arabic, English, French, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. Arthus-Bertrand’s hoped that people watching HUMAN— whether in the U.N. General Assembly Hall or on a smart phone browser in a rural village—would seek out meaningful conversations about our responsibilities to each other. Documentary interviews provide a great sense of authenticity to films but proper preparation is necessary to conduct the interview and capture the footage. • Pre-shoot preparation– The first step is to determine your goals of the interview and the main points that you want covered. Before starting the project, decide what type of information you want to elicit from the interviewee and how it will fit into the film. Also consider the background for the shoot, both from the aesthetic and functional point of view. • Location: Unlike the outdoors, sound and light can be controlled when shooting indoors. Another challenge when shooting outdoors is sound. Unwanted noises from car horns, sirens, and even from the wind can affect the footage. However, the sounds from A/C units, fans, phones, and other devices can also pose challenges when shooting indoors. To mitigate this, choose a spot where these challenges are minimal. Choosing a carpeted room is advisable to prevent echo and improve sound recording. Here are some lighting tips for documentary interviews: www.legaltranscriptionservice.com 918-221-7809

3. Shoot outside in a shaded area to keep your subject from squinting. Place - your subject so that the sun backlights them. If indoors, use the professional 3-point lighting technique. This method - highlights the subject facial expression and emotions while drawing attention away from the background and avoiding unwanted shadows. Seating is also important. Choose sturdy chairs and make sure that the interviewee and interviewer are at seated at the same level. Above all, choose an environment that will make your subject feel safe and comfortable. • Do research and build rapport: Collect information about your subject and the topic of your documentary. Doing some serious research is important to give shape to your ideas and determine what to include and what to exclude. To build rapport with your subject, conduct a pre-interview. Explain the aim of the documentary and explain what you would like to discuss on camera. To ensure a spontaneous interview session, avoid discussing the questions in advance. Make sure your subject will be comfortable on camera. • Questions: Establish a conversational tone before the interview begins and be warm and positive. This will encourage your subject to respond in a similar fashion and talk freely. Ask open-ended questions to avoid getting ‘yes’ and ‘no’ answers. Encourage the person to tell stories and describe and explain events. • Active listening and positive silence: Active listening means paying attention to what the other person is saying and not interrupting. Interviewers must allow the conversation to flow freely and maintain eye contact with the subject. Active listening is also the best way to pick up non-verbal communication cues. Positive silence is also an important tool while conducting an interview. When used correctly, silence can help you get important information without causing stress to the subject. • Interview style: The documentary interview can be formal or informal. In the formal set up, the interview is conducted at a specific location and the person remains seated or standing during the entire session. Conducting the interview in this controlled environment would allow for greater flexibility from the technical and aesthetic point of view. In the informal style, the subject moves around freely and www.legaltranscriptionservice.com 918-221-7809

4. may be doing routine, daily tasks. This can be more relaxing for the interviewee and more entertaining for the audience too. Vox-pops or on-the-street interviews are another popular option. Short and informal, vox-pops involve prepared questions to collect people’s opinions on a certain subject. Careful consideration of the technique and audio and visual aspects of the documentary interview and can result in a well-shot narrative. Dozens of interviews may be needed to produce a short or feature-length documentary. Getting transcripts made is necessary to begin the editing process. Partnering with an experienced video transcription service provider is the best option when it comes to transcribing a large batch of documentary interviews. These professionals can provide quality video to text time-coded transcripts that will make the fact checking and editing process easier. www.legaltranscriptionservice.com 918-221-7809