Shooting an Interview (page 2)

Shooting and Interviewing

Things become significantly more complex if you're the interviewer and the shooter as well. It forces you to choose between static camera shots (over your shoulder, a two shot, or maybe a 3/4 closeup of the subject's face) or your own ability to be in the shot. If you're controlling the camera, be sure to wear headphones and listen to the audio as it comes from the camera -- be sure of your voice levels. If you're in the shot, you might be able to wear a single earpiece and have it not show. Make sure one voice isn't louder than the other. If you can, use two microphones so you can adjust the sound mix in post if necessary.

Walking and Talking

"Perp walk" is a phrase used by journalists to denote the embarrassing gauntlet from the car to the courthouse steps that people involved in court cases must make. Often times these people are beset by journalists and photographers, the journalists walking along side and asking questions while the suspect, attorney, or other individual inevitably barks "no comment!" before ducking into the courthouse. You and your cameraperson won't always be bouncing through a field of hungry sharks like this, but some things still apply if you're walking through a park with an aging civil rights leader recalling a march that took place 30 years ago. Your cameraperson is probably walking backwards, so be careful where you steer him. On a large production, an assistant will walk backwards behind the cameraperson, holding onto him, usually with a good grip on the back of his pants or belt, watching the ground and making sure nobody trips. Also, wired microphones are usually out for this sort of thing, which relegates you to wireless or boom mics. Make sure you have enough crew to help ensure that your production will go off without a hitch.

Conclusion

Don't figure things out on your subject's time. Be prepared, study, practice. Know your equipment and how to use it. Be through and professional, make a product that you and your subject can be proud of. And don't shine that light in my eyes.

Contributing Editor Kyle Cassidy is a video artist and network engineer and co-author of Enterprise Internetworking and Security.

Sidebar: How to Deal with Difficult Subjects

1) Subject talks too much, strays from the topic
Ask the subject to speak concisely, limiting answers to a specific period of time, which may be as little as five seconds if you're looking for a sound bite, or as long as several minutes, depending on what your final use will be. Ask the subject to stay on topic, let them know that there will be a period at the end where you'll ask them anything that you've missed.

2) Subject doesn't talk enough, gives one-word answers
Explain to the subject that the viewers might not hear the question and that they need to answer it fully. Instead of "yes" they should answer, "Yes, I think it's time that someone makes a movie of The Catcher in the Rye." It is also the onus of the interviewer to ask questions that invite the subject to speak. In stead of asking open-ended questions such as "Do you think it's time someone made a movie of The Catcher in the Rye"?, ask "What are some of the challenges about a movie adaptation of The Catcher in the Rye?"

3) Subject is nervous
Tell a joke. Ask the subject to tell a joke. Ask a few easy, lowball questions like "did you have any pets as a child? What do you remember about them?" to get people talking. Unless you're doing hard news or live television, you can also assure your subject that if they fumble an answer and want to start again, they can do that. Interview them in comfortable surroundings -- how about their living room instead of your studio? Minimize lights -- maybe window light and a single reflector will work instead of using your impressive light kit.

4) Kids? how to get a comment
Children invariably will answer, "I don't know", "neat", "gross", and a host of other one word comments when you ask a simple, "How did you like your first day of school?" To get a better response, draw them out to supply more information with a comment instead. If you ask, "Tell me about your first day of school.", you'll go a lot farther and get better usable sound.

Finally, kids (and some adults,) often end their comments with the phrase, "and stuff like that." A lazy journalist leaves that comment in, a good editor will cut out that throwaway phrase, to end the sentence on a strong point.