Interview is a big part of documentary because most of the information in the documentary will be communicated through interviews/vox pops. Same for my film, I will need a lot of information from the interview in order to answer my beginning question. However, sometimes the interview will not go so smooth so the skill of doing an interview will be very important.

 

Drawing experience from my previous filming sessions, many people who are not used to being in front of camera will feel very uncomfortable doing a formal interview, especially when there are people looking. I strongly agree with the solution Rabiger (2009) came up with, which is shooting “In their home, workplace, or a friend’ s home, the interviewee is more at ease and will likely give more intimate responses. In public places, such as streets, parks, or the beach, he or she will feel more exposed and like one of many.” (p. 463) This can help the interviewee be as relaxed as possible so he or she can talk more freely therefore give out more useful information.

 

It is also easy for an interview to go off topic, as we are trying to make the interviewee feel comfortable and at ease, the interview might become more like a “chat”, therefore it can go off topic and waste a lot of time. So as the interviewer, I will have to interrupt at certain point in order to save time and be more efficient. I used to think it will be extremely rude to do such thing but it is actually necessary, if the interview becomes too long it will get dry and the interviewee might become tired, and according to Rabiger (2009), this move can also lower the interviewee’s anxiety.

 

This week’s reading is very helpful to me as I have learned more interview skills, it can help the filming become more efficient and pleasant.

 

Reference: Fox, B. (2018). Documentary media : History, theory, practice (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.