The art of interviewing is one that is hard to perfect, but if finessed, a skill that can create the greatest of outcomes. There are many things to consider before interviewing:
- The role of documentary in memory transmission
- Film and video as a vital source of historical evidence and reflection
- Potential of film to preserve memory as ‘trace’ as a form of historical evidence
- Individual memories must be transmitted in order to become social
- Even on the smallest scale they have the potential to contribute to interpretations of history
Furthermore, how would you set up the story, who is the character, what is their situations what is their goal, what is at stake for them, what and how much do we need to know up front?
Consider these four points of interest in driving your interview forward to create a positive outcome:
Inciting Incident: What was the “thing that happened” that starts their story/journey?
Rising Action: What were the hurdles, obstacles, complications?
Climax: What is the high point of the story? All the facing obstacle should lead to this moment.
Resolution: What happened? What decisive action was taken? What were the consequences? How does the future look? Resolve it emotionally satisfyingly, this is a very important point. Never leave an interview with 3 ways to end it and begin it.
A successful documentary must have engaging characters, narrative tension, something to say about the human condition. Are they, extraordinary, relatable, eccentric, passionate? How do you get this out of people? Research is key. Pre interview over the phone, find things out before hand.
