Can you tell a gripping story in an interview?

The way I thought about interviews before, is a retelling of experiences and events that have already occurred. Never did I once think that interviews could have the standard formalities of a narrative; a beginning, middle and an end. 

However, in saying that, this weeks workshop has helped me to view my interview as any other fiction narrative that you see in the films of today, rather than seeing it as a retelling of events. We undertook a small questionnaire to help us gain an understand for our own upcoming project briefs. The questions are as follows below:

1. What is the ‘controlling idea’ of your portrait?
   The idea I’m trying to convey is the motivation and discipline it takes to be a fighter.
2. How is your portrait film structured?
   It’s simply just a retelling of a journey of an amateur fighter, and the growth from being an amateur to a professional.
3. What do you want your audience to make of your interview?
   Through the use of the music and rhythmic relations between the cuts, I’m trying to convey a sense of willpower and motivation.
4. How is your portrait being narrated?
   It is being narrated by the interview, and his narration is emphasized by the b-roll shots.
5. What role will the ‘found footage’ play in your portrait?
   As stated before, they will be used as b-roll shots. These shots will be used to emphasize certain things my interviewee will be talking about. For example, I linked a shot of his first amateur fight to him actually talking about his first fight.
6. Does your portrait have a dramatic turning point?
   In terms of narrative, I don’t think so. However, there is a point where the beat of the music drops after having a long build-up. It is at this point where the music has more impact and power. As such, I chose to link some of his more brutal fights with this point in the music, which I feel does add a dramatic tension to it.
7. When does this turning point in your portrait and why?
   As stated before, it happens after a long build-up of the music.
8. How does your portrait gather and maintain momentum?
   At the start, the slow build-up of music matches the pacing of the introduction of my interviewee. As the pacing of the music peaks and drops, so to does the visual aspect of the interview. In the middle, the pacing slows down and following that, there is another peak. So through the rise and fall of the music, the interview manages to maintain its momentum by giving little bits of action, followed by little bits of slower paced interview shots, then back again to action.
9. Where will your portraits dramatic tension come from?
   The music and also just the nature of the fights themselves.
10. Does the portrait have a climax and/or resolution?
    I don’t believe there is a climax or resolution to my interview. In fact, I’m a bit confused as to what a ‘climax’ in an interview refers to.