I had originally planned to conduct an interview with my friend Max, who is very passionate about analog synths, with the hopes that I could get some footage of him playing and crafting sounds which I could intercut with the interview. The timing didn’t work out the night I collected the equipment, so I decided to interview Keith, my girlfriend’s father, who is staying with us at the moment. Faced with this last-minute change, I admittedly was not as prepared as I would have been if the original interview had taken place.

I decided to interview him about travel, as it is something close to him and that has been a particularly important part of his life. We shot it in my lounge room against a plain brick wall, so immediately the attention is drawn to him and what he is talking about. He spoke about the subject quite broadly, and in hindsight I should have prompted him to speak more personally about the topic as it may have given more insight into his character.

This being said, I incorporated a couple of close ups into the interview as I felt that his features and mannerisms somewhat contributed a personal touch in place of it not being said. For instance, I incorporated a couple of close-ups to capture his eyes and the way that he paused and searched for the way to describe what he had in mind, as if he was reliving some memories to bring the answers to mind. In the opening shot, I framed his head on the right side of the frame and his hand, which he brings into frame as he speaks, on the left in order to give them equal merit and to indicate that the way that he is communicating what he is saying involves more than just what he is saying.

Next time I plan on being more organised in arranging the interview so that I am more prepared during the actual production process. This interview, being quite impromptu, gave me the opportunity to get better at operating the camera quickly which is a skill that I will carry into future documentary filmmaking.