Interviewing

• What did you learn through the process?

Through the process, I learned how to prepare interview questions based on a topic. I also figured out that before diving into questions relating to the artwork, asking simple questions such as introducing oneself could make the interviewee and the atmosphere more comfortable.

• What worked well?

For interview preparation, I found having a set of questions for the interviewee have made the process easier for both sides. We arranged the questions in a way that can create a nice flow to the interview, thus I believe have made both of us feel more at ease talking. As I am usually socially awkward, I prepared further by noting down the answers to the questions before the interview. I believe this had boosted my confidence as well.

• What could you do better? i.e. What issues did you have to work through?

Fortunately, my teammate and I did not have any major issues, but I believe we both could have practised speaking more before the interview to reduce the number of filler words.

Technical considerations

• What did you learn through the process?

This is my first time conducting a virtual interview, thus many of the technical aspects are very new to me. I learned how to use QuickTime and Zoom to record the interviewee, and found both of them easy to use. I was able to compare the differences in quality between the two programs as well, with QuickTime being easier to navigate while producing better image quality.

• What worked well?

It was easy setting up the project folder and also the project in Premiere Pro as I have done this before for my previous studios. Although I haven’t used Premiere Pro for a few months, my experience with the program has definitely helped speed up the editing process.

• What could you do better? i.e. What issues did you have to work through? (Thinking about the steps: recording, editing and post-production through to creating and adding in graphics, subtitling and exporting)

During the recording phase, my teammate and I had a technical issue. For the test video, Su realized she cannot turn on Zoom’s camera when she runs OBS on a desktop PC. Thus for the actual interview, she decided to use her laptop but OBS somehow captured her computer screen instead of recording her. While we figured out the problem shortly after, we couldn’t redo the interview on the same day due to the change in natural lighting, and recording the interview again the next day had cost us some time.

In future virtual interviews, I could schedule the interview earlier so there will be more time to spare, consider the option of filming with a phone, and make sure both sides have artificial lighting as a backup in case natural lighting is unreliable.

Editing an interview-led narrative

• What did you learn through the process? (Thinking about the steps: logging, assembly, finalizing the audio edits and narrative, spacing the audio, etc.)

I worked with a logging sheet for the first time and found it quite useful for evaluating the footage’s quality as well as for picking exactly which part I wanted to rewatch. I also learned how to be selective with the chosen footage for the video to be short yet still deliver the topic. I believe the ability to be selective will be beneficial for making content in general, not only for editing interview-led narratives.

• What worked well?

I assume because I prepared the interview questions based on how I wanted the video to flow, I did not have to spend a lot of time arranging the clips. I think this process is quite similar to when I make short films or videos where I have to visualize my video quite well, usually with a storyboard, before filming to ensure I have all the footage I need and to shorten the amount of editing time.

• What could you do better? i.e. What issues did you have to work through?

I initially struggled a lot with cutting down a 6 minutes video into a 15 seconds video. My first edit was choppy and jumpy with a total of 14 cuts. In the studio, I was advised to pick only 1 to 2 sentences that can deliver the title Art Makes You, instead of squeezing any information I think is good into the final cut. I then re-edited my video following the advice. My final edit ended up with only 6 cuts which made it a lot more pleasant to watch.

Editing the audio was another challenge for me as I have very little experience with it. While I was able to make the audio better by compressing and adjusting the pitch and volume, it is still not ideal. I will definitely continue to learn audio editing outside of class to improve the audio quality in my future videos.