After exploring this week’s study I think I have a brand new understanding of interviews. In my past works I have done different interviews, however I didn’t understand that interviews can be used in different ways and produce different emotions, which it can be used to persuade, to show opinions or just to entertain. Through watching the Capturing Reality (2008), I understand that an interview is not a simple Q & A but more a conversation of communicating the emotion with interviewees. Moreover in My Favourite Picture of You (2014), I feel that a good interviewer will use more understandable question and gentle tone to guide the interviewees to express their feelings and then give a better answer, which just presented by Errol Morris in Capturing Reality (2008), he needs to relate to the interviewees to get an better connection in emotions. Furthermore he also addresses a good method in Capturing Reality (2008) which makes me so impressed — he makes a better environment for interviewee, and interviewee becomes more confident and gives better answers. Thus I think a good environment and atmosphere would be a key point of making a good interview.
To sum up with the methods introduced before, I am more aware of interviews and understand the importance of it, so I try to imitate those good skills in my own short interview this week. As to create a comfortable environment that would make an interview better, I choose to interview my interviewee in her home and we communicate in our mother language which I think would help her to express her feeling better. Moreover I keep my sight and the camera in the same level with her eyes to have a comfortable eye contact, and I also use a very peaceful tone to ask her questions, sometimes give a reaction to her answer to make it more like a conversation rather than a formal interview because I think these would help to guide interviewee to express her emotions.
Additionally to reflect the interview process, I think my imitation of those good interview methods really works in my interview of my film, and the pictures and some other shots help to present her emotions and relate to her story. However I think I do not relate to my interview’s emotions very well and my questions are not sensitive to some extent which can not directly guide the emotions out. Also more times of rehearsal might be necessary in my future interviews because it would make interviewees to present more naturally in an interview and give better responses as well since I noticed my interviewee felt nervous in the first time’s interview in front of the camera.
script: https://docs.google.com/document/d/171pExNEraGba6vewgKryJ2MLNIb0gXTgJKgmOI5Yz2E/edit?usp=sharing
Capturing Reality: The Art of Documentary. 2008. [film]. Directed by Pepita Ferrari
My Favourite Picture of You. 2014. [film]. Directed by Martin & Lindsay