documentary essentials: the basics of running a good interview
Interviews are one of the most basic features of the documentary genre.
In most cases, a good interview is crucially important to push along your narrative, establish a connection to your main character(s) and to build the stakes in your story.
Yet, they are often done wrong, resulting in
wrong information,
Uncomfortable subjects,
Bad audio quality,
Unflattering lighting, and in the worst case
A boring story
All of these issues are easy to avoid, so here I’ve put together a quick and easy guide to get you through your interview with ease. As always you can use the index below to skip ahead.
Components:
Selecting subjects for a documentary interview
I’ll assume that you already have some idea as to the story you want to tell. Whether thats true or not, there is one important question you need to answer before planning your interview.
Who is your subject?
Maybe there is only one possible person to talk to about your story, in which case this question is easily answered. But if not, you should try to identify one or more people with certain characteristics. I tend to look for people who are:
Expressive. There is a fine line between talking not enough and way too much, but your subject needs to be comfortable speaking about their knowledge and experience. If they are a good speaker off camera, that usually translates well to speaking well on camera too.
Invested. Emotion is just as important as information. If you can’t get an emotional perspective out of one subject, maybe you can get this angle from someone else. Whatever you do, make sure you have covered both angles for your story, and that at least one of your subjects is able to share an emotional perspective.
Euphonic. This means that their voice is pleasant to listen to, which can make a huge difference. Some people just have that natural storyteller voice, and if you can involve them, all the better
Fearless. Some people hesitate saying certain things infront of a camera. The best people to ask for an interview are those who are not afraid to speak their mind and raise a few eyebrows.
Find yourself a few subjects with the qualities above. Even if you only need one person for your story, this gives you options down the track!
The perfect location and set-up for a documentary interview
Once you have chosen your subject, you have to pick a location. In general, it makes sense to pick the natural location they live and work in.
But only if it is relevant to the story.
For example, you are creating a film about farming, you could shoot in a field, in a barn, on a tractor or even inside the characters home.
The most important thing, is that your location is silent.
This isn’t always possible, but you want to avoid background noise as much as you can.
Hot tip: If certain background noise can’t be avoided, make sure to record 1 minute of silence (e.g. the background noise) before the interview starts. Many editing programs can then compare this recording with the interview to remove the background noise.
For your set-up, you should pay attention to three main things:
Lighting. Make sure that your subject is well lit, with the light hitting them at an angle (not from above, below, or front on). In most cases, this will create a light side and a shadow side.
Depth. Make sure the subject is not sitting infront of a wall, and that whatever is behind them is suitably far away to create a blurred back-ground or depth-of-field
Composition. Don’t distract the audience by including too many other things in your frame, especially moving objects or animals. Instead, intentionally place a small number of related objects in the frame. For an interview with a farmer, there could be a tractor in the background, or some hay bales.
Refer to this image below for an example. This farmer owns a number of holiday cabins, one of which you can see in the background. Note how the light is hitting his face from the side, and how there are blurred foreground and background elements. We actually ‘cheated’ here by pointing a branch of leaves into the foreground.
A note on gear:
This is not a gear guide, and you can run an interview with only a camera (or smartphone). If you do want to make it look slightly more professional, I recommend getting the following:
A key light, such as the Amaran 60x. Pair this with a soft box for softer light, like the Neewer 65cm Bowens Mount Soft Box. If you point this at a 45 degree angle at the subjects face, it’ll make a big difference.
A 5-in-1 reflector (like the Neewer 110cm light reflector). This is what we used in the photo above to reflect sunlight back at the subjects face. Use a reflector when you have no power source or are travelling light, or are short on time.
A lav microphone set such as the Rode wireless go 2. Simply attach it to a lavalier attachment and clip it to the subjects shirt, attaching the receiver to your camera. This will give you clean sound almost anywhere.
How to behave when directing a documentary interview
Now you have your subject, location and set-up, and it’s time to start asking some questions, right? Well… not quite yet.
Before starting, you should be aware of the optimal behaviour and direction you can offer your subject, to make sure they are comfortable and will share all the information you need.
Be transparent. Start with an introduction as to what this project is about and exactly what they can expect from this interview. Tell them how you would like them to answer questions. For example, you can ask them to always repeat your question back to you, or to simply answer in full sentences (e.g. “How old are you?’ —> I am 35 years old).
Be persistent. If you can sense that there is more information here, ask for more details, or reframe your question to get another angle. People might take time to warm to the camera, or they might simply not know what you want from them. Be very clear about what exactly you are seeking to understand. This will require patience.
Be considerate. Interviews can be draining, especially if they go on for a while. Offer breaks, a glass of water or some snacks. Sometimes, cracking a joke simply letting the conversation drift to lighter topics can help both of you relax a little more. Make sure to emphasise that there is no pressure, and anything clumsy they do or say can be edited out later.
Be adaptable. The conversation will go in directions you didn’t anticipate. Instead of trying to force it, adapt and see where it takes you. After all, your subject is the expert and they might have a good reason for taking it in a certain direction.
How to choose the right questions for a documentary interview
Alright, it’s time to ask some questions. Remember, we are trying to capture information and emotion. Your story will be most interesting if you capture an angle that people either didn’t consider before or always wanted to know more about. Hence, I would structure my questions in the following way:
General Questions:
These questions help you build a basic framework of information around your story. The answers will help explain what this story is about and who this person is. They also help you frame the direction you are taking the story in, and why it is different to what people already know.
Examples:
Tell me about your background, and how you came to do x?
How did you end up doing x?
What do people commonly misunderstand about x?
Can you describe what x is like from an inside perspective?
What do you see as the main problem with x?
Specific Questions
These questions help you delve down into the details of the problem at hand, answering exactly those questions that people generally have about the issue at hand.
Examples:
What is at the core of the problem of x?
Why do we still face this challenge, why hasn’t it been solved?
Who are the other players in this, and what is their position?
What is happening that nobody is seeing?
Emotional Questions
Now you have warmed up your subject, and they are likely already showing an emotional response to the questions. You can delve deeper into how they feel about the events at play, and how their friends or family might be involved.
Examples:
What do you love / hate about x?
Can you recount some of your most emotional moments?
How do your colleagues/friends/family relate to your experience?
Open questions
Lastly, you can capture information on a future outlook. More importantly though, you want to give an opportunity to discuss anything the subject considers important. After all, it is possible that you missed important topics.
Examples:
What do you predict for the future?
Is there anything important I did not touch on already?
And that’s it, once you have covered this basic structure, you should have all the answers you need, packaged with a beautiful interview frame and sound that will add to your story, rather than detract from it.
