Researching In Preparation for Interviews

Digital Video Production 


Digital video is the "representation of moving images" with "encoded digital data" meaning everything is shown digitally whereas in contrast to analogue where everything is represented by a "continuously variable physical quantity". In order to make an interview successful, if you were to film an interview through digital video, there are many techniques and technologies you must take into consideration in order to create the best possible interview.


http://multimedia.journalism.berkeley.edu/tutorials/shooting_tips/ 

From this link, the blog writer writes about different video techniques and mentions a face-to-face interview and the different techniques you could use when filming an interview to make it successful. For example, as you can see the writer suggests asking the person you're interviewing to look at the interviewer and not the camera, which makes the interview seem more like a conversation and not so forced. The writer also suggests and tip of trying to avoid a straight on shot, suggesting maybe shooting from a slight angle which would be understandable as it may look more aesthetically pleasing for audiences when viewing the interview. Another tip suggested is the obvious of having your interviewee sat on a chair that doesn't squeak as this is obviously distracting and will of course prolong the interview with different complications; these things must be checked before the interview begins. Another technique would be having the camera a little closer to the subject instead of using a zoom feature to get a close-up shot as if you did use a close-up it would look more awkward and "accentuate movement" which is not needed. Other tips, like the squeaking chair is fairly obvious and should be fully checked beforehand, like unnecessary noise which may create noise and distort audio or distract the interviewee. The blog writer also states that you mustn't do a "pre-interview" beforehand where the interviewee will know about the questions, which again is understandable as then the person knows how the interview will be making it seem fairly unnatural and can construct responses before; you must however give the interviewee a general idea of what will be discussed obviously. The last tips/techniques the blog writer suggests is having the camera roll for a few seconds before you ask your first question, and this also helps if you have a few minutes to spare to re-check audio and see if the camera is okay position/contrast etc and finally during the interview you must relax and listen carefully. This is especially important as the interviewer can listen to the interviewee's response and then ask them questions which weren't originally set, the writer also states a tip would be not to nod or make gestures with the interviewee and this would be because you'd be agreeing with the interviewee whereas you may need to just ask questions, depending on the style of interview.

The writer also gives further techniques for sit-down interviews, suggesting a technique where with the camera you start with a "set-up shot from behind and to one side or the other side of the interviewer" which means it focuses on the person talking while the questions are asked. This also makes the interview seem more like a conversation, when switching between showing the interviewee and interviewer. Another technique is leaving extra room in the shot so that the interviewee or interviewer is not directly centering the frame as this often looks awkward for audiences and can be unflattering. You can also do a wider shot as suggested here showing the interviewer's response to questions and not just always focusing on the interviewee but this also depends on your style of interview. You can also do reverse shot or cutaways, you can do over-the-shoulder showing the interviewer listening to the questions and then cut back from showing the interviewee talking to the interviewer from an over the shoulder from the interviewer. And it's stated that it is very important that you take into consideration the camera position/angle and shot, ensuring everything is the same when filming from both sides. It's also stated as a technique to visualise yourself that there's an axis that runs from the interviewee to reporter (or interviewer); when taking first shot from behind to one side of a person you must stay on the same side of that axis when you move your camera, so again position/angle/composition must all be considered. Finally, another tip is to not show the person asking the actual questions and only show the person listening to responses from the interviewee so when undertaking the interview overall, you can take into consideration the above techniques and mainly you must show both of the people undertaking the interview in this sit-down interview instead of just showing the interviewee talking. This interview may come across more like a conversation and seem more natural, but of course it all depends on your style of interview.

The writer also gives techniques for microphone, providing different tips; if you're using a handheld microphone its suggested to hold about 5-6 inches below the subject's mouth and not to hold the microphone in front of the person's mouth but slightly to the side and tilted. For my own interview, if I were to do a sit down or face-to-face interview, I wouldn't choose to put the microphone in frame either. There are different microphones like clip-on microphones however as stated here, you must take into consideration jewellery and other things like buttons on a shirt that could rub against the microphone and create unnecessary noise. If you chose the option of a clip-mic you must also attach about 5-6 inches below their mouth so the same applies and also try to keep the microphone as much to the center as possible.

In terms of headroom and nose room, it states you must "leave the proper amount" in front of and above the person who you'll interview. You mustn't shoot with an "excessive" amount of empty space above a persons head as this is known as "dead space" which isn't needed, as it looks very uncomfortable for the viewer and isn't the most flattering for the person being shot. The writer states there should be "just a little room" above someone's head when in a shot. They also state that it's far better to have room below the person's head in contrast to above. This also leaves room to add a title with the person's name when you're going through the editing stage which is very useful to think about before shooting and visualise how you'd want your finished product to look. It is advised however to be careful that you don't shoot to low so that you can't see the top of a person's head and what would also be useful is to have test shoots before, just to see where a person's head would be and also when they're talking, watch for their body language. The site also states rule of thirds which is very useful when shooting and must be something I take into consideration if I were going to film a face-to-face interview.


The next screen grab I found from a link from the Stanford Academic Computing Services website https://acomp.stanford.edu/tutorials/video_production_basics :

As you can see, all of these won't necessarily apply to my interview, however with that being said some are useful and applicable to my own production. For example, planning is vital when undertaking any production and beforehand I must ensure that everything is fully constructed so that the interview goes to plan. i.e I must consider the above, microphone I'll use, position of camera, and most importantly the questions and have the correct amount of existing knowledge. I must also consider as stated on this website, the rule of thirds; as explained in the link before this is very important and is definitely applicable to the interview depending on the style of interview. An establishing shot may not be applicable to this production nor a closing shot, however with that being said you could always start with a shot of the interviewee and interviewer together as an establishing shot and then cut to one or the other and then for a closing shot you could end on the same shot of the two together; so this could be applied to my production. The website also lists keeping shots steady and of course this is very important when filming as for the viewer, we want the interview to look as aesthetically pleasing as possible and unsteady shots will definitely make audience's viewing experience uncomfortable. For smooth zooms and pans this isn't applicable to my interview as I would intend to only use steady shots; and this also applies for the letting action start or end out of frame, this may not be applicable. However, the last thing listed is getting plenty of natural sound, and although this may not be directly aimed towards interviewing, this is also applicable and important when it comes to interviewing in my opinion, as you must ensure that you capture the natural sound as if it's a flowing conversation and not directly spoken into a microphone which can be very constructed and seem unnatural.


I also further researched and found a website listed "How to produce video interviews" under the following link: http://www.mediacollege.com/video/interviews/

This link states all things on interviews, in particular I decided to look at interview structure; I thought this was an interesting way to think of an interview conversation involving three people stated as "the interviewer, the guest (interviewee) and the viewer." It states that this creates a three-way interaction which can produce a successful interview. The viewer is something you must take into account which isn't automatically thought about, but as stated on this site the viewer is the "silent observer" who is "invited to the conversation" meaning the interview must be constructed well solely for them. The site states how the interviewer will set the scene by "inviting the viewer" by "introducing the location, guest and topic." This isn't something I really thought about before however, depending on style of interview this may be very useful in order to set the scene and invite the viewers into the interview. The interview will then go from that to speaking to the guest or interviewee with questions "usually designed to encourage the guest to talk a lot" and this is important as you want the interviewee to be relaxed and feel comfortable to express opinion and talk freely, as well as answer well as it makes the interview more enjoyable for the third person, the viewer. The writer of the link then goes on to talk about the style of interview, explaining a "vox-pop style interview" would last long to get information however a more in-depth interview would be more structed so to speak where simple facts are discussed and it's less like a conversation. Finally, the interview should be concluded by "thanking the guest" (interviewee) and if introduced to the audience by talking straight to the camera, the interviewer can end it in the same way by saying goodbye to the viewer or the "silent observer" third person.

From the same website, the writer also talks about composing shots, mentioning "setting the interview in an appropriate location" taking into account the "background features" however this is referring to sort of on location interviews; if I were to film a face to face interview it wouldn't necessarily be on location but could be shot in their "natural surroundings" i.e. in their workplace. The site also states how "lighting can set the mood", giving examples of the different temperatures for an intimate feel or a confrontational approach; also stating the position of framing which can change how the relationship is perceived and for my own interview, I'd want the relationship to come across to the viewer as natural and seem more of a conversation that a confrontational interview.

The site then discusses background which talks about how nothing must be a distraction from the interviewee when speaking or even if the camera is on the interviewer; nothing must distract viewers. The site then explains some of the distractions however as the interview would be in a room of some sort and not on location,  this may not be certainly applicable.
The last section of this page talks about eyelines, explaining how the interviewee and the interviewer's eyes must be level as any difference will definitely be noticeable by the viewer and will make the interview seem awkward and uncomfortable for them watching and can give off "unwanted messages". Eye level can be assured and checked with the help of chairs which can be adjusted and then talks about on location which isn't applicable. Overall, I feel this website provided a lot of useful information which can be used when undertaking a professional style interview.

The next website I looked at was the link below, regarding "how to conduct a good telephone interview". The reason I researched into this style of interview, is due to this being a possibility I may undertake, being a telephone interview it's a lot easier to contact companies and receive quick feedback for myself.


: http://thesocialtester.co.uk/how-to-conduct-a-good-phone-interview/ 

As you can see, the website states in order to have a successful telephone interview you must keep the interview short, meaning you must stick to an allocated time. When undertaking my interview, I would have to stick to an allocated time and try not to ask too many questions nor ask too little; I would need to ensure that the feedback I get is detailed enough to write up but still ensure that the interview doesn't go on too long as this means feedback can lack detail after a while, which is required.

The link then goes on to talk about structure, as this is a very important aspect to ensure everything goes to plan perfectly and is set out ready in order to be successful. The website suggests using a "rough agenda" listing how you must first introduce yourself, then thanking them for their time, and then goes onto suggest other techniques but this won't apply for my interview as this website is for a telephone job interview however with that being said, some of these do apply. So introducing yourself and thanking them for their time is definitely applicable, and then you could give an overview of the questions and then begin, ending the interview giving opportunity like this states "opportunity to ask further questions". Of course, as said all of these won't apply to my task however, some of these are applicable and are applicable for any type of over the phone interview which was worth looking in to. 

This is also very important when conducting an interview, communication. You must ensure that you fully communicate with the person you'll be interviewing to ensure that they have full details in order for them to prepare for the interview; you don't want to receive feedback which is rushed, thought of at the top of someone's head etc. you want feedback which is detailed and accurate in order to receive the response you want and find out what you want to find out.

This may be something which seems natural to do however people can easily forget to do this, but taking "copious notes" is vital as you are highly unlikely to remember the discussion and interview responses so you must take an extensive amount of notes. The website also states perhaps creating a mind map and as you go through the questions you can take notes however this may be too difficult to do whilst going through the questions and may feel rushed, missing vital responses which you may need meaning sticking with a notebook and pen will most of the time be adequate.

This is a very important aspect to take into consideration when conducting a telephone interview as you will have no visuals, as it states you won't be able to physically see the person you're interviewing meaning you can't observe their body language and response to questions and even see whether or not the person is just reading from a list of responses. As the website states, you must compensate for this lack of visual clues meaning you must listen very carefully to make up for this and listen closely to what's being said taking into account some words which may not always convey the true message. The link also states how you must ask further into things which may not seem clear to you, asking the interviewee to clarify on what they mean if not understood properly and this is more applicable to over-the-phone interviews in contrast to face-to-face. The last thing the website states on this particular section is to be sure you use simple words, being clear as possible over the phone and this ensures the questions are fully understood in order to receive the outcome you desire.

Understanding Interview Purposes and Techniques

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uW75AWJTSPQ

In this 2006 Interview, we see Joe Mace interview Amy Winehouse mentioning her music and the meaning behind her music, as well as general chit chat and conversation. The questions throughout this interview are always open questions as all of the questions allow for Amy's own personal opinion and expansion on the question. This then leads to the interviewer asking Amy about other things which were mentioned in the conversation, leading to a different direction. Some of the questions have obviously be planned beforehand, however with that being said the interview does often seem more like a conversation despite the nature of the interview that being an interview for the internet. The interview seems very natural and relaxed, as we see Amy talking freely and answering as she pleases; the questions asked by Joe Mace are also very multiple as many questions are tied together into one, asking the question then Amy answers and he continues to ask why making the answer more complex than one straight answer. Though the interview is very natural and like a general conversation between two people, the interviewer often is very suggestive with his questioning, for example he asks Amy about certain artists for her to give her opinion on as well as certain answers being implied in the question for him to get the answer he wants, as Amy often agrees with the interviewer and what he says, further expanding and giving her own opinion.

 The style of this interview is quite clearly for entertainment purposes, this interview does give audiences an insight into Amy's own personal opinions however the topic of conversation is there to entertain and portray Amy's distinct outspoken and plain-spoken personality. However, with that being said Amy is questioned about her particular song "Rehab" where she mentions the meaning behind the song as well as herself being manic depressive, which could be seen as serious but due to Amy's personality it comes across jokey and Amy always sort of pokes fun at herself in interviews, telling it how it is but making light of a bad situation. You could also say that this interview styling is promotional as Amy does talk about her music and the meaning behind her music and the questions asked by the interviewer are often questions surrounding the music.

 In terms of Structure, the interview is mainly confidence building, though Amy is a fairly shy person, she always seems to come across fairly confident especially in this interview; the interview often includes a few jokes by Amy as well as featuring a lot of her distinct personality traits as she comes across as being so down to earth. And though Amy does come across to people in general as unstable, unintelligent and "a drunk", in this interview she seems very healthy and comes across as rather intelligent, we see how street-wise she is but also showing her great sense of humour; the interviewer brings out the best in Amy by challenging her in a way, you could even argue that she appears pragmatic due to her being so grounded and mentioning her manic depression, talking rather sensibly about it, remaining her wits about her with Amy's added sense of humour.

For the communication skills of the interviewer, we can't actually see the interviewer or what he looks like during this interview, as the camera is always on Amy so we don't get to see his body language. Though, due to Amy being relaxed and talking so comfortably, we can only assume that his body language reflects this as the two talk like friends; you could say that this is building rapport as the interviewer can often manipulate certain questions to receive a particular response and makes the two seem like "friends" as if they the interviewee wasn't comfortable, she wouldn't be able to open up and the interviewer wouldn't be able to manipulate and ask particular questions. As well as this, a communication skill from the interviewer is active listening, this is important for any interviewer and is particularly used in this interview by Joe Mace. The interview flows quite nicely and I assume that this is due to active listening, this is very important during an interview and Joe Mace does this well, listening to Amy's response and asking her questions relating to her response which weren't necessarily predictable answers. Joe Mace has to listen to the interviewee's response in order to answer further questions relating to the answers, and he does this in the interview making the interview come across like a conversation to audiences; this is all down to active listening, understanding what Amy says and then quickly evaluating what he's heard for further questioning.

In terms of the interviewer, Joe Mace is a producer for BBC but during the time of this interview, he was presenting and did a lot of Television and radio; this affects and influences the style, structure and techniques of the interview deployed. For example, as he worked as a presenter, Joe Mace may be unfamiliar with the journalism side of things however with that being said he is familiar with presenting and providing entertainment, and this is one of the purposes of this interview. Joe Mace manages to make this work very well, providing the contrast of entertainment with some serious matter which Amy's often dark song lyrics are about.

As well as this, from Research I discovered that the interview took place in a local bar in Camden which Amy first started performing in; she was back in her hometown performing to an audience and had an interview through breaks. So this interview was solely done on entertainment purposes, shown to others online on further broadcast and to entertain the audience actually there. You could also argue that when identifying this interview it could be enhancement of audience understanding as Amy speaks on her "rehab" as well as being an "alcoholic" which audiences may have read about and have particular views on, by talking about these subjects she in a way discards current views by the public and doesn't try to reinvent herself in anyway but sort of effortlessly shows to people how sharp and witty she is, and doesn't appear to be drunk in this interview like she's made out to be in the press. As well as this, as the interviewee is Amy Winehouse and she's a singer in the public eye, this interview can also be known as informational as when watching, as an audience we learn more about Amy, we learn about Amy as a person, her likes and dislikes and most importantly her music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1EcQaWtP0E 

The next interview I decided to deconstruct was a sit down live streaming online interview with interviewer Paul Wontorek who works for "Broadway.com" and is known to interview a lot of actors and actresses on the stage. In this 26 minute interview, we see an interview with Sierra Boggess, a musical actress performer from many shows on both the west end and broadway. This interview comes across more like a conversation than a sit down interview, due to the two having done interviews together in the past, there seems to be some sort of chemistry between them both. All of the questions asked by this interviewer are all open questions, nothing is answered with a straight answer "Yes" or "No"; every answer she gives is very detailed and extensive. The interviewer asks a variety of multiple questions, all fairly direct to Sierra Boggess and some quite suggestive, where the interviewer will share his own opinions and the interviewee will agree with his opinions, adding her own input.

The style of this interview is very light-hearted, promotional and definitely for entertainment purposes and this is due to the conversations in this interview, they're very light-hearted and not so serious; throughout this interview there's a lot of laughs and even a moment where the interviewer shares photographs of Sierra Boggess and the two talk about the photos as well as commentate on tumblr photos. The style of interview is also definitely promotional as the actress talks about her time in some theatre productions as well as upcoming musicals, sharing insight into her experiences on these big musical shows which many find interesting and others who may not, and hear Boggess talk about these shows, would urge them to go see these shows on stage.

The structures of this interview are definitely an introduction, slight development questions and overall confidence building; this is due to there being a slight introduction from the interviewer where he shares to audiences who Sierra Boggess is and touches on the content they'll talk about in this interview. There is slight development questions as the interviewer talks about and mentions particular topics for example Sierra Boggess' role as Christine Daae in Phantom of The Opera; he builds a path for the interviewee to follow and then the interview goes from there as well as the interview having a topic which is Sierra Boggess' time on stage and her experiences of being on Broadway etc. In my opinion I'd say the interview structure was mainly confidence building as throughout the interview there is laughter, jokes and mainly focuses on Sierra Boggess' personality traits as she is very down to earth and the total opposite of boring. You could also say that there is sound bites includes as for the viewer watching, we see footage of Sierra Boggess "in action" performing live on stage with her co-stars who she talks about in the interview.

In terms of communication skills from the interviewer, you could say building rapport is a main one; this is due to there being a sort of "friendship" between the two and with the two having had interviews together in the past, there seems to be some form of chemistry. To any viewer watching the interview, you'd find that the two seem like "friends" and the interviewee seems very relaxed and comfortable with her responses and this may be due to her knowing and feeling comfortable with the interviewer as well as her chilled personality. There is also active listening in this interview as often the interviewer responds to Sierra's responses and then the conversation runs smoothly and seems less confrontational and more like a conversation than interview; and added with the light-hearted nature of the interview, it seems very relaxed and less serious. In terms of body language, again the interview still is very laid back, though the two are sitting on chairs and the set seems like it should be fairly confrontational, the conversation is far from it and their body language shows this. Sierra Boggess seems very relaxed and her eyes seem to smile with her mouth as well as her eyebrows which don't frown and her hands are used to enhance what she's saying, which are gentle and open not tense and sudden.

From research and existing knowledge, I know that the interviewer Paul Wontorek is known for these styles of interviews and as part of a series he does live streaming interviews like this one for the website "Broadway.com", as a sit down interview with many stars from Broadway and The West End called "Show People with ...". The majority of his interviews are like this one, making the interviewee seem very relaxed and asks questions in the way of a conversation, which never come across as serious and confrontational, more light-hearted and cheerful injecting humor into most of them. The purpose of this interview was for mainly, promotional reasons to promote Sierra's songs but also was just an interview for a chat with Sierra Boggess and that's exactly what the interview comes across as, a "chat". The interview is more interpretive than informational though you could argue against; this is due to Sierra expressing her opinions on questions of the topic but also you could say that this is informational as she presents information about a particular show that she's been apart of and gives more information on the story of the show to help audiences understanding. You could also say emotional due to there being an insight into a situation but the interview is very light-hearted and not serious; however, Boggess does mention the end of a musical show which could be seen as upsetting for some including Boggess herself who jokingly cries, so it is followed by humor.