Thinking small to go big – Sometimes, it's the little things that can make the biggest impact. And when it comes to conducting successful interviews, that couldn't be more true. Whether it’s a documentary subject with a checkered past, a high-profile CEO of a fortune 100 company, or the president of the United States, these adjustments can make a big impact from a B- interview to an A+. 

 

Visuals

1. Pick your background first. Decide on the location and background that you want to use, and then figure out how to position your subject within that space. What does the background say about your subject, how can you adjust small things in the background to make a big impact in the final image. 

 

1. Get your subject off the background as much as possible: I cannot stress this enough. Get your subject off the background to create separation in both your lighting and camera focus. Nothing yells amatrue more than a subject plastered right up against a wall. 

 

1. Ambient Lighting: If you can't control all the ambient lighting in the location, try to place your subject in a spot where the lighting equipment you're using can work in conjunction with the ambient light.

 

Conducting the Interview

1. Gonna make this number one as a personal pet peeve of mine. When conducting an interview, it's important to be mindful of your own habits and behaviors. Here are some tips to keep in mind:
   1. Avoid making unnecessary noises: Try not to click your pen, shuffle papers, tap your foot, or make any other distracting noises while the subject is speaking. This happens more times than you believe but stop moving around when your subject is talking. 
   2. Avoid "stomping" on each other's lines: Give the subject time to finish answering a question before asking a new one, and vice versa. It’s okay to direct your interviewee and ask them to pause before answering your question.
   3. Don’t comment as your interviewee is speaking. Naturally we’re used to making small comments as your conversing but is a mess in post trying to cut our your “right” or “uh huh” in post. 

 

1. Consider having a pre-interview: A pre-interview with the interviewee is a great tool to get comfortable with one another. Typically we’ll elect for a video chat over a phone call. This can help to establish a rapport and make the actual interview more relaxed and natural.

 

1. Don't share all the questions in advance: Sometimes this is unavoidable but we always recommend not sharing all the questions with the interviewee ahead of time. This can help to elicit more organic and spontaneous responses.

 

1. Listen carefully & be flexible and willing to dig deeper: Pay close attention to what the interviewee is saying and try to pick up on any cues or hints about where they want the conversation to go. This will help you to keep the conversation flowing and avoid awkward pauses. Be open to going off script and exploring topics that the interviewee is passionate about. Sometimes the best answers come “off-script” when you ask follow-up questions and delve a little deeper into a subject.

2. Sound - I would be remiss and crucified by my sound recordist colleagues if I didn’t have a line about sound here. Simply said, if you have shitty sound you don’t have an interview. Hiring a professional will solve a lot of these problems for your but if you find yourself being the Maverick of the production world a few tips to keep in mind. 

 

1. Room Tone. Always get 20-30 Seconds of roomtome after an interview. 
2. Turn off appliances you have access to. 
3. Make sure your picking a location you have control over and can limit any interruptions for unwanted sound. 
4. Always Boom and Lav your subjects. Post will thank you. 

 

Well, that's a wrap – we hope you've enjoyed this behind-the-scenes look at how we approach interviews here at Eastward Films. Remember, sometimes it's the little things that can make a big difference, so don't be afraid to think outside the box and try something new. And if you have any questions or inquiries, feel free to shoot us an email at info@eastward.com – we'd love to hear from you.

 

Written by: Jake Bulgarino, EP, Eastward Films.