How to conduct a great documentary interview
At Voda Films, we have conducted hundreds of interviews, and each one is so unique. You never know what you will get out of your subject until you are there in the moment. Sometimes you are sitting across from your interviewee harvesting golden nuggets and other times you are sweating trying to figure out how this is all going to work. I have been in both situations and everything in between. In this blog, I am speaking specifically about documentary style video / film projects that involve one interview that tells the entire narrative. Here’s how to set your interviewee up to succeed, so you get the best content from your documentary interview:
1. Create rapport:
Do a phone interview or better yet go hang out with your subject before the shoot day. By doing so, you will gain a good understanding of what to expect from your subject and create a little bit of rapport. It also helps relax your subject making them way more comfortable during the production.
2. Pre Produce:
In your phone conversation or meeting ask a lot of questions and learn as many details as you can. Get to know one another. You will be spending a lot of time together. This will not only help with the narrative but also the visuals. I have been known to ask some seemingly ridiculous questions in my pre-production meetings, but sometimes they lead down some incredible visual paths.
3. B-Roll before Interviews:
If you are doing a one day shoot, I would suggest interviewing in the afternoon. That way, you will have more time getting to know your subject while filming b-roll in the morning. Plus you don’t want to miss out on that beautiful morning or later afternoon light.
4. Get comfortable:
We all know that interviews can be incredibly uncomfortable for our subjects. Most people are not used to sitting in front of a camera telling a stranger details about their personal life. So have some sympathy, grace, and patience with your subject. Try to be as calming and conversational as possible, so your subject can relax and get comfortable.
5. Don’t rush it:
You can rush everything else, but don’t rush the documentary interview. This conversation will become the backbone narrative to your story and if the interview fails your entire piece fails. I typically plan about two hours of interview time for a two to three minute story.
And there you have it, a short guide to conducting interviews with real people. Just be yourself, create relationships and be human. Cheers!
