How to prepare and conduct a documentary interview. It allows people being filmed to speak directly about events talking heads, prompted by the questions asked by the filmmaker. American animals uses documentary techniques to tell. Nov 01, 2009 the art of the documentary interview eliciting a story from your interviewee by anthony q. Using trial transcripts, witness testimonies, interviews, medical descriptions, and more, rukeyser documents a nonlinear account of the industrial disaster through voices both real and imagined. Peter biesterfeld is a documentary maker, freelance. Its a onetime opportunity to make some great documentary footage, so heres how to make sure the interview goes swimmingly. With this exercise, you will learn the formula for making a video story that is three minutes in length or up to a full 90minute documentary. Topics run the gamut, including access, emotion, interviews, thinking in. One of the workshops dealt with interview questions specifically. Look to this important addition to mcgrawhills briefcase books series for workplacetested interviewing methods including. Interviewing techniques for managers shows you how to master every aspect of the interview process to ensure that you always get honest, helpful, and resultsoriented answers. Ken burns editing the civil war, cori wells braun via we wild beasts perhaps the most difficult aspect of editing a documentary is the amount of unscripted responses during interviews.
Ive done a lot of experimenting, especially with limited resources. Video interview with mick hurbischerrier, coauthor of directing. In this book, cassidy covers the following information. Observational documentary is probably the most analyzed mode of all the types of documentaries. Unlike fictional films, documentaries often have to convey large amounts of factual information. Interviews talking heads oral history and expert historians the interview is a traditional documentary technique. Insider tips, marketing tips, and film festival tips. Top 10 books about documentary filmmaking documentary film. Ensuring their comfort, with you and the environment they are in, is what will allow them to feel they can open up to you on camera. The magic of being prepared for your job interview.
Get inside the head of your interviewer what are they. Shooting a documentary style interview video tutorial. It allows people being filmed to speak directly about events, prompted by the questions asked by the filmmaker. With oliver stone, vladimir putin, sergei chudinov, george bush. The form is also referred to as cinema verite, direct cinema or flyonthewall documentary. Read before filming book one kindle edition by belderson, martin. These interview techniques cover all the basics you need to know polish up your interview technique and ace a job interview. Documentary and nonfiction storytelling martin, james r on. Top 10 books about documentary filmmaking documentary. Directing the documentary offers timetested principles to help you master the craft.
A number of common techniques or conventions are used in documentaries to achieve these aims. Using only 3 lights, ill demonstrate how to set up for 3 popular lighting styles for interviews. Interview techniques for documentary filmmakers lights film school. Once you do shoot your documentary, you can update your twocolumn script to reflect what video and audio you. This job interviews questions and answers pdf is a manual that will help you home in on exactly what the interviewer is trying to learn with each and every question he or she asks. The choice of what technical codes to use when filming are critical in the production of meaning.
Interview techniques for documentary filmmakers lights. Documentary interview techniques by helena wilson on prezi. The voiceover in a documentary is a commentary by the filmmaker, or added to the soundtrack during the production. In documentary filming, the post production process is critical in the construction of meaning in the final product.
Check out this article in the print edition of studentfilmmakers magazine, october 2006. Even if you dont know what your interviewees will say or what footage you might shoot, writing a script predicting what you want your final film to look like is a great way to stay organized. Jul 15, 2002 interviewing techniques for managers shows you how to master every aspect of the interview process to ensure that you always get honest, helpful, and resultsoriented answers. While this could be considered a type of performance film, the content is delivered directly to the interviewer through the speech of the interviewer, and. Academy awardwinning filmmaker oliver stone interviews the russian president vladimir putin about divisive issues related to the usrussia relations. Whether youre looking for a new job, facing an interview or trying to get your career back on track, there is something here to help. Today on the slanted lens, we will show you how to shoot a simple 2 camera profile interview piece with a talent on location. International school history documentary film making in the. There were, of course, those documentaries that went against the grain and. The interviewee is seated or stands at a specific location for the entire duration of the interview. There were, of course, those documentaries that went against the grain and strived.
Author kelley slagle discusses tips for conducting documentary interviews. The gene, a new documentary by ken burns based on the eponymous book by columbia oncologist siddhartha mukherjee, md, dphil, airs april 7 and 14 on pbs and prominently features four other faculty members at columbia university vagelos college of physicians and surgeons. May 11, 2015 beautifully shot documentary interviews are vital to your films success. Once you do shoot your documentary, you can update your twocolumn. Ladies and gentlemen, this is a selection of the best full length documentaries in english you can find here on youtube. Posted on november 26, 2016 april 16, 2018 by new york film academy. Interviews seem simple enough to the novice docmaker. Interviewing methods for actuality documentaries share concepts that apply to. How to set up 3 popular interview lighting techniques. Muriel rukeyser and the legacy of documentary poetry. The moment we decide to film an interview we are confronted with a number of choices that will strongly impact the style and the nature of our documentary. Also called stock footage, this is film or video that can be used in other film productions.
Documentary interview techniques purpose of interviews. Your job as interviewer and director is to ensure that your audience comes as close as possible to that facetoface encounter. Practical advice and tips about advanced aspects of filmmaking that every aspiring professional should know. Through this the filmmaker can speak directly to the viewer, offering information, explanations and opinions. The interview book is the definitive manual of interview preparation and technique, written by james innes, the founder and managing director of the cv centre the uks leading cv consultancy based on his many years handson experience within careers consultancy. The gritty realism produced by actuality filmmakers of the 1960s and 70s was achieved through technological. The interview is a traditional documentary technique. Actuality is the term for film footage of reallife events, places and people. From checking out the company to sending an interview thank you note, make your meeting with the hiring manager a success from beginning to end. This guide will hopefully help you gain confidence to create an appropriate lighting design for different moods and small locations. Theres a reason why this book keeps getting updated and keeps selling well. Here are several books, some geared specifically towards documentary filmmaking. A documentary film is a film story concerning factual topics i.
Form and style documentary techniques the partridge nest. Top 10 best books for interview questions and answers and tips. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the art of the documentary interview. Oftentimes, you are meeting someone for the very first time and have to engage in a conversation for 30 minutes at least on.
The art of the documentary interview student filmmakers. Selection means what the director chooses from all his or her footage to include in the final product. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Interviewing methods for actuality documentaries share concepts that apply to many types of interview situations including public relations, business, law. If your documentary film will include interviews, you may wish to shoot them first, because your subjects answers may help you choose what to include in the rest of the documentary. Throughout, she never loses sight of the potential problematics of documentary poetry voyeurism, appropriation, etc. American animals uses documentary techniques to tell story. Technical codes involve filming techniques and methods such as shot types, angle, movement, and editing, most of which are specified in the film language section above.
New pbs documentary, the gene, features cuimc faculty. Interviewing techniques for managers briefcase books. Read before filming practical advice and tips about advanced aspects of film making that every aspiring professional should know. Sitdown interviews are conventionally conducted in the world of the subject.
Free interview skills ebooks, templates and checklists. Documentary filmmaking is about asking questions and searching for answers. Special interview chapters explore storytelling as practiced by renowned. However, getting a perfect interview is easier said than done. Download these free ebooks, checklists and templates for your pc, mac, laptop, tablet, kindle, ebook reader or smartphone. The setting of the interview is carefully chosen to reinforce the message of the interview. The decision not to use narration in your film has important implications for conducting interviews. Popular documentary books meet your next favorite book. Here are some interview tips and techniques that will help you make a great documentary. This collection of documentary books offer a wellrounded look at the world of. A personal account of the mount everest disaster by jon krakauer, fast food nation.
Interview techniques for documentary filmmakers lights film. May 12, 2020 these interview techniques cover all the basics you need to know polish up your interview technique and ace a job interview. Over the years documentary filmmakers have developed a range of techniques for presenting people, ideas and events onscreen. Interviewing techniques for your documentary film dummies. Interview locations should say something about the character. Yes, come to the interview wellresearched and with a list of questions, but know that your job is not to get through the list. Nov 26, 2016 if you want to zoom in on a subject or pan across the room during a documentary interview, youve got two options. You will be listening for content and how that content can be shaped into a nonfiction story. From file management to lower thirds, these twelve video editing tips will help you shape your documentary film. An interview may take place on screen, or off screen, on a different set. Oxford defines interview as a meeting of people face to face, especially for consultation.
A twocolumn script is an easy way to structure and plan for your documentary project. While this could be considered a type of performance film, the content is delivered directly to the interviewer through the speech of the interviewer, and not through the medium of music or drama or dance. Interview techniques for documentary filmmakers learn more through our online film school. Beautifully shot documentary interviews are vital to your films success. Analysis of an inconvenient truth, a documentary by davis guggenheim. Its a heist film that uses actors to tell a true story, and. Oftentimes, you are meeting someone for the very first time and have to engage in a conversation for 30 minutes at least on topics that you might not be so. You can use this piece for company profiles, kickstarter campaigns. The interview film is a record of a conversation, discussion or interview of one or more subjects.
Stock footage is often images of cities and landmarks, historical events of importance or images of the natural landscape and wildlife. For those who work as documentary filmmakers you undoubtedly have thought about the importance of asking well thought out questions that not only provide you with the information youre looking for but also questions that help develop trust and rapport. An analysis of the documentary film killing us softly. This book is primarily geared towards job seekers, but is also a good read for interviewers as well if they are new hiring managers. International school history documentary film making in.
The latter isnt ideal from a quality point of view, and the former is tricky to do effectively on the fly especially when youre trying to conduct the. When you are able to talk to someone directly about a story, you can ask questions the help you gather key facts, details, and emotions to tell a compelling story. Years ago, most documentaries were synonymous with lower production quality, and were typically shot on lower end video cameras and with less involved setups. By no means will this be an exhaustive masterclass, but ill outline some tips, tricks and. The 11 questions that make a compelling documentary. Peter biesterfeld is a documentary maker, freelance writer and professor of documentary production. Preproduction documentary video production guides at. Top interview techniques and tips for documentary films and tv 2020 masterclass. Mar 09, 2014 the interview film is a record of a conversation, discussion or interview of one or more subjects. You get lots of solid content, so it is definitely. Jul 30, 2009 the interview book is the definitive manual of interview preparation and technique, written by james innes, the founder and managing director of the cv centre the uks leading cv consultancy based on his many years handson experience within careers consultancy. The subjects that you are interviewing are unlikely to be actors or people used to being on camera, so its very likely that theyll. The interesting part was that the panel for this seminar consisted of a journalist, a psychologists. This book offers a mix of personal experience and documentary filmmaking tips.
Beautifully shot documentary interviews are vital to your film s success. Jul 07, 2014 an interview can be very intimidating. Jul 15, 2018 from cinema verite pioneers albert maysles and joan churchill to maverick directors like errol morris and werner herzog, this program presents the reflections and experiences of some of the. If youve never done well on interviews, never even been on a job interview, or just want to make sure a lousy interview doesnt cost you a job you. Interviews in a documentary give the viewer a sense of realism, that the documentary makers views are. As an editor, youll find yourself sitting through hours of content looking for that. The editing process alters the meaning of what has been filmed. Manonstreet having random people on the street talk to you about the chosen subject used for short clips that can be easily added to the documentary during the editing process make sure the interviewee knows what the. Aug 15, 20 today on the slanted lens, we will show you how to shoot a simple 2 camera profile interview piece with a talent on location. Youve got the story of the century and some great subjects willing to bare all on camera.