Live the Dream Films

In social filmmaking, a documentary-style venue usually has a narrator telling a story, intercut with other interviewed subjects. Getting the subject to open up in a manner that can shed revealing light during these brief interspersed moments is more of an art than science. The goal is not so much to have a conversation with the subject, but to generate statements from them that can stand on their own without the context of the interviewer’s question, ultimately supporting the movement of the documentary. So, while there is no one approach, there are a few proven techniques that seem to work well in many situations.

1. Talk before shooting – Interviewing is a trust based process, so keep the camera off while you are establishing an initial level of rapport with your subject. Think about conducting a few preliminary interviews without a documentary crew or cameras as a means to help develop a friendship. Think about it, your best conversations come from meaningful relations, ones built through the benefit of time.  It took Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington (filmmakers of Restrepo) two trips each conducted over four months in total before the soldiers were comfortable enough to let the stories come out.  If you haven’t read it already, check out their interview “The Making of Restrepo.“

2. Warm Up - When you do show up with your crew and/or cameras, get your subject familiar to the lights and the camera but don’t start shooting until you can see that they are comfortable with the people, equipment, and the process. Your first questions should be basic ones that become the building blocks of for future questions as well as your relationship. Ask questions about family history, personal background, education, etc. You also need to think about the question/response format. If you don’t plan on hearing your voices asking the question (“Can you please tell me your name and where you are from?”), then you need to give the subject time to get use to formating their response in the form of a question (“My name is John Watkins and I am from Los Angles, CA).

3. Ask permission – Some of the best questions you need to ask will most likely be the toughest for the subject to answer. So ask at least one permission-based question prior to doing so. For example, “I’m going to push you today, if that’s okay?” or “ “Do you mind if I ask you some uncomfortable questions?” Most of the time they say “yes” or they wouldn’t have agreed to the interview to begin with. However, do so build trust, acknowledges the possible discomfort they might feel, and give them mental permission to feel uncomfortable.

4. Hush – Let the subject fill in the silences of the pause. It is human nature to want to say something during that long long pause, but that nature should not come from you. Don’t try to rescue the subject too quickly from those uncomfortable pauses; instead, let them fill in the conversational gaps. In doing so,  you will get access to deeper and more personal information. The mind always has an answer, so give the lips time to response. Check out the post combat interview in Restrepo or  Werner Herzog documentaries to see how these techniques are effectively used.

5.Pain and Aspirations – As they say, everything is a love story. So, if you are not connecting at a very passionate emotional level, then the interview will come off as boring. Look for their pain and/or joy. Don’t be afraid to ask questions around how they feel or felt. Remember, you must be genuinely interested in your subject for them to open up to you.

6. The art of the “open ended question.” Open ended questions are far better source of personal information than traditional leading questions. Leading questions get your subjects to answer with “yes” or “no” responses. Open ended question often start with “why” or “how.” However, reformatting them in a more declarative phase such as, “I am not sure I understand” or “Tell me more about that,” leads to a source of information beyond your insight.

7. Repeat their words or concepts. One of the most powerful interviewing techniques is too repeat one or two words from the subject’s last response. For example, your subject may end their comment about loosing a friend or family member by saying “it’s just not fair”. You’re next questions could simply be “fair?”

8. Empathy& Feelings. If your subject isn’t giving you what you want, they you haven’t connected with their feeling yet. Start rethinking the problem by asking what would you do if you were in their situation and what things would make you talk under similar circumstances? You can only unlock your subject when you unlock yourself.

Lastly, all of this is worthless unless you practice practice practice. Your subject will be as relaxed and confident with the process as you are. When you feel awkward, they will as well. This state can jeopardize the interview and potentially the documentary well.  Practice sessions need not be formal and take place in everyday situations between your friends and family. You want a tough interview, try asking a 16 teen year old about their school day. If you can get meaningful insights from them, then you’re ready to move on.