If you haven’t participated in this topic already, please check out the Documentary Filmmaker’s Group discussion on this topic. In that conversation, Marinella Nicolson makes the observation:
Marinella Nicolson • “I think you’ve hit all the major points in your article – it’s a very good guide for someone starting out. There’s one suggestion I could add, that I found quite effective when interviewing people, and that was to get them to do something during the interview. It’s best to choose something they’re very familiar with, even if it’s only washing the dishes. There’s something about the repetitive physical action that makes the interviewee feel less stiff and awkward in front of the camera, and for the viewer, seeing a person in their natural environment seems to add so much more subliminal information to the interview.”
Jerry Smith • Marinella, your right, having the subject perform tasks that are part of their “normal” life activities tends to put them in a familiar space, allowing them to be more comfortable. There are several example of this in Restrepo, for example, most notably the scene where they are talking about why the Taliban is not fighting right after an American attack.
Rebekah Tolley • I work as producer to renowned documentarist Michael Grigsby, who has made a career out of ‘giving a voice to the voiceless’ and allowing people the ‘space’ to ‘be’ and to get their points across…a style of working quite at odds with so much of the frenetic film vocabulary of today, where directors often don’t have the confidence to hold back from filling in space…Moreover, it isn’t even the words that emerge from such silence, but rather those reflective moments in a person’s face (if they are allowed such time) which ironically often reveal far more to an audience than the interjection of yet another leading question or worse still commentary which ‘tells’ an audience how to feel or think, rather than allowing them to draw their own conclusions.
Jerry Smith • Rebekah – You’re right, the emotion picture painted from a subject’s expressions during the silent period is worth a 1000 words. Again, I truly hate to over use Restrepo, but take a look at the interview towards the then of the film. Each subject is held in camera for 8-10 seconds, silent, looking, reflecting inwards. From there, a J-cut (audio first) to more fighting. Very powerful interview & composite combination.
From the Documentarians Discussion group, Vivian Kleiman makes the following point:
Vivian Kleiman • I especially find that in-between time during an interview — between the end of their last comment and when they wait to see if you’ll comment on it, or ask another question — to be very rich terrain.
Jerry Smith • Vivian – Is this an example of using silence? Cognitively, people are active by nature. We want do or say something. Having that quiet time between question seems to promote unsolicited responses, ones that are often very important to the subject. Right?
Mark Solomon • I worked for years as a trial lawyer before reinventing myself as a production sound mixer and audio post editor/sound designer. The techniques of examining a witness and conducting an interview are similar, so here are some of my comments: Study the interviews of the masters of the form like Orianna Fallaci, Jonathan Cott, Claude Lanzmann,etc. Develop your own style of questioning. Some interviews demand a more confrontational approach, others require a gentler approach depending on the subject matter and the attitude of the subject. Know your subject and subject matter well enough to forget about your prepared questions and follow the story. Remember that in general people like to talk about themselves, and to demonstrate how much they know. Give them the space to do just that. If the subject seems to be holding back information, after they stop answering a question continue to make eye contact and say nothing before rushing to the next question. That indicates to the subject you expect more from them. Structure the interview to elicit the information that your audience wants to hear, i.e. don’t waste time asking questions that are of no interest or concern to your audience.
Jerry Smith • Mark – Awesome additions. The psychology of making and/or holding eye contact they stop answering a question is a very powerful technique for pulling additional information out. Thanks.
Please check out the dialogue and contribute. Here is a link to the first two articles on interviewing:
Interviewing Techniques for Social Filmmakers – Part 2
Interview Techniques for Social Filmmakers
