Interviews

Pre-Interview

Usually, in the professional world, you are interviewing someone for a specific story, not just choosing a person and finding a story. However, for this project, you will be choosing someone to interview and then figuring out what your interview will be about. This will start by getting to know who you are interviewing. You are looking for passion, emotion, and tension - as this is what is most engaging to the audience.

You want to have this direction prior to filming anything. So start with a pre-interview.

Question Examples

• What are your passions and interests?

• What do you think is the biggest issue facing our generation?

• Who is your role model and why?

• What extracurricular activities are you involved in and why did you choose them?

• How has your high school experience impacted your future goals?

• What challenges have you faced during your high school years?

• What do you think is the biggest misconception about high school students?

• What do you think the future holds for you and your generation?

Decide on a Direction/Focus

Once you have gotten to know the person you're interviewing better, now it's time to decide on a focus/direction. This is the story you will hope to tell with your final interview questions. Remember you're not trying to tell their entire life story. You want to focus on something specific.

Example

Maybe when you interview your peer, they talk about how they play basketball. They tell you about how they have played basketball their entire life, but it's not something they are super enthusiastic about. Then they happen to mention how good they are at PokemonGo. Their eyes light up and they talk passionately about it. You ask more questions about PokemonGo and you can tell that there is a good story there. This is what you could focus your interview on. 

Draft Interview Questions

Now that you have a direction/focus, you'll want to draft interview questions to ask while filming their response. Remember you want to focus on emotion so ask why questions not yes/no questions. The number of questions you ask will depend on your video's length requirement.

Example Questions

• What initially drew you to playing PokemonGo?

• How has playing PokemonGo impacted your life?

• Can you describe your most memorable PokemonGo experience?

• Have you ever traveled to play PokemonGo? If so, can you tell us about your experience?

• What advice would you give to someone who is just starting to play PokemonGo?

• Have you learned anything about yourself through playing PokemonGo? If so, what?

Filming B-Roll

B-roll footage helps to break up the talking head shots and provide visual interest to the video. Use b-roll footage that is relevant to the interview and helps to support the story that you are telling.

• bridges gaps

• can hide mistakes, and jump cuts

• can enhance your story

Example B-Roll Shots

• Footage of the interviewee doing something related to the topic of the interview. For example, if the interview is about a chef, you can use b-roll footage of the chef cooking in the kitchen.

• Shots of the location where the interview is taking place, such as the exterior of a building or an interior shot of the room where the interview is taking place.

• Images that illustrate the interviewee's point of view. For example, if the interviewee is discussing the importance of nature conservation, you can use b-roll footage of beautiful natural landscapes.

• Close-ups of objects that are relevant to the interview, such as tools, documents, or photographs.

• Shots of people or events that are relevant to the interview, such as crowds at a protest or customers in a store.

• Time-lapse footage of a process that is relevant to the interview, such as the construction of a building or the growth of a plant.

• Shots of the interviewee interacting with others, such as colleagues, family members, or friends.

• Shots of the interviewee engaging in activities related to their personal interests or hobbies.