Having the camera turned on you...

C

custerc

Well-known member
...is an interesting experience that anyone making documentary should probably try. Just by coincidence, I had a pro team of journalists in my apartment interviewing me yesterday. It was very interesting for two reasons.

First, of course, it's just useful to see how other people work, compare notes and gear, etc. They set the interview up totally differently than I would have, which was interesting.

Also, I was surprised how invasive the process felt. Obviously there are a lot of factors that go into what the "subject" (in this case, me) is feeling, but I felt experiencing it was really eye opening and will help me relate to my subjects better now that I understand, a little bit, what they're feeling (I hope!).

This was an interview for a major news show in the US, and I spent the whole time thinking "God I hope they don't make me look like an idiot on national television." My own doc, of course, is much lower profile, but I bet to some extent all subjects feel like that.

Anyway, very interesting experience!
 
zaarc said:
i HATE being on camera. is this a show any of us will be able to see?
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Possibly. "Dan Rather Reports". But of course, there's no assurance that I'll make the final cut of the show. So who knows. Either way, though, it sounds like it's going to be an interesting episode.


Anyway, I sort of hate being on camera too, but I wonder if it isn't sort of an acquired taste. I used to hate the way my voice sounded recorded, but then I got into music, and ended up recording a bunch of albums, and now it seems totally normal to me. But most people have that "oh god...." response when they hear their own voices. I guess it's the same with video. But I'm honestly more concerned about whether I come out sounding like an idiot or not....
 
custerc said:
But I'm honestly more concerned about whether I come out sounding like an idiot or not....
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a good editor can take care of that, (or make sure of it). let us know when and where it will be on and/or downloadable
 
Steve House said:
FYI, "Dan Rather Reports" runs on the HDNet network.
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Is that a network anyone has? I've been in China a while...

(Of course, not that anyone watches TV on TV anymore anyway...)

If I end up in the piece, and I don't come off like an idiot in it, I will post it here. If I do come off like an idiot, I will hide in shame and see if I can figure out whether it was the editor's fault or I am an actual idiot!

Anyway, the piece won't be done for quite a while, I guess.
 
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They set the interview up totally differently than I would have, which was interesting.

In what way?
 
I first had my first on camera interview for national tv back in 1976 while making my first live action film while attending university. In those days we shot film for everything cause there was no such thing as digital anything. The nice thing about that experience was it started out as a local interview and the producer of that wanted us to be re-interviewed for the national segment he was producing for a show called Cross-Point. Since we didn't have much in the way of gear they gave us a complete professional studio production set-up from camera, tripod, location audio gear, lights, grip etc. right down to the clapper slate to use for three months for free. They also paid us for both interviews which helped us buy additional film stock and pay for processing. I never looked back.
 
craigbowman said:
I first had my first on camera interview for national tv back in 1976 while making my first live action film while attending university. In those days we shot film for everything cause there was no such thing as digital anything. The nice thing about that experience was it started out as a local interview and the producer of that wanted us to be re-interviewed for the national segment he was producing for a show called Cross-Point. Since we didn't have much in the way of gear they gave us a complete professional studio production set-up from camera, tripod, location audio gear, lights, grip etc. right down to the clapper slate to use for three months for free. They also paid us for both interviews which helped us buy additional film stock and pay for processing. I never looked back.
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thats a sweet deal! how did the film come out? you still have it? (you must be my age - there is something to be said for having the experience of actually CUTTING FILM)
 
zaarc said:
thats a sweet deal! how did the film come out? you still have it? (you must be my age - there is something to be said for having the experience of actually CUTTING FILM)
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It was a 20 minute sci-fi short. Here's a few slide stills from the bridge set we built for a few hundred bucks in my partner's parent's basement rec room. He still has the film buried away somewhere. I've posted these a few times before here.

me1.jpg


me4.jpg


me5.jpg


me2.jpg


me3.jpg


Yes it was certainly a different era trying to do everything by hand without the use of any of the tools we have today. I was going through Art School at the time to get my BFA and there wasn't an actual film program. I was in a film criticism course called the Art of Film and the professor made the mistake of telling us if we didn't want to write the term papers we could make a couple of films instead. This was our second project. The first film was a one minute cell animation with full sync sound.
 
Al MacLeod said:
They set the interview up totally differently than I would have, which was interesting.

In what way?
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Well, they were interviewing me in my capacity as a blogger/guy who pays attention to the internet. They sat me on my couch, with my computer on the coffee table in front of me (which is how I usually work). They lit me from the front right side, with a blue filter across the top of the light to make it look more like the light from the computer screen. But all the other lights were off, and it was night, so the whole thing still felt pretty dark. They just used that one light. One camera was in front of me, and also slightly to my right, a few feet below my eye level as I was sitting, pretty close to the floor. The other camera was above and behind me, looking down at my back (I guess) and the computer screen (even though I really had nothing of interest on the screen....)

They were, of course, limited in what they could do by the fact that my apartment is TINY and doesn't look very interesting. But still, I thought it was an interesting setup, I'm curious to see how it actually looks when they're all done with it...
 
I always turn down interviews. I hate being on camera (I look old and mean).
I have been hired several times to video the interviewers to document it in case they took things out of context.

It is interesting to see how others work.
 
Peternap said:
I always turn down interviews. I hate being on camera (I look old and mean).
I have been hired several times to video the interviewers to document it in case they took things out of context.

It is interesting to see how others work.
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This brings up a good point and is a thing that drives me nuts about TV. Without that backup shooter words can easily be taken out of context. It happens all the time. Someone interviews a subject for 2 hours or whatever and then they take 3 minutes from that interview and make that person look like a jerk. Cutting out a portion of the interviewer's question or taking the answer from another question and butting it up against some controversial clip or whatever. Reading about this in a Mick Foley (pro wrestler) and the famous Michael Jackson interview which aired on two different networks would be a good read/watch for anyone interested.
 
custerc said:
I had a pro team of journalists in my apartment interviewing me yesterday.
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That's how I became a documentary film maker: Discovery and History Channels filmed a few interviews with me and I thought "That's so easy -- even a cave man can do it!", went out, bought a cam and made a film. Wish I had known better what it actually takes to make a doc! LOL
 
adamr316 said:
Someone interviews a subject for 2 hours or whatever and then they take 3 minutes from that interview and make that person look like a jerk.
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Did you expect that they show the entire 2 hours of film? ;-)

I had media training by the producer of "60 Minutes" in how to be a successful interviewee. I only do interviews after I researched the production team and feel confident in them and their programs. Then I ask for a list of questions in writing to be sent to me at least 1 day in advance so I can prepare. I insist that they follow the questions as agreed upon. If they ask different questions, I don't answer -- unless I like the direction they are going. The trick for a good interview -- and this is where it start making fun -- is to give them sounds bites you know they'll absolutely love and use in their program. That way you have relatively good control over what they'll use. If I had a bad feeling after the interview, I refuse to sign the release and they can't use the footage.

Never sign a release before the interview (they will try) because then you are fair game and they know you are stupid and naive! So, with a bit of preparation and homework, if it actually quite fun and not dangerous at all being portrayed as a jerk. Live shows are a different beast and full of traps.

Also, if a news reporter calls you on the phone to ask you a few "quick questions", NEVER do it! Kindly ask for his name and phone number, ask him to send you a brief email what this is all about and promise to call him/her back within the hour. Do a quick Google search to find out if the phone number and organization was correct and call back after you are confident that you can answer the questions. That way you are protected that the person really is who he claims to be and have a chance to prepare.

One more thing: I was instructed by media insiders that "off the record" does not exist. Once you say something, you can never take it back and they WILL use it, so never say anything you will regret reading in the news or seeing on tv.
 
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