How to ask question during interviews?

[ReelFilmGeek]

So I wanted to see if anyone had tips on how to ask questions to help get answers and maybe some go to questions that you use? I know every documentary is different but would love some advice as I would like to get into shooting more documentaries.

 

[Agafilm]

Practice, first off.

I do a lot of interviews, and subjects generally thank me afterwards for making it so painless. My style is conversational. I don't have a list of questions, and I strongly discourage subjects from bringing scripts. Sometimes they do anyway. What I have instead is a list of broad bullet point categories, which I want to make sure to hit on. But I get to them in the flow of the conversation. It takes longer than having a list, but I find that it ends up with a natural result, and helps get rid of nervousness people might have. This of course depends on your subject; professional public speakers, for example, don't need my help.

My first question is always the same, every time: What is your name, and (if relevant), your organization?

The second question depends on the subject, but you want to keep it very superficial at first. Get the logistics out of the way, facts and definitions (what does this organization do, etc). Then, as the conversation continues, feel free to take tangents, and pay attention to where the meat of the story might be. Because people always think they know the story they want to tell, but if you want the real meaning behind it you need to dig deeper. One of my tricks, if I feel like the person is being too wooden and worried about the camera, is to answer the questions myself. I might tell them my experience with the subject, or ask for more details as though I'm asking for myself and not the camera. Be natural.

Last weekend I made a woman cry at the end of our interview. She apologized, and I told her not to; that's how I know I was successful. She was very happy with it in the end.

Remember that your talking to people who have unique, interesting stories to tell. I guess that's my main advice on the matter. After enough practice, you don't really have to think about it anymore.

 

[Alex H.]

This may sound cliché, but there's a reason that "who, what, why, when, where, and how" became a standard phrase. Those are basic, but when you go in without a script (script recommended for promotional pieces, not often for documentary) they really are your most effective starting points. As Agafilm points out, get the basics out of the way and you'll find the interest in your story. Improvise from there.

I'd add that setting the tone before you hit record is also important. Chit-chat. Keep it low-stress, and talk about anything other than the interview topic for a couple of minutes during final frame/focus and sound check. Talk about the weather, about travel, about food. Just get them conversing on a more personal (and less intimidating) level.

And don't forget to give them some helpful parameters. My typical pre-record rundown goes something like, "Don't worry about the camera. Keep eye contact with me. Also, my voice won't be heard in the final edit, so please work the question back into the answer to make a complete statement. For example, if I ask you what your favorite color is, you would say... ?"

And they'll usually respond correctly, "My favorite color is... "

"Excellent! You're already a pro at this."

Smile (when appropriate), and focus on them more and on your note pad less. You can log the interviews later, so keep a personal and interested level of eye contact as much as you can. And always stay away from yes/no questions! Bad: "Was this a life-changing event?" Good: "Tell me what impact this had on you. How did it change your life?"

 

[Publimix]

As you see there are different kinds of interview. Is it news, , fun facts or personal. Is the interviewer part of the image or not. Is there a voice over. When the interviewer is part of the documentary you have to make differtent shots, (listen shots of interviewer and the person that is interviewed, extra shots interviewer asking questions etc.)

When you do it well, your footage and your sound can be used for almost all forms above.
You can choose to tell the subject the questions you are going to ask.

And prepare your questions. It is a choice to prepare the questions with your subject or not. So many choices....


succes.

 

[SGCman]

Definitely make sure you try and "connect" in a genuine way. If you look away or look at questions, you may lose them.
Let them know that it's just a conversation, make them feel as comfortable as possible - this really does have to be genuine... basically just be a people person.

If you really suck at being a "people person," you could always consider hiring (or asking a friend) someone to conduct the interviews for you.

Also - Keep the camera rolling after the interview is over... sometimes people relax even more when the interview is done and they end up just having a conversation that contains usable footage/soundbytes. Obviously you want to be able to get that during the actual interview, but some people just can't get as comfortable when on camera.

 

[ericyoung]

Great answers! Thanks for sharing :smile:

 

[doubledark]

If it's ok, could I ask what questions would you ask an architect about one specific(small, low-budget) building?

 

[paulears]

Before rehearse comes research. The best interviews have the questioner already aware of the answer, or perhaps the trouble they will have answering it. Interviewing cold allows the interviewee to control the discussion, as you don't know what is coming, and if they have a cause, this is where they push. You also need to assess the person. How able are they, how happy are they to be honest? It's fine to plan stories with them but not the actual questions. You can also get it wrong, when you really should know. I got thrown a low ball in an interview I did, and answered truthfully, I named somebody I personally find difficult, and described another as a grandad. I should have known better, but the televised bit was an edit of a twenty minute chat, and I started to not think about the questions.

 

[Michael Carter]

One of the toughest situations is getting "in context" answers - where you don't want the questions in the edit. Ask someone "what was the weather like" and they say "it was rainy" when you want "the weather that night was rainy". It takes a while to get people to get second nature with that. I'll explain it, they get it, but it can be tough to break into a conversation when you know you'll need more context. Often I'll just hold up a finger and say "context" with a smile.

I also really try to get people to take a breath before answering so there's no overlap in a no-interviewer edit. usually at the end of the question, I'll sort of lift a hand in a slight "pause" gesture" and take an exaggerated breath.

One thing people don't mention often is eye-line in a one-man shoot. If you want the off-camera gaze, it can be really tough to check focus and framing. Even with a 5" HDMI in your lap, the minute you look down you signal "you're not holding my interest". I usually try to have someone on hand to sit and make eye contact - listen. Even the secretary or whatever.

I've done some corporate gigs for recruiting, where we interview employees about how awesome the company is. They're often terrified, even when they love it there. I'll turn off the tally light, do the interview, and if they seemed uptight, I'll say "I think that's got it, you were great", press a random button, and then say "wow, everyone I've interviewed seems really happy here" (but keep rolling). I got some epic, emotional stuff from a woman who was shy and stiff while "rolling". She explained how the place had totally changed her life - because she wasn't thinking of the camera. Cheating, yeah, but damn, the client was happy.

Other than that - getting strangers to feel open and at ease with you is a skill that's very useful, regardless of cameras. You have to really like talking to strangers. My wife says "god, you can even get people to open up on an elevator ride!!!" If you're truly interested in people, humanity, all of that - if you can make bikers, homeless people, CEOs, average joes - all feel like you're interested in their story, it's a nice thing to have going through life, interviews or not.

And… I think it may have been Werner Herzog who said "People want to talk. Just be quiet like you expect more". People will talk to fill a conversational void.