Interviewing self-conscious/shy people?

S

SGCman

Member
A lot of times people I interview (non-actors) will make comments about their appearance or worry about looking bad on camera, which I worry could result in a less open/comfortable interview for them.

Any tips you can give to help make people feel better about how they're going to look on camera?
 
Just a few off the top of my head...

Give them pointers on what to wear (ex. no bright red dresses, no houndstooth jackets that will moire, etc.,)
Have a makeup person there (even for the guys)
Turn off/cover up the tally light (assuming the camera has one)
Casually start the camera while chit chatting and then ease into the questions.
If you are working with a crew figure out silent/subtle signals to give each other because the less 'set speak' ("rolling", "action", "hold for airplane" etc.,) the interviewee hears the more comfortable they will probably be. You want them to focus on their conversation with you, not with all the 'hollywood' stuff that's going on around them.


-Andrew
 
Do you think the people who are worried about looking bad, actually look bad?

If you are in charge, then your interview subjects are putting their image in your hands. If you think they look bad, then they will subtly pick up on your lack of confidence in them.

You can't make everybody perfectly beautiful, but you can help to make people look their own personal best. If you are confident in your abilities to do this, and you assure them that they will be happy with how they look, then they will be relaxed.
 
Excellent advice from Adkimery above. I might add, from my personal experience as a one-man band, that I usually explained my setup, (as I was positioning or turning on lights, etc.), "I'm moving my backlight, which will separate your profile from the background-making you look better…" I like to think that letting the subjects know what some of the physical production equipment are for serves as a reassurance, and offers time to get acquainted, and that you are committed to making them look as good as possible. Also, as a one-man band, I didn't interview the subject 'head on,' using a monitor for me to refer to during the interview, trying not to 'tweak' framing too often.
 
Adkimery pretty much said it all. I try and make sure I've got lots of extra time to interview "difficult" subjects, so I might schedule 60 minutes to shoot a 10 minute interview, and will sometimes chat for 15-20 minutes with my subject in front of the camera before I get into the actual interview. ( this doesn't work with executives that have limited time, but then they are usually ready to turn it on and off in front of the camera so a 10 minute interview will actually take 10 minutes to shoot ) I also make sure that I stand well above or to the side of my camera so that they can talk to me and not the camera.

Teleprompters can also make a big difference, but I never use scripted text, instead I put use PowerPoint to put up bullet-points of the topics they want to cover and let the subject put things into their own words. ( they can usually supply me with their PPT file which I reformat to large white text on a black background to make it easy to read ) This takes away a lot of stress from people that are worried about not remembering what they want to say. I also give them the computer remote to advance each screen of bullet-points at their own pace. This gives people some sense that they have control over the process and the speed at which they have to talk.

I once shot someone who had to give a 5 minute presentation, which took 22 takes to get it right without a teleprompter. For the next shoot I brought my teleprompter and they nailed another 5 minute presentation in only 2 takes. ( the second take was a back-up, so I could have just gone with the first take )
 
If it's purely a 'I don't understand or trust all this lighting and makeup stuff' issue, you could try filming a casual test shot (them talking about the weather or what they had for breakfast), which you then play back to them so they can see for themselves that they look fine.

 
A lot of this depends on the interviewer as much as the person being interviewed. Your mood will reflect in the subject. If you're nervous, they'll be nervous. Inspire confidence and they'll be confident that you're not going to make them look bad. Chat with them for a bit and make some kind of connection. Share a dumb joke. Everyone's style is a little different, but if you're a people person you'll be fine. If you're not, then see if you can get someone else that they're comfortable with to ask the questions.
Sometimes you'll have weird situations where you'll have to get creative. I had to film a little kid who was completely terrified of the camera. As in he thought that camera was literally going to shoot him. Parents were not helping. I found a little stuffed monkey and introduced him as Fred the Monkey. I told the kid Fred the Monkey's entire backstory and then I put Fred on top of my camera. Fred was going to ask the questions instead of me, so just talk to Fred. The kid smiled, focused on the monkey on top of my lens and the rest of the shoot was a breeze.
 
If the interview goes south because they are nervous, tell them great job, it's a wrap. Take a few minutes to talk about something else and drink some water as they decompress. Then say, hey, do you mind doing a question over because there was a camera problem. Repeat the interview.
 
I recently developed a little trick that works like gangbusters!

If it is a shoot that allows for the time, do this at the beginning: Invite them to make a video greeting or message of ANY kind they want for ANY of their friends or family members that they might want to. This gives them an opportunity to BE IN CONTROL of the whole thing for a moment. It has been amazing how much this loosens subjects up and gets them comfortable with the process. And that's what you want.
Of course you DO have to make provisions to get them the footage of that greeting or message they made..
 
DPStewart said:
I recently developed a little trick that works like gangbusters!

If it is a shoot that allows for the time, do this at the beginning: Invite them to make a video greeting or message of ANY kind they want for ANY of their friends or family members that they might want to. This gives them an opportunity to BE IN CONTROL of the whole thing for a moment. It has been amazing how much this loosens subjects up and gets them comfortable with the process. And that's what you want.
Of course you DO have to make provisions to get them the footage of that greeting or message they made..
Click to expand...
That's a clever idea, Dane... If I can I try to meet the person beforehand (on a different day) without filming and have a chat/coffee. Obviously, sometimes this isn't possible but it helps to put the person at ease...
 
adkimery said:
Just a few off the top of my head...

Give them pointers on what to wear (ex. no bright red dresses, no houndstooth jackets that will moire, etc.,)
Have a makeup person there (even for the guys)
Turn off/cover up the tally light (assuming the camera has one)
Casually start the camera while chit chatting and then ease into the questions.
If you are working with a crew figure out silent/subtle signals to give each other because the less 'set speak' ("rolling", "action", "hold for airplane" etc.,) the interviewee hears the more comfortable they will probably be. You want them to focus on their conversation with you, not with all the 'hollywood' stuff that's going on around them.


-Andrew
Click to expand...

Id sit on the other side..

Say TURNING and CUT - Tally - keep it on - don't steal shots if you want to keep trust
Scrap the subtle signals, make it professional and formal amongst the crew.. professional and slick builds trust. Rhythm builds trust.
Hold for the plane.. re-assure them that you are holding for the plane.. not because they are doing something wrong.
Be professional, set the 'holywood gear' up fast, dont re-set it while they are 'in' (maybe set with a standin first)
No faff with flat batteries, dodgy HDMI leads,
 
TheDingo said:
which took 22 takes to get it right
Click to expand...

Samuel L Jackson can deliver a 5 min PTC, Joe from Joes Garage cannot.

The amateurs here were the f*ck brained production company that allowed the concept of 5 min oner with non pro talent past the story board stage.

Obviously the subject fluffed it - he never should have been subjected to a tightrope walk of that nature.

Film amateurs in the way that works.. small soundbites, heavily directed and cut together with noddies, non synch wides, cutaways and Broll.

S
 
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morgan_moore said:
Samuel L Jackson can deliver a 5 min PTC, Joe from Joes Garage cannot.
The amateurs here were the f*ck brained production company that allowed the concept of 5 min oner with non pro talent past the story board stage.Obviously the subject fluffed it - he never should have been subjected to a tightrope walk of that nature. Film amateurs in the way that works.. small soundbites, heavily directed and cut together with noddies, non synch wides, cutaways and Broll.
Click to expand...

I've been shooting these 5-10 minute presentations with this client for 3-4 years now, and all of their other presenters can usually get it done in 1-4 takes. These are presentations that they have developed themselves and one that they will present at least two or three dozen times or more over the course of the year. I was hired specifically to let the presenters do their thing in front of the camera with as little interference as possible. ( people that used to film these things before I came along did the heavily directed thing and they were not re-hired because the end result did not look as smooth or natural as a single continuous take )

Since the 22 take disaster I've convinced the client that the teleprompter is absolutely necessary and they've agreed to cover the extra cost, and this has pretty much guaranteed no more than 2 takes when shooting. For me the introduction of the teleprompter made a huge difference when filming the performance of shy / nervous non-professional presenters.
 
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