Video: Interviews

Example

Steve Harvey interviews President Barack Obama

Preparing for Interviews

  1. Research and know your interview subject well

  2. Prepare more than enough questions and prioritize them - which do you want most?

  3. Confirm with your subjects how to pronounce their names properly

  4. Do you communicate with your subjects beforehand? Give them some questions to prepare for? Ask them what they want to highlight in the interview?

Writing Questions

  1. Write open-ended questions that relate to your subject's background and interests (avoid "Yes or No" questions)

  2. Write reflection questions like, "What were some of the hurdles you faced?"

  3. It's okay to ask questions that you know the answer to! You may get more insight or a surprise.

  4. May want to make questions "Evergreen" - not referring to specific upcoming dates - so the show can be aired anytime in the future

Hosting Interviews

  1. Make your subject comfortable

  2. Introduce your subject with some good background information

  3. Give your subject and your audience some information about what will be covered in the interview

  4. The interview is a conversation between you and your subject, rather than a list of questions and answers

  5. Lead off with easier "softball" questions

  6. Then go with more challenging questions

  7. Listen and think about your subject's responses

  8. Interviews are dynamic - go with the questions that will flow best with the story that you build together

  9. Be prepared to ask unscripted follow-up questions, like how something felt.

  10. Be patient when they respond, allow them some time

Recording Interviews

  1. Framing - use rule of thirds; if they are on the right of the frame, have them look to their right

  2. Having them face the camera head-on is called "confessional style."

  3. Have camera zoom in on subject when they get emotional or reveal something

  4. Hand signals with director - can tell camera to go tighter, zoom in, wide, medium

  5. Don't always show the mouth of the subject, can close up on other things, or the person's hands - then you have footage if you need to cut some dialog out

  6. People deliver better content when they think they aren't on camera, so good to keep the camera rolling after the director calls cut

  7. Minors under 18 years of age need a note of consent