The Interview Process

When creating a video that contains a storyline, your interview is the most important part. If you have a good interview with quality sound bites, this will make your life easier when creating the package. If your interviewee is comfortable and you come off as personable, everything will go as planned.

There are several things that will go into a good interview. I created a list to show my personal opinions on which are most important. These tips will include pre-interview, present interview, and post-interview. 

1. Your setup

Your chosen spot for an interview can mean a lot of things. It needs to have some correlation to your story, but it also needs to be quiet. If you're in a public place with a bunch of people, the chances of your interviewee opening up to you are slim. If the setting is quiet and it's just the two of you, then you have a high chance of getting a good interview.

2. Prepare your technology

 Prepare everything that you'll need to conduct an interview. Make sure your camera angle is on point, audio is at the right level, your computer is charged, the lights are in the right spots, and every setting is at its correct degree. This will give your interviewee a sense of importance because you're all ready to proceed without any distractions. If you're messing around with your technology during the interview, then your respondent is likely to be annoyed.

3. Warm Up To Each other

Have you ever met somebody that can open up to a complete stranger? Neither have I. At the start of your interview, ask your person some warm up questions. Ask how their day is going and make yourself seem personable. Hopefully by the end of this step your interviewee is comfortable enough to inform you on additions to your story. Without this step, you may never break the ice with your subject.

4. The Questions Being Asked

Obviously your questions need to be relevant to the story you're trying to tell. If they aren't, then you honestly just wasted your time. Also, the questions you're asking need be at least level two worthy. This means asking your interviewee a non yes or no question. Hopefully the person isn't too shy and gives you soundbites other than "Yes" or "No". The yes and no answers are the hardest to incorporate in your story... their essentially a journalists nightmare.

5. Following up

After a couple weeks go by, try and get in touch with your respondent. It shows them that you actually care about what's going on in their life, and it also makes you seem amiable. You're basically building a relationship with the person, so it's always nice to follow up with your interviewee a couple weeks after the actual interview. Besides, getting to know others is never a bad idea.