I just finished editing my first ever interview! It was quite something. My partner and I decided to interview an artist I know named Peter Shank. Before actually conducting the interview, we studied the process in class. Compositionally, the subject sits so their eyes line up with an upper third intersection of the imaginary Rule of Third Grid, which draws attention to their face. Additionally, they face toward the empty space in the shot, which allows the viewer to see them in an open, relaxed way. Furthermore, the camera points over the interviewer's shoulder at an angle so that the interviewee doesn't look directly into the camera, and the interviewer isn't in the shot. Finally, Mr Goble taught us that the best questions are open-ended, and allow the interviewee to die a long explanation. All of these lesson seem obvious now, but I never would have known them if Mr. Goble hadn't shown us. Before the interview even started, I realized that one should schedule far in advance, a lesson I unfortunately learned as I tried to move my interview time the day it was going to happen. Fortunately, Mr. Shank was extraordinarily kind and flexible, which highlights a second lesson: always try to interview someone friendly if you don't have much experience. That way, they're more likely to forgive your first-time mistakes. When I conducted the interview (I was the interviewer, my partner was the cameraman), I discovered that the subject tells the story, and that the interview should go wherever they want. In fact, I only asked around five questions the entire time. Finally, I learned that it is to best be courteous but unafraid to make requests. After all, you know what format of footage you can use and how to get it, but the subject probably doesn't. After reviewing the footage, I wish I could have been a little more conscientious at times, and that I could have requested that Mr. Shank do certain things differently. For example, I noticed that he kept gazing off towards the camera when he talked, so I should have either changed the camera angle of asked him to gaze the other way. However, all over all, I'm very happy with how the interview came out and very grateful to Mr. Shank for his time and his story. See the video here.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorBlog posts about my projects from the creator. Archives
November 2018
Categories |