Interview techniques
There are many different styles
of interviews to fit different purposes, including:
Hard news style- This type of
interview normally covers serious subject manner in a serious manner.
Investigative- This type of
interview is often found on crime programmes and even docudramas.
Light-hearted- This type of
interview is friendly in nature and may include humour. The Jonathan Ross Show
has light-hearted interviews because he uses his humour to entertain the
interviewees; opening them up and getting them to feel acquainted, thus making
them more willing to “spill the beans”.
Question types
There are many different question types to fit different purposes, including:
Open- This type of question requires the interviewee to elaborate.
Closed- The type of question only requires a yes, no or don't know answer.
Multiple- This is a question that includes more than one question.
Direct- These questions are used to get information. They are clear and straight to the point. They are often used in Investigative interviews.
Leading- This is a question that leads the interviewee into the more daring questions. It is usually the first question and is designed to make the interviewee feel comfortable before the questions get more probing and personal.
Evolution of interview techniques
Today, the world of television is dominated by light-hearted interviews, but before this, the interviews were a lot harder to go through for the interviewees.
Interviews were, at first, quite easy going, but then interviewers wanted to go for a hard-news style. Suddenly, interviews were appearing where the interviewees were being made to become uncomfortable and emotional right off the bat.
Over the years, several different types of interview have appeared, though light-hearted interviews have prevailed recently.
My documentary
As my production is about art on the Isle of Wight, the style of interview will be light-hearted because the subject matter is very general and devoid of controversy and investigative because the questions are going into the artists’ personal lives. As the questions aren't included in the final film, the interview sound bites included in the film are psuedo-monologues.
Combative- In this type of
interview, the interviewer and interviewee argue with each other.
Interview below, political analyst and presenter Laurence O'Donnel has an argumentative interview with politician Anthony Weiner.
Interview below, political analyst and presenter Laurence O'Donnel has an argumentative interview with politician Anthony Weiner.
Promotional- You can often see
this type of interview in film featurettes. A promotional interview is designed
to promote a product. A person involved in the creation of the product will be
interviewed about it, giving good publicity along the way by making positive
comments on it. This type of interview is usually not as natural as the other
types. The person may even be paid to speak positively about the product when
they actually feel the opposite about it.
In the interview below, Director James Cameron talks about Titanic (1997) and the special effects used to bring it to life.
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In the interview below, Director James Cameron talks about Titanic (1997) and the special effects used to bring it to life.
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Question types
There are many different question types to fit different purposes, including:
Open- This type of question requires the interviewee to elaborate.
Closed- The type of question only requires a yes, no or don't know answer.
Multiple- This is a question that includes more than one question.
Direct- These questions are used to get information. They are clear and straight to the point. They are often used in Investigative interviews.
Leading- This is a question that leads the interviewee into the more daring questions. It is usually the first question and is designed to make the interviewee feel comfortable before the questions get more probing and personal.
Evolution of interview techniques
Today, the world of television is dominated by light-hearted interviews, but before this, the interviews were a lot harder to go through for the interviewees.
Interviews were, at first, quite easy going, but then interviewers wanted to go for a hard-news style. Suddenly, interviews were appearing where the interviewees were being made to become uncomfortable and emotional right off the bat.
Over the years, several different types of interview have appeared, though light-hearted interviews have prevailed recently.
My documentary
As my production is about art on the Isle of Wight, the style of interview will be light-hearted because the subject matter is very general and devoid of controversy and investigative because the questions are going into the artists’ personal lives. As the questions aren't included in the final film, the interview sound bites included in the film are psuedo-monologues.
