How to do a killer job

Write all of your questions down and create supplementary questions in case an answer, a good answer, is not forthcoming. Avoid questions that invite the single word answer 'yes' or 'no'.

If you ask 'Are you in favor of human cloning?' you will probably get a single word reply, which is not the idea at all.

Phrase your questions so that they lead the person being interviewed into expanding their views. 'Your book suggests that you are against human cloning. What are your views on this?' is much more likely to elicit a full and frank comment than the first question.

To avoid a 'yes' or 'no' answer use the tried and true journalist technique of asking who, what, why, how and when questions.

None of these can be answered with a straight 'yes' or 'no'.

Before the interview starts, you, the interviewer, must meet the subject and establish some sort of rapport. There are interviewers, a few, who can go in cold and get a good result. But they are few and far between.

The preliminary chat is, as it were, part of your research. With it you will establish the ability of the person being interviewed to talk, to express themselves, to answer questions.

It is possible that this preliminary talk will end in you modifying some of your questions.

In your preliminary chat avoid asking the specific questions you will be asking in the interview.

Instead, indicate general areas of interest. If you ask the specific questions the filmed interview will give an impression that it has been rehearsed.

Before you start your interview have your key questions laid out and ready. You need a certain amount of flexibility but most of the time you will find that your first and logical thoughts or question order is much better than one you compile while winging it.

There are two main ways of handling an interview.

The first is where the question is not heard and the questioner not seen. Instead, you get answers that are obviously directed at someone who is out of shot.

A series of answers like this can be edited together from either one person or several, to provide the effect of a continuous interview.

In this sort of interview you ask the question and then you keep quiet. If some sort of reaction is needed nod or shake your head vigorously or smile encouragement. If you speak you will have to be edited out afterwards. Which is not always easy.

This technique can be seen being used to magnificent effect in the movie 'When Harry Met Sally' which contains a series of such interviews with married couples describing their lives together.

The other type of interview is where you are both on screen in the manner of a normal conversation. This sort of interview can easily be covered with one camera.

Shoot the interviewee's answers first and then shoot the interviewer from where the interviewee has been sitting, asking exactly the same questions. At the end you do a series of 'noddies' that can be used for cutaways.

Common in interviews, this is a shot of the person listening and reacting to the subject. In fact, when shooting interviews with one camera, the usual routine is to shoot the subject (using Over the Shoulder or OSS and one-shots) for the entire interview, then shoot some noddies of the interviewer once the interview is finished. The noddies are edited into the interview later.

Another form of interviewing on video is vox pop - from vox populi, Latin for the voice of the people - are quick interviews with people in the street to demonstrate public opinion on a subject.

What you want to end up with is a series of statements that can be cut rapidly together and, in the end, give a clear indication of the current attitude on a subject.

The key to making such an interview work is to get the person relaxed. Try to film them in a familiar surrounding so that they do not feel threatened. Keep the camera work and the lighting as unobtrusive as possible.

The first question should be a sound level check and should be totally innocuous.

Start the interview very gently in a chat mode and always move from soft to hard questions imperceptibly.

Do not start like gangbusters or the interviewee will clam up or, in the worst case, walk off. It happens in the real world.

At the end of the interview you might ask “Is there some question you would like me to have asked that I have missed out on?”

This allows the subject to expand on a point or deal with an area they feel has been skipped. It is quite remarkable how often you will get an excellent and usable response after that last question.

Start off with a long shot of the person being interviewed facing the interviewer. The interviewer's back appears, which gives a three-dimensional aspect to the shot and gets the scene in context for the viewer.

Change the shot sizes in rhythm with the questions. New question, new framing. Don’t be afraid to use the zoom.

To make the interview more interesting change the shot size as a new question is asked. That is, switch off, zoom in from, say, mid shot to close-up, and then resume filming again.

Use different backgrounds and different eye lines.

Note carefully that subjects can move backwards and forwards when making a point and may even wave arms around in the air and you need to be prepared for this so they are always in shot. That the camera does not cut off parts of their bodies. Armless interviewees may be harmless interviewees but that is not the point of the exercise.

Find a good backdrop for conducting the video interview. Ideally, you'll have a location that illustrates something about the person you are interviewing, such as their classroom or office. Make sure that the background is attractive and not too cluttered.

If you can't find a suitable backdrop for the video interview, you can always seat your subject in front of a blank wall.

Depending on the location of your video interview, you may want to set up some lights. A basic three-point lighting setup can really enhance the look of your video interview.

If you're working without a light kit, just use whatever lamps are available to adjust the lighting. Make sure that your subject's face is brightly lit, without any odd shadows.

Set up your video camera on a tripod at eye-level with your interview subject. The camera should only be three or four feet from the subject. That way, the interview will be more like a conversation and less like an interrogation.

Use the camera's eyepiece or viewfinder to check the exposure and lighting of the scene. Practice framing your subject in a wide shot, medium shot and close up, and make sure that everything in the frame looks right.

Ideally, you'll have a wireless lavaliere microphone for recording the video interview. Clip the mic to the subject's shirt so that it's out of the way but provides clear audio.

A lavaliere microphone will not get a good recording of you asking the interview questions. Use another lav mic for yourself, or a microphone attached to the camera, if you want the interview questions recorded as well as the answers.

Seat yourself right next to the camcorder on the side with the flip-out screen. This way, you can subtly monitor the video recording without directing your attention away from the video interview subject.

Instruct your interview subject to look at you, and not directly into the camera. This will give your interview a more natural look, with the subject looking slightly off camera.

Press record, do the pre-roll and start asking your video interview questions. Make sure to give your subject plenty of time to think about and frame their answers; don't just jump in with another question at the first pause in conversation.

As the interviewer, you need to be completely quiet while your interview subject is answering questions. You can respond with support and empathy by nodding or smiling, but any verbal responses will make editing the interview very difficult.

Since we don't (currently) have a lav mic, you must use the camcorder's built in microphone for the video interview. Just make sure the interview is done in a quiet space and that your subject speaks loudly and clearly.

Change up the framing between questions, so that you have a variety of wide, medium and close up shots. This will make it easier to edit different segments of the interview together, while avoiding awkward jump cuts.

Definition: A editing cut that breaks the continuity of time by jumping forward from one part of an action to another.

When you finish the video interview, leave the camera rolling for a few extra minutes if you have the option.

It is shown that people relax when it's all over and start talking more comfortably than they did during the interview. These moments can yield great sound bites.

How you edit the video interview depends on its purpose. If it's purely archival, you can just transfer the whole tape to DVD without editing. Or, you may want to watch the footage and choose the best stories and sound bites. You can put these together in any order, with or without narration, and add b-roll or transitions to cover any jump cuts.

Find your interviewee a comfortable chair to sit in. This will help them be more relaxed in front of the camera.

Ask your interviewee to remove any bracelets or jewelry that could clank together and disturb the audio recording.

Check the frame closely to make sure there are no background objects poking out from behind your subject's head.