Interviews: My rules

During Easter, a friend of mine and I both wanted to practice filming so for me I could learn by doing in my spare time. I was thinking about documentary filming and went to an old age home in Hendon, North London. I called up a few days before I went to arrange a suitable time and day, and i went on a Friday morning with  a Canon 5D Mark ii, tripod, a tungsten light and a digital camera.

The first four stills was with the dslr. For my first time interviews i could already see ways of improving it. The light was over exposed, a bit out of focus as i used automatic zoom. I would have been able to get more control over the sharpness of the subject, and less noise with a lower iso.

The last three stills i shot on a digital camera. I was inspired by Keanu Reeves documentary Side by Side where the cameraman had both the main subject and Keanu, the interviewer in the same shot. There were also close ups and different angle shots used with various other cameras. The quality was lacking as i was not able to use a second dslr, and i would use a second tripod instead of hand held.

The positioning of my subjects and attention to details in the background was with great deal of thought. I spent 10 minutes in one of the old age home rooms placing tea cups on the side table next to the chair, opening the curtain slightly to allow more light shining on the subject. The tungsten light was set up next to the curtain to enhance more light on the subject, but I over exposed the room slightly.

For my COP i wanted to further explore and practice an interview for a documentary. I improved the quality of sound with a mic, purposely placed in a studio as I was on the topic of music. I placed the camera in 3 different positions before i started recording to search for the most eye pleasing perspective. The third still was the final position i stuck with. The natural light shining in was contrasting with the dark technology boasting interesting lined shaped shadows. The mic and reflection in the screen distracts your eye a tiny bit to balance out picture. I used a Canon Mark iii for the interview with Stephen Burns

Below is the Side by side documentary trailer produced by Keanu Reeves as he gains access interviewing the biggest actors, cinematographers and directors in the business. He goes in search of the rise of digital cameras.

It is quite a casual interview, where the interviewer and interviewee have shared respect for eachother as many actors do for eachother in Hollywood. They are both captured in the same shot at times using multiple camera. I have tried to incorporate this similar style when filming in the old age home to keep the viewer as interested as possible by selecting interesting visuals.