INTERVIEWS
group one:Kai and Sloan
DP
I was the director of photography for this interview while Sloan was interviewed by Kai. I worked with the camera a bunch last year, I was the DP for almost every single project I worked on. This year I'm relinquishing that a little bit, with directing and writing for the fall film instead of filming it. However, due to the time I spent with the camera its a job I'm really comfortable doing. We used a t5i for this interview, and we had the lighting on auto so I didn't mess around with iso. I'm used to working with the 7D but it wasn't a huge difference since they're both canon cameras. To set up the shot, I used the rule of thirds tried to keep a decent amount of space above her head so the shot didn't look crowded.
INTERVIEWEE
As always, I'm very awkward to interview! I noticed that I laugh a lot and say "um" quite a bit- which sucks for whoever is editing. However, I think Sloan put a lot of work into this interview and covered up most of my mistakes. I wish that I didn't touch my hair so much, or move around. I also noticed that I talk with my hands and move my body a lot when I'm speaking. All in all, I definitely prefer being behind the camera to in front of the camera.
INTERVIEWER
This process reminded me of how important pre-production is! What I've realized is that I'm not good at thinking of questions on the spot, unless I'm asking questions that relate to a previous answer. I always want the interview to have some sort of story, to have some sort of goal. However, this is kind of impossible with a short interview where I'm not asking certain to get specific answers. For this interview, Sloan actually helped me think of questions- which gave me the storyline about his old home. I also want to make sure that when I do my real documentary, I have a real
chair to sit on so that my interviewee isn't looking up really far into space.
group two:Tessa and Oscar
DP
The only thing I would change about my shot composition is maybe having her a little smaller in the frame- adding more room above her head. The flowers behind her kind of looking like they're sticking out of her head but I don't think it really detracts from the overall shot. For this interview, I walked Tessa through the Tascam and audio setup (adjusting sound levels, where to clip the mic on the interviewee's shirt, etc) so that she would be able to do it when I was being interviewed. I want to try more shot compositions for my documentary, with two camera shots and do a variety of distances from the interviewee. Maybe I can do three camera interviews at some points, with one showing full body, then cut to a medium shot, and then have the third handheld camera for more intimate and interesting shots.
INTERVIEWEE
I tried to give more full answers to these questions- although it felt like I just started rambling after a while. I just know it's really difficult to create a cohesive video when the person you're interviewing gives a few words as an answer. Althought I was a little bit more comfortable being on camera since Oscar was interviewing me, I still felt awkward and uncomfortable being in front of the camera instead of behind it. For this film, I also helped Oscar with editing a little bit (I showed him luma and helped him color correct). This was the only interview where I didn't run through sound with the person who was working the camera because I had shown both Oscar and Tessa previously.
INTERVIEWER
For this interview, I helped Oscar set up the camera (asked him whether or not he wanted to adjust the angle/height of the camera) and showed him how to use the Tascam (adjusting sound levels, where to clip the mic on the interviewee's shirt, etc). For the most part, I tried to ask questions that related to the previous answer as it gives the overall interview more cohesion. For editing, I used luma (just because I've gotten used to using it and I think its a really easy way to get good color correction). One thing I noticed was that Tessa didn't make eye contact with me, she kept looking around and looking at other things, which I felt was kind of awkward- but it's all about making sure that the person you're interviewing is comfortable with you and comfortable in front of the camera.