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3 Tips for Getting a Good Documentary Interview

3 Tips for Getting a Good Documentary Interview Be prepared. Be curious. And be you. ; LEARN MORE through our online film school. “I think an interview, properly considered, should be an investigation.” I’ve spent the past few years moonlighting as a local reporter. My background’s in screenwriting, so it’s a job I came to kind of accidentally (someday I’ll write a book about it)! But in any case, I’ve learned a great deal – especially about the importance of a good interview. Meanwhile, documentary filmmaking is a world I know well. As a teacher with Lights Film School, I’ve had the opportunity to guide students from their first documentary proposals to finished products. And I’ve also found myself a collaborator with and champion of a particular documentary filmmaker, Garret Harkawik, to whom I happen to be married! In 2011, Garret began making short documentaries, many of which are interview-driven. The more I’ve worked in my newspaper gig, the more insights I’ve gleaned into Garret’s films, and the more we’ve begun to discuss where our work intersects and where it differs. And when it comes to interview techniques, I’ve found there’re far more intersections than differences. Naturally, we’re here today to discuss documentary filmmaking. That is the heart of this piece. But as I’ve grown and done my own research into the art of the interview, I’ve learned that there are a surprising number of interview tenets that hold true across mediums – film, television, journalism, podcasts, you name...

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Published By: Lights Film School Blog - Monday, 24 June, 2019

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