The Codes and

Conventions of Interviews

Camera:

• -Interviewee positioned to left or right of

frame.

• -When a lot of interviewees position shifts so

there’s a mixture of left and right.

• -Medium close up or close up are the most

common shot types. Big close up used

sometimes.

• -Interviewee looking at interviewer, not

directly as camera.

• -Position of interviewer is therefore crucial.

• -Interviewer should be on the same eyeline as interviewee.

• -Follow the rule of thirds.

• -Mise-en-scene reinforces content of interview or is relevant to the interviewee, providing more information about them in terms of occupation, personal environment etc.

• -Chromakey can be used to create mise-en-scene.

• -Interviewees seated on an ‘immovable chair’.

• -Filmed with the light source behind interviewee.

• -Questions are edited out.

• -Cutaways are edited into interviews for two reasons.

• 1) To avoid jump cuts.

• 2) To break up interview and illustrate what interviewee is talking about.

• -Cutaways are either archive material or something suggested by what the interviewee says and filmed later.

• -Sometimes aspects of an interview are filmed with another camera e.g. extreme close ups of eyes, mouth and hands and used as cutaways.

• -Graphics are used on screen to anchor who the person is and their relevance to the topic of the documentary.

• -Uses open questions, forces interviewee to give a longer opinion.