How to Conduct a TV News Interview
Successful TV news interviews require strong people skills alongside applied technical ability. You must interact with your interview participant in a professional and friendly manner, but also have the practical knowledge to manage the filming and audio equipment to an acceptable standard. Compelling news interviews are well-organized, factually accurate, appealingly framed and shown within a strong visual context. However, it's most important to ask questions which are relevant and revealing about the participant's character and opinion.
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Things You'll Need
- Video photographer or cameraman
- Video camera with tripod
- Video tape for recording interview
- Stick or lavalier microphone
Instructions
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Schedule and plan the interview. The person being interviewed should be the most relevant and primary source of the information you're trying to gather. For example, if you were interviewing a shop about its business prospects, arrange an interview with the owner rather than the supervisor. Arrange to meet the interviewee in a suitable and visually-relevant location, and ensure he feels comfortable being filmed for your report. Confirm how much time the participant will have available to speak, as this will help you structure the interview more effectively.
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Prepare a list of questions, and order them so the easier questions will be toward the beginning of the interview. This will help you build rapport with your interviewee, and often leads to more extensive answers when the questions become difficult.
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Dress appropriately and professionally for the interview. Meet the interviewee on time. Introduce yourself formally, and be polite.
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Set your equipment up. Use a tripod to maintain a stable shot, and always record some test footage to adjust for sound and light levels. Use a piece of white paper to set your camera's white balance, as this will make your camera interpret and record colors correctly.
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Frame the shot. The camera should be at the eye-level of the interviewee. Stand next to the camera while you conduct the interview. Encouraged the person you're interviewing to look at you when he's speaking, not into the camera's lens.
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Monitor audio levels. Assess whether noise from nearby traffic will be too loud. Test the microphone to make sure it can clearly record the interviewee's speech, but isn't visible within the shot. If you're recording the interview outdoors, use a windscreen on the microphone is avoid excess noise.
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Begin recording the interview. Allow the camera to record the interviewee for a few moments before anything is spoken so you have adequate preroll when editing the interview together. This preroll provides more opportunities to transition into the interview during the editing process, as footage of the participant not speaking is often useful for introductory voice-overs. Verify the interviewee's biographical information to make sure all the facts you broadcast about him are correct.
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Ask the interviewee's opinion about all relevant subjects. Encourage him to express his opinion about each point in full, followed by a brief summary. This will assist you in finding "sound bites." Actively listen to your interviewee, and show enthusiasm and interest about his words. This encourages him to continue speaking freely, as he'll be confident his words are being listened to.
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Ask follow-up questions. These should reference the answers which the participant has provided within previous questions, creating a sense of continuity in the interview. Allow adequate thinking time, and resist the urge to interrupt the interviewee or express your own opinion.
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Finish the interview and thank the interviewee for taking part.
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Record B-roll footage. These are shots that illustrate locations relevant to the interview, and may also show the interviewee performing his regular occupation. This puts the interview into context, and makes it more visually interesting.
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Tips & Warnings
TV Reporters normally have a photographer who will handle the camera and microphone for them. But if you're a "one-man-band," set your camera on a tripod, and use a wired or wireless lavalier for the interview.
References
- Photo Credit Digital Vision./Digital Vision/Getty Images
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Comments
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what are the structural starndards a broadcast interviews.
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which quistions will be ask in interview of be A news camera shooter. for example on which location u will set camera or at how zoom or how much distance.
