Documentary Interview Preparation

The Pre-Interview: Where Real Conversation Begins

The anchor of any documentary or corporate testimonial is the interview, so why wouldn't you do everything possible to make it as strong as possible?

A recent corporate case study shoot in Cape Town

The pre-interview is a meeting with your interviewee before the day of filming, it can be done online or in person. The real point of it is to glean insights from your interviewee and, most importantly, develop a trusting rapport. All of this will lead to a far better, conversation based interview on the day of filming. So, from my years of experience conducting interviews, here are the important pre-interview steps to consider.

Documentary Interview Preparation Steps

Schedule It — Give it the time it needs

The pre-interview needs proper time, at least an hour and if it's a longer form documentary, schedule a series of meetings, each with a specific focus. I generally use Google Meet and record the the session — make sure to get permission from your subject.

Do Your Homework

Research the person you're interviewing, go online, LinkedIn, their website, just make sure you've taken the time to do the spade work. People react really well when they know you've taken timeout to learn about them and their business.

Prepare Five Pivotal Questions

Have 5 pivotal questions prepared for the pre-interview; questions that reflect how you see the bigger story. Think of these as seeds for the narrative thread. What you want to do is develop trust and mine where the real story lies.

Keep It Honest and Authentic

Don't go in like a bull in a china shop. Your objective here is to show your interviewee that you're human, you're interested, and their story matters. Think of it a the first date, try to get them to do most of the talking and follow the conversation, you'll be amazed at what new information will begin to materialize. Remember to take notes of the important things. The objective is simple, find commonalities and develop trust. Read more on how to film better interviews.

Save the Emotional Questions for Camera

If you're working on an emotional story, or have emotional questions, try to steer to only touching on the subject. Don't go too deep or a lot of your emotional gold will be spent — Protect those moments. Save them for the camera and lens.

Be Responsible

What we do is a privilege, as documentary filmmakers we are entrusted with other people's stories. There's a fine line between drawing out someone's story honestly and involuntarily manipulating it. Make sure to check yourself and stay on the right side of the line.

Listen — Really Listen

What I've learned from years of interviewing people is that most people want to talk. They want to share their story. They're just not sure if you want to hear it. So listen, really listen. Once your subject realizes you are genuinely listening and interested — you'll see deeper layers to their story open up and with it a fuller and richer story to capture on camera during the day of the shoot.

Mine the Transcript

Go through the transcript and your meeting notes and begin to put your questions together for the interview shoot. Use a marker pen and extract standout answers, expressions or stories and mold them into the questions or parts of the desired answers you're looking for. For me, this is such an important part of process, it allows me to arrive at the shoot with a richer plan, a fuller story and an interviewee who's calmer, more open and more trusting of the person asking the questions, you.

At Incubate Productions, every project begins with a conversation. If you're planning a documentary or corporate film and want to talk through your story, we'd love to hear it. Also check out our 10 Corporate Video Tips and Corporate Video — What to Expect. Get in touch at incubatevideo.co.za.