How to: Get a brilliant interview

Interviewing is an essential part of your Make Works skillset, whether you are filming or not. If you are filming, the interview questions can be a useful reference to loosen up the person you are meeting and get them to tell you more about themselves, which may be useful information for future communications beyond the listing.

Here are some factory-specific interviewing tips for making a Make Works film:

Find a quiet space

When you are working out where to film your interview it is best to find somewhere quiet - even if it is not the most visually pleasing option. The most important part of a Make Works interview is the sound and things like machinery noise, radios and workers in the background can make editing really difficult.

It is also worth trying to get any extra people out of the room as you are interviewing. People are already nervous about being on camera, and feel more self conscious with their business partner of employees watching.

Ask the interviewee to look at you, not the camera

Getting your interviewee to feel comfortable is one of the most important things you can do to get natural, believable or passionate answers. Explaining that the sound is more important than the visuals can often put your interviewee at ease - but most importantly you need to make sure the person concentrates on you, the interviewer, rather than the camera lens. This works visually to make sure that the interview feels more natural but also helps the interviewee forget about the camera in the first place.

When you are setting up the interview, work with whoever is on the camera to make sure you are sitting in a good spot to get the interviewee in frame removing anything in the background that cannot be filmed!. It is also worth checking in with them that the mic is working and the camera is in focus before you start. Whilst the camera operator is setting up, keep the interviewee talking and engaging with you to loosen them up and get used to where they are and what they are doing.

Prepare simple, clear questions

With a Make Works interview there is a certain amount of practical information you need to cover: who a company is; what they do; how somebody can start working with them. Asking simple, clear, broken down questions gives you a better chance to get this information in an understandable form.

For example, rather than asking 'tell me about you?' - asking a series of direct questions such as 'what is the name of your company?' and 'what services do you provide?' will make sure that you have focussed soundbites to cut together in your film.

There are a number of core interview questions you can refer to. We still take a copy of these questions, plus any other factory specific questions written out to every interview and use it as a reference point. Get in touch with [e-mail] to get access.

We also find that working through core interview questions before going into anything more open ended saves time when you are editing, as the majority of audio clips in your 90 second film can be made up from these first questions.

Get the interviewee away from a ‘pitch’

Having a film made is not something that happens in factories everyday, so naturally anyone being interviewed worries about saying the right thing for the company and making the most of the opportunity. This can be more difficult in larger factories if the interviewee knows their boss will need to approve what they say before the film goes live.

As a result, some companies have a tendency to get a bit ‘pitchy’ in their answers - trying to emphasise all the things their company does, as if they are writing a brochure on camera. Some will even have printed out the filming information pack and attempt to recite rehearsed answers to all the questions.

However, part of what makes factories feel so inaccessible, is this constant use of jargon, engineering terms or being ‘pitchy’. A film for a Make Works listing should remove that bravado, explaining what and how things can be made in a straightforward, accessible, human way.

To achieve this, sometimes you just need to continue asking questions (they will not feature in the final edit!), rephrasing them until you get the soundbites you want. If there are certain pieces you are after you can joke with them, emphasise what you want to get across: 'That is really great. If you could you just say that again, but focus on ...'

Ultimately, the team is the interviewer and filmmaker, and you need to make sure they trust you to do your job well, telling their story and representing what they do.

Always do the introduction twice

The first time you run through the introduction, your interviewee will be more nervous and their answers are likely to be more disjointed and static. After speaking for a while they will have warmed up and be able to introduce themselves far more naturally. For this reason, we always finish the interview, with doing the introduction twice. It is also a good chance to communicate with your camera person who might want to chip in with anything else you have missed.