How to Conduct journalistic interviews

Central to conducting any type of interview is establishing a productive interview climate. It does not happen magically but develops in the interactions between an interviewer and an interviewee.

Interviews have an opening, body and closing. As the interviewer, you want to begin the interview in such a way that facilitates the interview process, ask questions that assist all parties in achieving their goals, and end the interview on a positive note.

1. OPENING – “breaking the ice”. The interview opening usually sets the tone for the remainder of the interview. Your goal is to establish a productive climate, so both you and your interviewee will participate freely and communicate accurately. Climate issues contribute to the mood or tone of the interview; both interviewer and interviewee are responsible for establishing the interview climate.

Formality level reflects differences in status between interview participants; evolves and can change during the interview process.

A. Nonverbal indicators of status include dress, proximity, location of the interview.

B. Verbal indicators of formality level include how participants address each other (titles or first names), how much “small talk” participants engage in, use of slang.

Rapport is the process of creating goodwill and trust between interviewer and interviewee.

A. First impressions greatly influence how rapport is established; avoid jumping to conclusions about others based on little information.

B. When you and the interviewee share a similar frame of reference or worldview, it is easier to establish rapport.

C. The interview’s formality level influences how rapport is established; for example, in more informal interviews, there is more “small talk” at the beginning, while in more formal interviews, the interviewer will tend to take a more direct approach.

2. BODY – asking questions. This is the main part of the interview. Here we'll look at the order or sequences in which you might ask the questions.

A. Funnel. Use this question sequence when the interviewee knows the topic well and feels free to talk about it, or when the person wants to express strong feelings. This is the most common of all question sequences for all types of interviews. In this sequence, the interviewer begins with broad, open-ended questions and moves to narrower, closed-ended questions. The interviewer may also begin with more general questions and gradually ask more specific questions.

B. Inverted Funnel. This question sequence is effective when an interviewee needs help remembering something or to motivate an interviewee to talk. In this sequence, the interviewer begins with narrow, closed-ended questions and moves to broader, open-ended questions. The interviewer may also begin with more specific questions and gradually ask more general questions.

C. Diamond. The Diamond question sequence combines the Funnel and Inverted Funnel sequences. Use this sequence when dealing with topics interviewees may find painful or difficult and therefore are reluctant to discuss. Begin with specific, closed-ended questions about a situation similar to the interviewee’s, then ask general, open-ended questions about the interview, and finally ask specific, closed-ended questions about the interviewee’s particular circumstances.

D. Tunnel. In this sequence, all questions have the same degree of openness. Also called the “string of beads” questions sequence, the Tunnel sequence allows for little probing and variation in question structure. It can be useful for simple, surface information interviews, but not for in-depth interviews.

3. CLOSING – concluding the interview. The closing brings the interview full circle. Your goal is to leave the interviewee feeling positive and satisfied with the interview.

Stages

A. Conclusion preparation: the interviewer is responsible for signaling upcoming conclusion, as with, “My final question...”

B. Final summary: is a consolidation of entire interview and provides a test of your listening and note taking skills

C. Post-interview discussion: informal; not part of the formal interview; the interviewer and interviewee engage in “chit-chat”.

In conducting the information interview, you want to be prepared, yet flexible, and create a communication climate in which the interviewee will feel comfortable. Balance note-taking with maintaining eye contact with the interviewee. If you record the interview, be sure to ask the interviewee's permission before the interview. Don't rely solely on the audiotape for recording the interview as tape recorders can fail. Signal your interest, but avoid leading the interviewee to respond in particular ways. Listen carefully, ask secondary / probing questions, and use your Interview Guide to keep you on track.

TASK 7

Study the following interviews with famous actresses (choose any you like). Identify the type of the interview and analyze its structure, questions asked and the atmosphere created. You can find these interviews on the Internet on the following site: movies.about.com/od/interviewswithactors/Interviews_with_Actors_and_

Actresses.html.

Interview 1

KRISTEN STEWART DISCUSSES “BREAKING DAWN”

By Rebecca Murray, About.com Guide

Now that you've done three of these are there things that you wish had made into the movie from the book that didn't?

Kristen Stewart: “Yeah, totally. There are a million things. I mean every single time we watch one of the movies, especially when the cast watches it together, it's always an incredibly frustrating experience. That's why I'm glad that Breaking Dawn is going to be two movies, which I can finally say. So there's going to be less of that, less of having to lose stuff.”

How long have you known that Breaking Dawn was going to be two films and how long will the shoot be?

Kristen Stewart: “The shoot is going to be something like six months. We start in October. I think we're not going to be finished until maybe March or something, maybe February. I clearly don't really look at the schedule.”

“I had to hold onto this forever. They've been talking about it for a really long time and we all definitely knew that it was going to be two movies forever now. It's been really hard not to say that. We're all really stoked on that.”

Is there a scene in Breaking Dawn that you hope makes the movie?

Kristen Stewart: “There are a million and we haven't even shot it yet. I can't wait to get married and have a kid. It's all of that. It's going to be crazy.”

In Robert Pattinson's interview last week he said in reference to Breaking Dawn that he wanted to make it rated R and stick to the book. Would you like to stick to the book and bring the rating up, or do you think it should be toned down?

Kristen Stewart: “I guess that everybody interprets those things differently. My guess is that it'll be PG-13. I have no idea, but I guess we'll all see when it comes out.”

Do you see an opportunity in Breaking Dawn, since it's two films, to create two interpretations of Bella, pre-vampire and post-vampire?

Kristen Stewart: “Yeah, actually. I really can't wait to get into that because I've been on the outskirts of what it would feel like to play one of them. I had to think about it a lot, considering that Bella is dating one of them very seriously. It's been years of dealing with these issues and I've thought about it a lot and I can't wait to actually be it. It's going to be a trip. It's going to be weird and I think she does change a lot. I think she's going to be the coolest vampire out of all of them. She's got the greatest power. She's untouchable. Nothing can touch her and I think that literally she can protect the whole clan. She's such a mother, too.”

“I think it'll be awesome to see how much she's changed from Twilight where she's this 17 year old kid who really doesn't care about whole lot other than herself. To see her become this matriarch will be really cool.”

Interview 2

ELIZABETH BANKS DISCUSSES 'PEOPLE LIKE US'

By Rebecca Murray, About.com Guide

June 24, 2012 - If I had to vote now for Best Actress of 2012, Elizabeth Banks would be one of my top three choices. Banks' performance as a single mom struggling to make ends meet on a bartender's salary in People Like Us is one of her best of her career, and one of the best overall of 2012.

Screenwriter Alex Kurtzman, best known for big-budget action movies like Star Trek, Cowboys and Aliens, and Transformers, makes his feature film directorial debut with this comedy / drama inspired by true events. People Like Us stars Chris Pine, Captain Kirk in the rebooted Star Trek franchise, as a son who learns his estranged father has just died and left him with $150,000 to deliver to a sister (played by Banks) he didn't even know existed. He plots to meet his sister without letting her know they're related and without disclosing the fact she has inherited money, with Kurtzman (who co-wrote the script) having to create a relationship between the two siblings that never turned the film into a twisted romantic comedy.

At the LA press day for the DreamWorks Pictures release, Banks talked about maintaining the right tone, why she was attracted to this character, and why she wanted to be an actress in the first place.

On the onscreen relationship between her character and Chris Pine's

Elizabeth Banks: “First of all, it’s important to remember we are mourning the loss of our father. We don’t know it’s the same father – I don’t. At the very least, the connection starts there. It’s not a physical attraction that connects us. It’s very important to have that scene in the bar where I think he’s coming on to me and I reject him, so you know that’s not what she’s interested in. I think they're both dealing with a lot of things. It’s that moment when Frankie starts opening her heart. He’s sort of knocked down the wall a little bit. To me, he was opening up the possibility of hope for a better life – of love in my life again, being able to rely on someone again. Because Frankie is alone. She’s doing this by herself.”

“We all need people and that’s the message of this movie. You should have to go through all this sh*t by yourself. You should ask for help! It’s why the culmination of that moment, the betrayal is so powerful for the movie because it’s right at the moment she starts to turn.”

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14