How to Interview for a Documentary Film

Documentary films follow real people and get their take on specific situations, problems, or life lessons. Conducting a good interview is the key to a documentary film as the person or persons being interviewed need to be allowed to tell their story effectively, which will in turn draw in the viewers.

• Find a quiet area in which to conduct the interview. Too much background noise can be distracting. A living room or their place of work can provide a good setting for an interview.


• Properly light the subject. Make sure the set lights reflect light pricks in the subjects' eyes; this can help bring the person to life for the viewers.


• Never have the subject face the camera directly. Angle the subject towards the interviewer instead of directly facing the camera. This makes it appear as if they are giving impromptu answers instead of reading from a script.


• Calm the nerves of the subject. Sometimes the subjects you interview for a documentary have never been interviewed in front of the camera. You may find them distracted or constantly glancing towards the camera. Tell them to ignore the cameras and open with easy questions. As their nerves start to calm, you may want to return to some of the earlier questions as the subjects may give better and more thoughtful answers once calm.


• Send your subject the interview questions ahead of time to help them prepare their answers. Ask them to rephrase the questions instead of just answering them. This can make the documentary flow easier during the final editing stage.


• Find interesting ways to interview them. A documentary of people sitting and talking can become very monotonous. Try to get them to talk to you while doing daily tasks that might highlight the subject matter of the documentary.