Interview Techniques

Interview Techniques Task 1
Task 1- In the form of a written report or oral presentation.
1.1 Describe (P1) the reasons why a media professional may be required to carry out an interview? Consider the following when writing your answer and provide examples to support the points you make. (500 words max written)
Purposes of interview: research; enhancement of audience understanding; presenting information; interpretive e.g. expressing or justifying opinion, accountability; emotional e.g. allowing audience insight to a situation.
Journalistic contexts: e.g. print, television, radio, online, news, sport, feature writers, editorial
A media professional could carry out an interview for many reasons. The main reason is for research. Justin Capra, for example, invented a jetpack and Calin Dinulescu interviewed him to find out what exactly it is.
Interviews are a fantastic way to gather information from someone. This information could be completely new information or it could enhance the audience’s understanding of the subject matter that they already have. An example of this would be when there were rumours about a new Batman vs Superman film being made; the supposed director was interviewed to get the whole story.
An interview could be used to justify someone’s opinion on a matter such as in politics when the politicians are interviewed about their policies. Another reason an interview could be carried out is to understand the accountability of a suspect of a crime. A media professional won’t interview every person who commits a crime, but they may be able to get an interview with a high profile suspect. This interview doesn’t have to be used only for crimes. Madeline Macann’s parents have been interviewed many times by the media.
Journalistic contexts
A print based interview could be carried out by meeting the interviewee in person and asking them questions then writing down their response. This format could also be used by phoning them up and writing down their response. The interviewer could also send the interviewee a list of questions via email and use their response.
A television interview is different, because people being interviewed on TV are normally on camera. For this, a 3 point lighting system is normally used. If the person feels they are in danger for speaking to the media about a situation, it is possible for them to keep their anonymity by using the lights to create a silhouette of them and their voice can be changed by using audio editing software. Sometimes the interview will have taken place off camera and then it could be voiced on TV by an actor.
Radio interviews could be carried out in the studio, or if the interviewee isn’t able to physically be in the studio, via phone. An interview on the radio could be live or pre recorded.
For online interviews, the interview could have been carried out face to face, on the phone or via email. A news interview is usually carried out on camera. This is so that it can be used on TV. The audio however could then be used for the radio and a transcript could be used online or in print.
1.2 Explain (M1) by providing examples, the techniques used by interviewers when carrying out an interview.
Interview techniques: question types (open, closed, single, multiple, direct, suggestive); interview styling e.g. hard news, combative, light-hearted, entertainment, investigative, promotional; structuring (introduction, developmental questions, confidence building, key questions, sound bites, summary, wind-up); communication skills e.g. building rapport, active listening, body language
Types of question
An open question is one which does not require a simple yes or no answer. An example being, “What do you think of the situation in Syria?” This type of question requires an opinion rather than “yes” or “no”. An example of a closed question would be, “Do you like rock music?” This question only requires a “yes” or “no” answer. It could then be expanded by asking another question such as “What do you (not) like about it?” A single question is one which asks only about one subject matter. For example, “Do you think cars should be faster?” A multiple question then is one which addresses more than one subject matter. An example of this type of question would be, “Do you think cars should be faster and safer?” This type of question can be quite difficult to answer sometimes. A direct question is one which is actually asked such as, “Did you kill him?” An indirect question is not actually asked. An example of this is, “I know you killed him.” A suggestive question is one which is worded to suggest an answer. An example of this would be, “You’re very into your music, aren’t you?”
Interview Styling
Hard News is an interview style used purely to gather information for the audience. This style of interview often has a very serious tone and deals with important happening in the world, such as crime, government and crisis. Interviews of this style are the kind shown on the news. An example of a hard news style of interview would be interviewing a politician on the 9/11 attacks. David Cameron interviewed by Andrew Marr about Online Pornography is an example of a Hard News Style of interview.
A combative style of interviewing is an when the interviewer asks questions designed to get information that the interviewee doesn’t want to discuss. In this style of interview, the interviewee may attempt to dodge the question. A fantastic example of this style of interview is Jeremy Paxman interviewing Michael Howard. Paxman keeps on asking Howard the same question as he tries to dodge it every time.
Light-hearted interviews are usually quite funny and seem very relaxed. An example of this type of interview is when Alan Carr interviewed Katy Perry. The interview is light-hearted because they are sitting down, comfortably, having a drink and having a laugh with each other. He doesn’t ask any questions which will make her feel uncomfortable or will upset her.
An interview being carried out for entertainment purposes usually ties in with the light-hearted style of interview. This type of interview is usually funny and relaxed but the interviewer may have some friendly banter with the guest. Jonathan Ross is an example of a professional who interviews for entertainment value. An investigative interview is one where the interviewer tries to gather information from the interviewee, be it a person suspected of criminal offenses or a celerity who has been caught up in a scandal. These interviews typically use a lot of closed questions to get the information they want. An example of this style of interview would be when Police interviewed James Holmes after he was arrested and accused for the Batman Shootings.
A promotional interview is one which is carried out purely for promoting a product. This style typically has artists talking about a new album etc. The questions are mostly open to allow the interviewee to go on to talk about their new product. The Katy Perry interview with Alan Carr is an example of this type as well.
Structuring
Intro
On shows like the Jonathan Ross Show, when he has a guest come out, they are played out by his house band, ‘4 Poofs and a Piano’ and he will shake their hand if they’re male, or if they’re female, he may kiss each cheek and give them a hug. The interviewer typically introduces the interviewee and that can set the tone of the interview. Light-hearted interviewers will usually ask how they are, if they enjoyed their flight etc, but in hard news style of interviews, the interviewer will thank the interviewee for coming on but not much else will be said before questions start.
Developmental Questions
This is where the interviewer takes the answer given from a previous question and asks a follow up question to build upon the answer.
Confidence Building
The interviewer may make the interviewee feel more confident by complimenting their work for example saying that their latest album is very good. This will make them feel more comfortable and they may give better answers and feel more relaxed. This would most likely be used in light-hearted, entertainment styles of interviews.
Key Questions
These questions are the ones which the interview will be centred around.
Sound Bites
A sound bite is the radio equivalent to a vox pop. This could be about 10 to 20 seconds long and requires good interviewing skill to ask the question to get the desired response. This would be used to back up a news story. For example, if there was a story about a bomb scare, there could be a sound bite afterwards from a police inspector.
Summary
In the summary, the interviewer will recap things which the interviewee has said earlier in the interview to remind the audience.
Wind-up
This is the final section of the interview where the interviewer will thank the interviewee for taking part, and depending on the nature of the interview, will perhaps wish them luck in the future with whatever it is that they are pursuing, be it a new album, or tv series etc.
Communication Skills
Building Rapport is useful in order to make the interviewee feel more at ease thus making them give more relevant and detailed answers. They may even go on to give the interviewer some kind of exclusive new information. This is used in entertainment style interviews so that the interviewer and interviewee can have some banter with each other.
Active Listening allows the interview to move at a steady pace because the interviewer makes an effort to understand the answers given, so that the interviewee doesn’t need to explain them further.
Body Language can be used to get a sense of tension and dominance in an interview. It can also show if the interviewer and interviewee are comfortable with each other. If the interviewer is relaxed, it can make the interviewee feel more relaxed and natural.
1.3 Finally, you must critically evaluate and comprehensively explain (D1) an interview that you have selected from TV or radio, identifying use of the techniques listed above.
I am going to evaluate the interview taking place between Alan Carr and Katy Perry.
The main purposes for this interview are promotion of Katy’s new album, and her husband, Russell Brand’s book and also for entertainment. Before Alan Carr even says her name, he has already mentioned her album. When Katy comes out, Alan hugs her and takes her and escorts her over the seating area. His set is very relaxed. The guests sit on a big sofa and the seats are more beside each other rather than opposite. This gives the interview a much more relaxed feel than say a hard news style interview.
He starts off by asking her about being a judge on the X Factor and makes a joke about Simon Cowell, to which Katy also jokingly replies, “No, I’m getting involved with that.” There is already a real light-hearted feel to the interview and the body language of the pair show that they are very relaxed.
He asks a developmental question about the X Factor to get a better understanding. Almost all his questions are open questions to allow Katy to talk about what she wants and to make her feel at ease.
The key questions come around half way through the interview. They are about Russell’s book and the new album. There is actually a hard copy of it in the studio to show the audience.
At the end of the interview, Katy Perry performs a new song from her album. This is typical of a show of this nature. Singers or bands will usually play a song to promote their new album. After she performs, Alan Carr kisses her and announces her name for the audience to applaud.