Mastering the Documentary Interview

This book is a practical guide for documentary filmmakers who want to conduct compelling interviews, built on conversations with eighteen acclaimed filmmakers and journalists who serve the reader as teachers and role models.

This book is a practical guide for documentary filmmakers who want to conduct compelling interviews, built on conversations with eighteen acclaimed filmmakers and journalists who serve the reader as teachers and role models. From the initial research stage to the nuances of body language, camera placement, and the art of the pause, the book offers a comprehensive approach to the exchange between interviewer and subject. The ethics of interviewing receive a structure of their own: a series of gates a filmmaker passes through, from turning off the camera when requested to weighing how a person will be represented in the final cut. Throughout, those filmmakers and the author share first-hand accounts of successes and failures in the field. At the canter is the Three Stories framework, a method for hearing the private story a person lived, the public story they present, and the cultural story the world has assigned them. The book also includes exercises and conversation starters that build interviewing skills, strategies for gaining trust, and a checklist for analyzing one's own bias. Filmmaking and communication students will benefit from a book that addresses the work of conducting ethical interviews and gathering authentic stories. To further support readers, the book includes a wealth of ancillary materials including worksheets and instructor materials.