Basic Stuff to Do Before Going on a Shoot

1) Check your equipment. Make a checklist of the things you will need and check that they are all working. (check your mic batteries.)

2) Blank out your tapes. This is very important. Put in a miniDV tape into your camera and record over it with the lens cap ON from beginning to end before using your tape. This is to prevent "timecode breaks" which are maddening when you are logging and capturing your footage to your computer. Trust me, this will save you much pain and anger come post-production (editing).

3) Charge your camera's batteries! (notice this is plural)

4) Make sure you have RELEASE Forms. You can't use your footage if you don't have a release form. For subjects that are minors, you MUST have the legal gaurdian sign.

5) Ask your subject to wear something appropriate for their interview. If it is a documentary about say a mechanic, then it would be nice to see them in a mechanic uniform not a suit and a tie or a formal dress. Also, avoid having them wear the color red as it tends to bleed on screen. Thin striped clothing should also be avoided since they will look jagged and pixelated on camera. Dark colors aren't too bad, but you must watch for proper skin exposure since the camera will make everything look darker. Blue is usually the most ideal color.

Setting Up for Quality Picture

For doing oral history interviews on video, ALWAYS use a tripod.  You’re not trying to shoot the next Blair Witch Project with it's motion-sickness inducing handheld shake.  For documentaries, it is usually best for beginners to place the camera at eye level with their interview subjects.  Since interviews tend to last for awhile, it is probably a good idea to have both the subject and yourself sit down.  This will prevent unnecessary shifting that will throw off the focus on your picture.  The first thing you do when you figure out your frame is to zoom in really close to the eyes of your subject and do a manual focus, then zoom out to a frame of your chosing (ie- close, medium, or long shot).  (Refer to your owner’s manual for your camera on how to do a manual focus.)  This will help make sure that your image is in focus, unless the subject or the position of the camera shifts too much.  Do NOT use automatic focus, as it will look like your camera shot “breathes” by going in and out of focus.  Professional videographers almost never use automatic focus, since it is one of those telltale signs of amateur photography.

When positioning your subject, have them sit at a very slight angle to the camera.  You do not want the subject to look directly at the camera.  The interviewer should sit slightly off to the side of the camera.  If you are both the interviewer and the cameraperson, I would suggest that you sit to the side where you can see the flip out view screen of the camera in order to monitor your shot.  Tell your subject to ignore the camera and look only at your eyes.  This will not only help them feel more at ease, but it makes for a more well composed picture. 

Remember, it is very important that you do not talk when your subject is talking.  You’d be surprised how much practice this takes. 

Rule of Thirds

Whatever you do, please do not frame your subject, smack dab in the middle of the frame.  They should be either to the left of the screen looking right or on the right of the screen looking left (unless you are doing an extreme close-up shot). The Rule of Thirds is a well-known photographic composition guideline that will help you compose better pictures.  In a nutshell, it is dividing up your screen into a tic-tac-toe like grid.  For our purposes, at least one of the eyes of the subject should be in the intersection of two of the lines.

http://www.lsu.edu/faculty/kurpius/Home/television_toolbox.htm

Close-ups, Medium, and Long Shots for Interviews

After zooming in and manually focusing on the eyes, we can now compose our shot by zooming out to a close-up (CU), medium shot (MS), or a long shot (LS).  A close-up shot is usually from the shoulders up, a medium shot is from the torso up, and a long shot shows the head to the feet. Note that it is ok to cut off the forehead, but it is NOT OK to cut off the chin area when doing a CU. Try it. It just looks bad. Notice that the subject is looking not directly at the camera and to the side where there is more room in the frame. Where do you think the interviewer is sitting? (see the above "Setting Up for Quality Picture" for the answer). Also, remember the Rule of Thirds!

These are simplified guidelines for doing interviews. You can play with these guidelines once you master these basics and get creative. Go with what looks good. Experiment. The general principles for types of shots can also be used when filming your b-roll.

CU: Close-up & MS: Medium Shot

Backgrounds & Locations

When selecting a location for your interview there are a few things you should consider:

• Choose a location/background that says something about your interviewee.
• It should be visually appealing, yet not dominate the subject.
• It is well lit or is relatively easy to light.
• Outdoors during a cloud covered day is an ideal shooting condition, however wind and other unwanted sound is your enemy.
• You can conduct the interview without interruptions.
• For a better "Depth of Field" where the interviewee is separated from the background try distancing them from the background and place the camera farther away. This will leave the subject in focus, while blurring out the background. This is a useful technique when the background is sort of plain or ugly.
• Also, to separate your subject from the background you an place a "back-fill" light behind them. (see next section)

Lighting

Since most oral historians and students are on a tight budget, lighting equipment is optional here.  However, there are pitfalls to watch out for as well as tips to improve picture quality with relatively simple steps. 

• Do not mix different types of light.  You don’t want to use both outdoor light with indoor light as your video picture may start looking tinted with other colors.  This is because their color temperatures do not match.
• You can light an interview with similar types of lights found around the household.  Three-point lighting is a common way to light a scene.  One in the back and one on each side of the subject.  Standing halogen lights tend to work well.  Try to eliminate the shadows on the face and separate the subject from the background (this is where the back light, called a ‘back fill’, comes in handy).
• Usually, the higher the light source is, the better.
• Avoid fluorescent light sources, if possible. They make everything look green. If you do use them, remember to 'white balance' your camera.
• Avoid placing the subject in front of a window with bright light. It will make them look really dark.
• You can make sure that colors come out they way they should be doing a ‘white balance’ with your camera using a sheet of white paper.  See your camera manual for more details.

Sound

Audio more than picture is the MOST important part of your taped interview.  Mistakes visually can be masked through various editing techniques or covering it with well composed b-roll (remember B-roll is A-roll!).  However, with sound it is more difficult to do.  Here are some helpful hints to get quality sound during a shoot.

• Choose a quiet location to conduct your interview.  Try to avoid places where you can hear buzzing, traffic, other people, etc.  Walk around the room to isolated unwanted sounds.  A lot of buzzing and humming sounds are caused by other electrical equipment.  Turn them off if possible.
• Turn off all music sources such as radios, TVs, etc.  If you want music in your final cut, you can always add it later in post-production.
• Use an external microphone, preferably a lapel or lavaliere mic.  Two fists length down from the chin is usually a good place to clip on the mic. Also, try to hide the microphone from view without distorting the sound.  Usually you can have the subject run the wire underneath their shirt.  Experiment to find the best placement by using your headphones.

• Monitor your sound at all times through your headphones. 
• Try to allow 5-10 seconds after your interviewee stops talking before you comment or ask another question.  Be sure to tell them that you are doing this.  This will help later in editing.
• If you hear buzzing in your headphones and you took care to isolate sounds from your surroundings, it may be caused by electromagnetic interference from you using the camera plugged into an outlet.  Be sure to use battery power during a shoot.  Keep extra batteries charged and handy at all times.

Other Tips

• Remember to label your tapes with the interviewee’s name, the interviewer’s name, the date, and the city.  You might even want to record this information at the beginning of each tape by speaking into the mic. THIS IS IMPORTANT!!
• Do a test of your equipment before you start.  Check and see how sound and lighting levels look on playback.  You will be glad you did.
• Make sure your batteries are charged and blank out your tapes by pressing record with the lens cap on.  This will help you avoid issues during the editing process.

Shooting exercise

Teachers: Have students practice the above techniques by interviewing each other.  They should design questions, do a variety of shots, choose appropriate locations, and focus on getting quality sound.

Coming Soon:

1.     Shooting B-Roll/Scanning Pictures

"B-roll is A-roll," is what Robert Nakamura Director of UCLA's Center for EthnoCommunications preaches. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of collecting well-shot B-roll, that is footage related to your interview/project that overlays the audio of your interviewees or a voiceover. No one really wants to watch an extended video of a talking head. One of the best ways to learn what type of b-roll to shoot is to watch news or documentary programs and notice the types of b-roll that they use.

Photos can also be used as b-roll, particularly when it is paired with movement done in post-production using such programs as iMovie and Final Cut Pro. You will need access to a scanner to scan in pictures. Remember that a general rule when panning or scanning on a picture is to start on a subject of interest and end on a subject of interest.