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How to Shoot
Gorgeous
Documentary
Interviews
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MAY 11, 2015

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Be a u t i f u l l y s h o t d o c u m e n t a r y
interviews are vital to your film’s
s u c c e s s . G e t t h e b e st f o o t a g e
p o s s i b l e w i t h t h e s e t i p s.
Top image from Perry Previews

Years ago, most documentaries were synonymous with

lower production quality, and were typically shot on lower
end video cameras and with less involved setups. There were,
of course, those documentaries that went against the grain
and strived for higher production value, but they were few
and far between.

Over the last 5 – 10 years though, that has changed. The

average documentary now looks just as good as many
narrative films. This is largely thanks to the fact that
documentary shooters are able to have access to some of
the same cinematic tools as narrative filmmakers, but
also because the documentary genre in general has been
morphing.

Image from Bold Content

The point is – if you are setting out to shoot a documentary

today, the bar has been raised. To secure distribution, you are
going to want to deliver the best creative product across the
board, and one of the most important components to
consider are your documentary interviews.

There are many ways you can increase production value on a

doc, but for the purposes of this article I want to focus on
interview footage. Interviews in many documentaries
account for 50% of the overall screen time, and they are also
one of the few environments on any doc shoot where you
have a lot of creative control. For those reasons and more,
you want to maximize the quality and substance of your
interviews. Below, I’ve listed three simple ways that you
can increase the quality of your interviews.

1. Use a slider

Image from Cinevate

Sliders are your best friend when it comes to documentary
interviews. We’ve all watched documentaries where the
interview footage was just dull, and more often than not the
root problem of those interviews comes down to camera
movement. Even a well-composed and well-lit shot will only
sustain the average viewer’s attention for so long, which is
why most interviews are covered up heavily with
b-roll.

That said, there are times when you want to linger on an

interview and really see the person as they are speaking –
especially in more emotional moments. This can make
things tricky in the editing room, as you end up having to
decide between cutting away to b-roll to make things more
visually interesting or staying on the interview shot, but losing
momentum in the pacing. This is where sliders come in.
Here’s a quick video from lynda.com that covers using a slider.

DSLR tutorial: Using a s…

The most subtle slider move during an interview can

make a world of difference. You don’t need to have a
massive dolly, or a really obvious move for this technique to
work. In fact it’s better if you don’t. Ideally, you want to have
a very slow slider move that is just barely noticeable
so that viewers are continually drawn in to the footage, but
aren’t distracted by the camera move.

In order to execute this technique well, you will likely want

an assistant there to operate the slider for you so that
you can still conduct your interview effectively. Alternatively,
there are now several motorized and automated sliders from
companies like Redrock Micro that allow you to automate the
process.

2. Shoot in 4K
I am normally against the idea of shooting in 4K so that you
can reframe your shots in post, but there are exceptions to
every rule – documentary interviews being one of them. In
some ways, I can be a purist when it comes to shooting. I very
much like to approach digital cinematography in the same
way that I would approach film. That means that every shot is
composed in camera the way that I intend it to look in the
final product, and I am not simply shooting with the intention
that everything will change in the editing room.

Unless absolutely necessary, I typically don’t punch in on 4K

footage to change my framing later on for this very reason.
Working this way helps not only creatively, but technically as
well since the maximum amount of resolution is always
retained in the final product.

With all that said though, interviews can be treated differently

since the editorial process calls for a different approach.
While editing a documentary interview, there will be times
when you desperately need a cutting point but simply don’t
have one. If you shot your footage in 4K, then you have
solved that problem by being able to push in on your
4K shot after the cut point, so that it feels like you are
cutting to a tighter angle. So even though 4K may still be
overkill for many productions, you might still want to shoot
your interviews this way to keep your options open in post.

3. U s e a b - c a m e r a
Image from 12 Star Media

Building off of my previous point, another really great method

for keeping your options open in the editing room involves
shooting with two cameras. Depending on who you’re
interviewing and how comfortable they may be on camera,
you may need to do a lot of editing to make their interview
feel for cohesive and fluid.

For instance, if the interviewee says a lot of “Ums”, you are

going to want to have the ability to cut away whenever
possible so that it doesn’t distract the viewer. You could use
the 4K punch in method as I described above, but an even
better alternative is having a second camera angle to cut
to.

Image from Creative Cow

Most often, a second camera during an interview setup will be

placed at a 45 degree angle to the talent to capture an
entirely different look. Profile shots can also work really well
too, depending on the aesthetic you are going for, as can a
tighter framed shot… But all that really matters is that
your shot is different enough from your A-camera that
the cuts aren’t distracting.
Keep in mind that depending on how you are going to setup
your shots, and whether or not a slider is involved, you may
also need another camera operator too. Here’s a video from
The Slanted Lens that touches on some of the above interview
tips and more.

Shooting a Documenta…

Here are a few articles from PremiumBeat that cover different

aspects of working on a documentary. Enjoy.

• Distribution Tips from Documentary Filmmaker Scott

Thurman
• Tips for Documentary Film Productions
• How to Find Your Story When Cutting a Documentary

Got any good advice for documentary filmmakers?

Share it in the comments section below!

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