1. The document provides tips for interviewing subjects for a documentary, including preparing questions that avoid yes/no answers, being spontaneous, making the subject comfortable, not revealing questions in advance, having the subject repeat questions, proper positioning, keeping quiet during answers, asking for final thoughts, and continuing to film after the formal interview. 2. It also provides examples of probing questions to ask about what happened, when, where, why, who, and how to get rich details from the subject's perspective and emotions. The questions are meant to be adapted based on the subject and story.

1. How To Interview Someone for a Documentary
1. Prepare your questions
Think ahead about the type of questions you want to ask your interviewee. What kind of
information are you looking for from this particular person and what are the type of
questions that will best get them to give you the information you’re looking for? No need
to go crazy. 5-10 questions is usually enough.
2. Avoid “yes” or “no” answers
Your questions should be asked in such a way that you won’t get “yes” or “no” answers.
You need your documentary interviewees to give you substantive answers that you can
use in your video edits. Instead of “Are you happy with the outcome of the court case?”
Ask, “What is your response to the outcome of today’s court case?”
3. Prepare, but be spontaneous
Even though you have prepared questions in advance, allow yourself to veer off from
questions if the interviewee says something interesting or unexpected that you’d like to
explore further. Sometimes the unplanned “spontaneous” questions & answers create the
best moments.
4. Get the interviewee comfortable
When the video camera rolls, ask easy questions to warm them up. Ask them what they
had for breakfast, where they are from, how many kids in their family.. anything to get
them talking and comfortable. This is a key interviewing tip!
5. Don’t give out specific questions in advance
I cannot stress this point strongly enough. It’s perfectly acceptable to give someone a
general idea of what the interview will be about, but do not give them your list of
questions. If you do, they will try to memorize their answers in advance and you will lose
spontaneity and freshness. Your interview will end up feeling stale, unauthentic and
rehearsed.
6. Have them repeat your question
This is a great idea, especially if you plan to have no narration for your documentary. Get
the person to repeat back your question in their answer. This will help you with the video
editing and storytelling later during the editing process. For example, you ask, “How are
you feeling?” The interviewee says, “How am I feeling? I’m feeling excited!”
7. Proper positioning of interviewee
If you are the person both shooting AND interviewing, the person may end up looking

2. into the video camera, which gives the feeling of a personal and direct connection with
the person talking. However, the off-camera approach is most common. The interviewer
sits or stands right next to the camera so that the interviewee is looking just off camera.
You get your best results if the interviewer (you) is standing right next to the camera, that
way you can see the full face of the person you’re interviewing and not a profile, which
can be unattractive and distracting to the viewer because you can’t see their eyes and
facial expressions very well.
8. Keep your mouth shut
Stay quiet when the other person is talking. You don’t want to hear yourself in the
background. (Watch out for the “hmmmm”, “Oh right..”) Just ask the question and then
keep quiet. It’s good to nod, and make gentle facial expressions, just no sound. Unless of
course, YOU are part of the story and the camera has both of you in the shot.
9. Ask for final comment
Here's a great video interviewing tip: at the end of the interview, always ask the person if
they have any final thoughts. Ask them if there was anything you missed. This can
sometimes bring out some great information you hadn’t thought to ask about.
10. Don’t stop filming when the interview is “over”
Especially when you have someone who is nervous and never got quite comfortable with
the interview. When you’re done with your official questions, say “OK, that’s the end of
the interview.” Make sure the camera continues to roll at this point because often the
conversation will continue. Psychologically, the person no longer feels the “pressure” of
the interview and will loosen up. This is the time I have often gotten the best quotes of
the interview!
Asking Probing Interview questions: Simply adapt to your subject
First, remember that the basic foundations of any interview are establishing the essentials of the
story - setting, characters, conflict-resolution, overcoming challenges, fear-confidence
and personaldiscovery. From that list, focus on the 6-W’s of any story – What, When, Where,
Why, Who, and hoW. The secret to asking revealing questions is to ask about the subject’s
“feelings and emotions” and to ask the subject to tell you a story full of details. These details
should be rich in what we can’t see on the video – stuff we wouldn’t know unless you told us.
There’s a big difference between…”I closed the discharge pipe”… or, “We stop contaminating

3. the river with 300 gallons a day of toxic waste that contained class A carcinogens.” So with that
said, here are some possible questions to adapt to your interviews. Don’t barrage your subject
with all of them – simply pick and choose the exact ones that best fit the person and their slant on
the story.
One final piece of advice before the questions begin and the camera rolls. Remain flexible during
your interview and let the person being interviewed go where they want. Pay attention to their
emotions as the story unfolds and when you see new information appear that deserves attention,
shift gears and refocus your questions on the heart of the story.
What – happened here ( again, pre-empt with “tell me a story about…what happened?”
1. What was your involvement in this and why?
2. What doubts did you have about your role in what happened?
3. What secrets did you know that might have made a difference on how things turned out?
4. What mistakes did you make that might have affected this issue?
5. What special technique did you use to help and why?
6. What have you learned that others might not know about this issue?
7. What made you feel good about your role in this issue?
8. What was your greatest weakness that contributed to the way things turned out?
9. What was your greatest strength that made a difference in the outcome?
10. What weaknesses in others affected the outcome?
11. What strengths in others made a difference and how?
12. What was the happiest moment of this entire event? (and why)
13. What was the scariest moment? (and why)
14. What was the saddest or most disappointing moment? (and why)

4. 15. What was the funniest moment and why?
16. What would your parents say if they had been part of this and why?
17. What would you have done differently if you could and why?
When – relative to history, setting, place and events – through storytelling
1. Tell me a story about the history of this place.
2. Tell me a story about your parents or grandparent’s impacts here.
3. Tell me about any previous encounters you had with this place or issue.
4. Tell me about your past experience in these kinds of issues.
5. When did this issue begin and when will it end?
6. When did you first see or hear about this issue tell me the whole story of what happened?
7. Tell me about the time of year, weather, temperature and conditions that impacted what
happened?
Where – place, location, stand, quarry
1. Where is this place or event located in the state and what’s the country like?
2. Why is this place special? Do you have an emotional connection? Explain why.
3. Where is this place or event located relative to other important features nearby?
4. Where was the (pollution) coming from and why?
5. Where was it headed for and with what impact?
6. Where did you come from to get here and where do you return to when you leave?
7. Where did you work before you came here and where might you go next?
Why – did you do this?
1. Why did you get involved in this issue?

5. 2. Why did you use the technique?
3. Why didn’t you use a less or more risky method?
4. Why did you pass on getting more involved?
5. Why didn’t you wait longer before getting involved?
6. Why did you wait so long before getting involved?
7. Why did you wait so long before giving up?
Who – others past, present, future
1. Who was with you when this event happened?
2. Who do you wish was with you and why?
3. Who do you wish had not been there and why?
4. Who else has faced this challenge before?
5. Who helped contribute to your success and how?
6. Who can you blame for messing things up?
hoW – details of the story
1. How have you changed as a scientist-person in the past 5 years?
2. How does this event or issue affect the quality of your life?
3. How does this issue or event compare to similar ones in your life?
4. How did it make you feel when realized your role in this event?
5. How does your family feel about your role in this?
6. How will you enjoy your accomplishments in this issue?
7. How will you preserve the memories of this event?

6. 8. How do you feel at the end of the day working on this issue/event?
9. How do you think others see you as a professional?
10. How do you see yourself?
11. How do you want others to see you as a professional?

7. 8. How do you feel at the end of the day working on this issue/event?
9. How do you think others see you as a professional?
10. How do you see yourself?
11. How do you want others to see you as a professional?