Interviewing Tessa
This is my second time taking Cinema so I had done a round of interviews before. While I had forgotten some things, I did remember some of the mistakes I made last year and tried not to repeat them. For example, I tried to emphasize to my group the importance of repeating the question when you answer along with expanding your answer and going into detail so it isn’t choppy when you go to edit the video. This was a little tough to do because we were outside and it was starting to rain while we were filming so we tried to hurry up the interview which resulted in a very short interview with answers that weren’t very detailed. This was definetly my fault because I should have recognized that the weather wasn’t great and I should’ve picked a location indoors somewhere.
Being the DP
I had been DP in my previous cinema class so I was familiar with setting up the camera, formatting the card, and making sure the lights were in the proper place. However, I still made some mistakes and chose to set up outside even though it wasn’t overly nice out. I also forgot about how much noise the mics pick up and that all the cars that drove by would be picked up by the mic. Also, because it wasn’t a great day in terms of weather, it was darker outside and we only grabbed one light so the shot was darker than I preferred. I also left too much space within the frame and I should have gotten closer to Leo and filled the frame more.
Being Interviewed
While being interviewed, I tried to think of problems I faced with other interviews I’ve edited in order to make it as easy as possible for the person editing my video. For example, I tried to make sure I paused after a question was asked and before I answered along with going into detail and expanding my answers. I’ve also found that answering questions more fit to the person you’re interviewing helps with more detailed answers which ends up making the interview better once it’s finished because you have longer answers and it's more of a conversation rather than just short 3 word answers.
Interviewing Grace
Interviewing Grace was very easy because I could ask a simple question such as “what sports do you play” or “are there any extracurriculars you enjoy” and she would answer the question in great detail along with some humor which not only made the interview very easy to edit but also made the finished product better. I found that Grace’s interview turned out a lot better than my previous interview with Tessa because I asked fewer questions and covered fewer topics so it wasn’t just a bunch of random questions trying to fill a certain amount of time.
Being the DP Again
I had learned from my previous interview and didn’t film outside which helped with some of the background noise but also helped with lighting. The Gawlik room’s lights helped make the whole shot brighter which allowed us to use the light we brought to focus on Duncan and make sure it was focused on his eyes. One cool thing from Duncan’s interview was that he was wearing a blue and red shirt which happened to match the colors of the chair he was sitting in along with the wall behind him. However, I still should have moved the camera closer so there was less space in the frame.
Being Interviewed Again
Being interviewed again was a little less uncomfortable than previous times because I had just a little more experience with being in front of the camera. Normally, I don’t enjoy being in front of the camera but with each time I get interviewed, it gets easier and easier. Leo interviewed me and although we don’t know each other, it was helpful for Grace to be there because she could give Leo some ideas for questions seeing as she knows me better.