Interview Questions

Run and Gun Interviews:

1.  What is a "Run and Gun" interview? When can we use a "Run and Gun" interview?

2.  What is the first thing you should do BEFORE starting off for the interview?
Ask them to say their first and last name and spell it

 3.  Why do you think we should ask for permission?

4.  Why should we always ask the interviewee to state and spell their names?
So you say their name correctly and you don't spell it wrong

 5.  Where should we place the microphone?
run it up the front of the shirt and set finger width below their chin

 6.  Should we hand the mic to the interviewee?
yes so they don't feel uncomfortable

 7.  The photographer is responsible for the sound levels.  What are two things the photog should be aware of?
how high the level is

 8.  COMPOSITION:  How we should frame our interview shot:
a.  Eyes on third
b.  2 Eyes One __________
c.  Camera should be Higher, Even, or Lower than subject? higher
d.  Talking space or head Room


BACKGROUNDS:
9. Avoid shooting in front of  boring places.

10.  Why should we keep signs out of the background?
so that the people watching the interview aren't focused on that

 11.  If we were doing an interview about the high cost of parking at EVHS where would a good place to interview be?
outside in the parking lot

 12.  What is a demonstration interview and what are the benefits?

Mudhouse Script Collumn 2

[REPORTER MEGAN]

“Everybody knows to come downtown to the Mudhouse for a great cup of coffee but nobody wants coffee when its one hundred and five degrees. “

 

 

[FIRST INTERVIEWER]

“During the summer months, we ice most of our drinks.  A lot of our customers still need their caffeine fix so you know if they come in and get a latte, they’ll get an iced latte instead.”

 

[REPORTER MEGAN]

“For coffee shops like the Mudhouse, there is one way to beat the heat and that’s to offer refreshing cold drinks.”

 

 

 

[SECOND INTERVIEWER]

“In the summer, it’s really nice to just come in and get a cool drink.” 

 

[THIRD INTERVIEWER]

“Coffee can actually cool you down than drinking cold sodas and stuff.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mudhouse Script Collumn 1

“Mudhouse”

Missouri

Total Running time: 1:15

 

[MUDHOUSE SIGN IN FRONT, NO SOUND]

 

[WIDE SHOT OF THE WHOLE COFFEE SHOP WITH PEOPLE WAITING IN LINE. SOUND OF ICE COFFEE BEING BLENDED]

 

[NATURAL SOUND…CARS, PEOPLE WALKING]

 

 

 

[SHOT OF ICED COFFEE. NO SOUND]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MEDIUM SHOT OF CHALK BOARD, NATURAL SOUND]

 

[DRINKS BEING BLENDED, CLINKING OF THE SPOON ON THE BLENDER, SOUND OF MILK BEING PUT INTO CUP, SOUND OF BLENDER]

 

[NATURAL SOUND OF PEOPLE TALKING, COFFEE BEING POURED]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[CUSTOMER DRINKING COFFEE, NATURAL SOUND]

 

[BLENDER “READY”, BLENDER SOUND]

 

 

Camera Shots

Story title: Disappearing jobs: Video store closes shop
Total Run Time: 2:58
Shot-by-Shot Breakdown:
1. Close up of Video Verite sign
2. Wide shot from back of the store of the whole layout of Video Verite
3. Depth shot of Marc Mohan with books in the front
4. Medium close up of Marc getting interviewed
5. Low wide shot looking up from the ground at the Video Verite sign
6. Angled shot of all the videos on the wall
7. Medium Shot of lady looking at the videos on the wall
8. Close up of a video title
9. Close up of another video title (The Beloved Rogue)
10. Low close up of sign in the window (DVD rental)
11. Medium shot of woman looking up at the store
12. Angled close up of a woman picking a movie off of the top shelf
13. Medium close up of Marc getting interviewed
14. Angled close up of the open sign with the street and cars in the background
15. Medium shot of Marc at his computer with a video
16. Depth shot with movies in the foreground and a man looking at a videos in the background
17. Wide shot of the wall of Videos and a man at the far right looking at videos
18. Close up of the tips box with "Suggestions and Comment"
19. Medium close up of Marc getting interviewed
20. Wide shot of wall of videos and man looking at them walking by
21. Linking shot from wide shot of wall of videos to angeled shot of videos
22. Low close up of dog on the ground
23. Depth shot of woman with videos waiting to purchase them and the video wall in the background
24. Close up of woman looking at videos
25. Medium close up of Julie Keefe getting interviewed
26. Angled shot of Julie looking at video wall
27. Wide shot of video store and Julie in the middle sitting at a desk talking to a customer
28.  Medium shot of Julie being interviewed
29. Medium of Julie talking to a customer showing a video in foreground and video wall in background
30. Low shot of Julie looking at video wall
31. Depth shot with door panel with the sign in foreground and outside in the background
32. Angled close up of sign on the door
33. Close up Marc's face
34. Depth shot of dvd in foreground and Marc checking out in background
35. Medium close up of Marc getting interviewed
36. Depth shot of Chalk board sign in foreground and marc in the background
37. Medium wide shot of marc checking out videos
38. Close up of Videos
39. Depth shot of close up of Marc in the foreground and picture frame in the background
40. Wide shot of the workers sitting at desk with videos and whole store
41. Medium close up of Marc getting interviewed
42. Medium shot of customer putting videos into box
43. Angeled shot of worker talking to customer
44. Low shot of worker checking out customer
45. Medium shot of worker organizing Videos
46. Medium shot of working organizing Videos
47. Medium close up of Marc getting interviewed
48. Wide shot outside of the video store at night

What you noticed overall: Finally, write a summary section of at least 100 words about trends, patterns, similarities, differences or strategies you noticed in the stories (either just in the one you focused on, or between the two). You're looking for overall lessons or takeaways that you can apply to your own video shooting.

      I watched the video about the video store closing down and one trend I saw was they made sure to show the workers working to customers looking at the videos to the Videos themselves.  They made sure to always have a Video in each shot no matter if it was a poster on the wall, or a video on the table, they always had one.  They had fifty different shots in this three minute clip and not one of the shots was boring or too long.  They held it at that shot for a couple seconds and then went to the next one.  I also liked how they made sure to get a reaction of the owner, Marc, and get his words and thoughts about how he felt about his store closing.

WALLDO

Hunger Games Walldo

Cross Country Story

 1st We come up with a Topic: The cross country team running the football from the opposing team to the home field

 2nd We decide on a Focus Statement: Cross Country team runs ball far

 3rd:  We Conduct Interviews to get Sound Bites to use in the interview: interviewed the seniors- talking about it being tradition, the football coach talking about almost forgetting the football,

 4th We Shoot B-Roll to complement the sound bites: them running down the highway - the overhead shot when the helicopter was following them, them starting the run,

 5th  We Shoot our stand-up: the linking shot of the girls team handing it off to the guys team,

 6th:  We Edit our story together adding Voice Overs as Seques between interviews: The reporter tying what the interviewees say to information about it

Dotson Reading #2

- Read, in Dotson’s book, pages 43 thru 55. Respond to what you read, and use these questions if you get stuck: What strikes you as interesting? In what ways do you agree or disagree with him? How does this fit where you are as a writer, and how will it help you become a better one?
(100 words minimum)

 I think it was very interesting reading about the script itself.  I never knew the Americans put immigrants in camps because they felt threatened by them.  It amazes me that to this day, those three men still love America and don’t feel hate towards us for what they went through.  I liked how he commented on gaining an emotion from the story and really emphasizing it.  Not having to many emotions where the audience/viewers feel like they cant relate or follow because the story is all over the place.  I also liked how he said to put words in three.  I think it catches the viewer's attention much more if they can say it out loud and it's easy to remember.  

 - Read this story and watch this one (a bit of a sports theme this week). Write two paragraphs (one about each) that explains how the story uses/handles at least three of these aspects. Give specific examples (100 words in each paragraph, so at least 200 total words).

 Paragraph #1: The number one thing the hockey story emphasizes from the one of the aspects is the surprise.  It builds us up to something we never expected.  It surprised us at first when they switch places and the wrong twin goes out to shoot it and ends up making it but it leads up to surprising us when the next day, they end up giving the half a million dollars back.  They also built up the story’s natural drama well.  They played out every part, from when they’re playing outside to when he makes the shot and the crowd goes wild, to when his brother jumps up and down.  They don’t cut out the after parts of when he makes it.  “When a farming family that could really use the money turns down the money because of their own morality? That's news. That gets rewarded.”  That is an example of how to defeat the remote control.  They add that little sentence and it gets people wanting to know more and being more interested in what’s going to happen next. 

Paragraph #2:  This was a very interesting and unique story.  One of the aspects it uses if "Be Conversational."  They sit down with the reporter and before getting into the focus of the story; the reporter makes little conversation with them and talks about their family and the way their home looks.  Another aspect is "How to defeat the remote control" because it starts out with talking about it being cold and then it makes a comparison to the mother's eyes watering because of the cold weather but because it’s the end of her youngest sons season after twenty-four years of being a fan.  One last aspect it emphasizes is "Surprises."  At the end, the audience expects the story to just end because the youngest boy is done but instead it continues on to say that there is 49 grandchildren and they will continue the rein of the football era. 

Break In Video

Answer the following questions on your blog:
1.  What is the lead in this story?  Does it intrigue you to keep watching?
Something happening in a quiet neighborhood, It intrigues me to keep watching because I want to know what happened in the neighborhood for them to make a story on it.

 2.  What are the 5W's of this story:  Who, What, Where, When, Why
Heather, Someone robs her house, In a quiet neighborhood, 2 weeks ago, They wanted her belongings

 3.   Give an example of the reporters Voice over or seque (Write it down word for word)
"Its hard to imagine something like this could happen in a quiet neighborhood"

 4.  When do we see the reporter's stand-up?  Beginning, Middle, or End?
Middle

 5.  What is the purpose of this reporter's stand-up?
Taking us to another spot where another break-in happened


Write in your blog the purposes of stand-ups from the following video:
1. Move Story Forward
2. Reporter becomes B-Roll
3. Take me to the scene
4. Use Props
5. Be creative and surprise us

Bob Dotson

- What do you notice about the way he writes? Use specific examples, please. (75 words)
 
Bob Dotson writes for his audience.  He doesn't talk about himself and how great he is, he's giving advice to help the reader become better.  He also explains himself in everything he says so that he isn’t just telling them what to do, he’s explaining it and going into detail so they can go out and do it on their own.  For example, Bob says, “That story was scripted in an hour.  Under deadline.  How do you write a longer story at the speed of spot news?  This is how I do it.”  Not only does he show what happened and tells you what you should do, he goes onto to explain himself and guides you through the process.

- What did you learn from reading pages 9 to 27? (75 words)

I learned from reading pages 9 to 27 that you need to capture information that people will be interested in but also what other news anchors look past.  People don’t like sound bites of the same exact thing over and over after natural disasters or accidents, they like things that they haven’t heard before and stories that are unique within the big things that happened.  Another thing I learned was that you need to ask the “Non-Question/Question.”  Instead of asking about the tragedy or the accident that happened, get to know them and make them feel comfortable with you first.  Such as asking how their day was or something their currently doing or focused on.  Somehow tie in the non-question with the real question you want to get too.

- With the scripts: What do you suppose is described in each column? Why would it be split like that? What else is interesting about the scripts? (50 words)

In each column of the scripts, Bob Dotson describes and helps the audience better understand what he was teaching and going over in the pages before.  It is split like that so the reader isn’t thrown a bunch of different things to learn and understand.  Its much easier to go over something you are supposed to do and then get an example and explanation of it from the person teaching it to you in his own work.   An interesting thing about the scripts is that they are all unique in some way.  They each have something sad about it that makes you think about it but then it ties in with a heroic story or a happy ending to it.

- On Page 34 (and to the end of the section), Dotson writes about a long-form feature. Find one of these (a story at least 4 minutes long) on a TV news magazine such as Rock Center, 20/20 or 60 Minutes. Then, give and explain examples of how the storyteller uses the five bulleted traits Dotson gives on Page 34. (200 words)

I watched a 5 minute clip on 60 Minutes called the anatomy of an interview with a serial killer.  A little background about the story was a serial killer Charles Cullen murdered twenty-nine people by pretending to be a nurse and lethally injected medicine into them and killing them.  A reporter, Steve Kroft, interviewed Charles Cullen after nine years of being in prison to see if he had come to grips with what he had done.  The first thing Bob Dotson talked about was scene setting.  The scene was set at the prison where Kroft was sitting behind one glass on the phone interviewing Cullen who was on the other side.  Another scene was at the courthouse with Cullen sitting down and the victims’ families talking at the podium.  The natural sound was the background noise of the cell doors shutting in the prison and also the muffled cries of the families when they were talking.  The foreshadowing was Charles Cullen walking in with handcuffs and then the guards unlocking them and Cullen coming to sit down and begin his interview.  The conflict of the story is a man killing innocent people by pretending to be a nurse and inserting medicine into them and the world trying to figure out why.  The character growth was when the interviewer was making simple conversation with Cullen and then went into more serious questions as to why he did it and how he felt about the crime he committed.  The resolution is in the courtroom and having Charles Cullen sitting there while the families say how they feel and gaining some progress to closure with what happened. 

Changing Idenitity

We will begin by watching a High School broadcast story titled Changing Identity

Answer the following questions on a blog post about the story:

1.  Identify and explain as many WALLDO shots as you can.
Wide shot of the parents on the coach
Angled shot of Noah outside
Low shot of Noah when the toast is popping up,
Depth shot with the wind chimes in the foreground and the porch and woods in the background, toaster in the foreground and Noah in the background
Opposite shot when the get all sides of the toast


 2.  What is Natural Sound?
The background sound of what you're shooting.  The sounds you hear naturally such as people typing on computers, all the voices in the hallways during passing time, and the squeaky shoes at a basketball game.

 3.  Identify several examples of Natural Sound in this story?
When he was outside, the background noise of the cars going by, the dog playing and barking in the background, scraping of the knife, the toaster popping up, leaves crunching,

 4.  How does Natural Sound enhance the story?
It adds to how natural it is, gives the story a more homely feel rather than very serious and strict because its set up.

Walldo

Wide:  Sets the scene for the whole story.  It can be the first or the last scene, it doesn't matter as long as you have it.

Angled: Angle shot makes them run their eyes across the whole screen.  It can add a 3-D effect to your shot. 

Low: Get down. Gives people a different perspective then they see everyday.

Linking: Follow something and then have it lead to the focus statement.  Example:  Pan a car and follow it all the way until you get to Which Wich showing that the place has a lot of traffic.

Depth:  Used to show creativity.  Object in foreground and background.  Depth gives the feel of a 3-D feel.

Opposite: Action/Reaction.  Get the action but also get the reaction.  Example:  Get football player scoring a touchdown but also get the fans cheering afterwards. 

Fran's Story

The camera work had all the essentials.  When it had a close up shot of her face, her eyes were on third and she had talking room.  It was also like that for each person they interviewed.  They had a couple close up shots of her writing and of her arm.  Whatever way the person they were interviewing was facing, they made sure to have talking space that way so it did not feel awkward.  I also think the camera was held still and wasn't that shaky.  I also liked the settings and backgrounds they picked when they interviewed each person. 

I really liked the story.  They did a good job of getting enough details to understand what its like and playing on the team but not to many that they didn't fit in with the focus.  I liked how they interviewed more than just her family so they got more perspectives.  I also liked how they got her in the classroom and not only on the court even though it was a sports clip because it showed a different side of her and how well she deals with her disability outside of the sport she plays.  I also liked how she had a positive attitude and wasn't downing herself because of it, she was showing people how you can do anything you put your heart into and nothing stopped her.


A-Roll: Anything you hear in the story; interviews, reporter voice overs, natural sound

B-Roll: Video footage that compliments the story

A Publishers Dream

Opening Assignment: 

Watch the latest Land of 10,000 stories:  A Publishers Dream

Answer the following questions about the story:

1.  What is the focus statement of this story?
Solar panels, staying green

 2.  Give examples of W-M-T sequences
Wide: when he is outside and he shows the whole car, and outside of office
Medium: just showing the outside electric and showing how much he is saving
Tight: close up of his face in the side mirror of his car

 3.  Give examples of The Rule of Thirds
When he's showing the roof, he's on third and you can see the solar panels in room space

 4.  Give examples of Eyes on Third
When he's showing his cabin, its a medium shot and his eyes are on third

 5.  Give examples of Talking Space
When he's first talking in his office, they have his eyes on third and his body lined up and hes facing towards the right and they give him a lot of talking space

 6.  What did you like about story?
I liked how he was very happy about what he was doing and I also liked how he was helping the earth and saving energy.

Rule of third is when you have 9 squares in a shot, and you put the subject on one of the 4 corners.

Eyes on third is when  you put the focus' eyes on one of the 2 lines vertically and horizontally.

Talking space is when you focus your subject on the left or right vertical of the rule of third and you give them enough space to breathe.

Camera Notes

Today you will be taking notes on Focus Statements and Camera Techniques


1.  What is a Focus Statement?  Define
A central statement that will guide your news story

2.  Why do we need a Focus Statement?
It narrows down one thing to make into a story

 3.  Give an example of a Focus Statement sentence.
"Homecoming nominees have unusual talents"

 4.  Give an example of a Focus Statement in 3 words: (Subject-Verb-Object)
"Girls make dresses"


5.  What are the 6 Essential Equipment items you need with you when shooting an interview?
Camera, Tripod, Microphone, Headphones, Batteries, Media

6.  Why is a tripod important? 
Keeps your shots perfectly steady and clear

 7.  The Tripod is my FRIEND

8.  Define:  Pan
Moving tripod horizontally

 9.  Define:  Tilt
Moving tripod vertically

 10.  Why are headphones important?  
So you can know if you microphone is good or not

11.  Why is it important to TEST YOUR EQUIPMENT BEFORE YOU GO ON SHOOT!
So you know if its good to use so you don't have to go back and interview again

12.  Define Wide shot:
Show setting and surroundings, establish location

 13.  Why do we need a wide shot?
Give an overall feel of the setting

 14.  Define Medium shot:
Little less setting, more detail and focus on a specific area

15.  Why do we need a medium shot?
To give more details to the viewers

16.  Define a tight shot.

Close up, lots of detail

 17.  Why do we need a tight shot?
Give a really nice detail shot that you can't get at medium or wide shot

 18.  What is a sequence?

19.  Why do we need a sequence?

Newsworthiness

 1.  Identify, define, and give an example of the 6 criteria of newsworthiness.

Criteria 1: Unusualness
Definition: News is the different, the unusual, the out-of-the ordinary. Unusual is more often found in bad news than good news.
Example: If an airplane departs on time, it isn't news.  If it crashes, it is.

Criteria 2: Significance
Definition: Important events, ones that affect many people
Example: Taxes, elections, wars, scientific discoveries, and the economy

Criteria 3: Timeliness
Definition: Old news isn't news. People want to hear about current things that are happening.
Example: The flood while its happening, not next month when everything's dried out.

Criteria 4: Proximity
Definition: Nearby events that are happening
Example: A problem in the local school, the new state tax law, the proposed regional highway

Criteria 5: Prominence
Definition: When well-known people, buildings or places are involved
Example: A movie star is arrested for shoplifting

Criteria 6: Human Interest
Definition: Stories about ordinary people or animals, humorous or dramatic, heartwarming or heart-wrenching stores. Often good news
Example: A minister who runs a drop-in center for troubled teenagers, a sand castle competition

2. On page 23 it discusses the differences between print journalism and broadcast journlism.  Please describe 3 ways they are different and explain.
Newspapers provide full coverage but readers act as their own editors and can pick and choose what they want to read. Radio news is very short but it is the most timely of them all because within minutes, you can find out about something from the radio.  Television news is the most dramatic because they have the power of a camera so viewers can actually see the news stories.

3.  List all the criteria the story we watched at the beginning of class fits under and why.
Unusualness: its not everyday a truck carrying pigs crashes on a highway and all the pigs are let out. Timeliness: the story was covered very soon after it happened. Proximity: the story happened in a local town.
4.  List all the criteria the 2nd story we watched fits under and why.
Timeliness: The family taking in the dogs didn't happen a couple years ago, it happened recently. Human interest: it was a heart warming story about two dogs
5.  List all the criteria the 3rd story we watched fits under and why.
Timeliness: The awards just happened last night. Prominence: Many celebrity's were involved. Human Interest: It was interesting to see who won awards and who didn't and also entertaining to see the outfits

Story of a Classmate

Focus Statement: An 18 year old boy who is a skilled wake boarder in his free time.

Logan Schleicher, an eighteen year old senior at Eastview High School might not look like the type to enjoy the outdoors or even enjoy the risky sport of wakeboarding, but he does.  In his free time, you will find Logan at his cabin in Mankato, Minnesota behind a boat doing 180’s and 360’s on a wakeboard.  Logan first learned this awesome activity from his older brother Derek who taught him about three years ago.  At first, he was a little nervous about going behind a fast boat and possibly risking any injuries from it, but soon enough he wasn’t nervous at all.  He picked up on it right away and within weeks, he became a pro.  He loves the feeling of just going out on the water and feeling like he can do anything on that wakeboard.  Nothing will stop Logan, “I have fallen off numerous times, but none of them stop me.  I always get right back up and go again.”  Logan knows what he’s doing and he’s very fearless when it comes to wakeboarding.   In the summer time, stop by the lake in Mankato and you will find Logan doing those 180’s and 360’s on his wakeboard with not a care in the world around him.  All he is focused on is becoming better and having fun while doing something he loves: wakeboarding.

Interview of a Classmate

Logan Schleichers Interview:

1. Question #1: What after school activities do you participate in and have any impacted your life in a big way? Logan participates in the lacrosse team for Eastview and last year, his team made it to the state tournament and won the whole thing!
2. Question #2: What are your plans for next year? Logan plans to go to St. Thomas in the fall of 2013 and hopes to study engineering.  He wants to be an engineer because he loves math and thinks it would be a great career to do.
3. Question #3: What is a day in the life of you? Logan wakes up, eats breakfast, heads to school for a long 7 hour day, heads to lacrosse practice after school, does homework, and goes to bed again.  Some days he goes to lifetime to participate in a non-competitive league of basketball with some friends.
4. Question #4: What is something you enjoy doing in your free time?  Logan enjoys going to his cabin in Mankato Minnesota with his family and friends.  His favorite thing to do there is wakeboard and he learned that about three years ago from his brother.  He also enjoys just being outdoors and doing different activities in the sun because he loves the warm weather.  He plans to get out of the snowy Minnesota and hopefully live in California some day. 
5. Question #5: Who do you look up too?  Logan looks up to his oldest brother because he has always been there for him, he is always teaching him new things, and inspires and motivates Logan to try different things and be the best guy he can be.
6. Question #6: Do you have a favorite vacation you took?  Logan went to Florida with a friend and had a really fun time.  He liked it most because he was out of the cold Minnesota weather and in the hot sun
7. Question #7: If you had to eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be? Logan's favorite food is chipotle.
8. Question #8: What position do you play for lacrosse? Logan is attack
9. Question #9: What was winning state like? "It was awesome!" Logan said, after winning against Eden Prairie in the state championship with a final score of 10-4.
10. Question #10: What can you take away most from your lacrosse team? He says that he has built great friendships and team chemistry which have shaped him into the person he is today.