Interviewing for Documentary

This two-day course is aimed at documentary film-makers wanting to get the very best out of their interviewees. The course is led by Nick O’Dwyer, described by the Mail on Sunday as “one of the best interviewers in Britain.”

The course will show you practical, simple interview set-ups for recce shoots and full productions but, more importantly, how to be with your contributors so they feel safe to truly express themselves and how to ask questions so that your interviews become highlights of your films.

We’ll critique some startling clips from films where things have gone well – and some which have gone hair-raisingly badly. And in pairs, we’ll work at practical exercises, setting up and recording interviews and critiquing them together.

  Areas covered will include:

• setting up an interview shoot without terrifying your subject
• how to create trust with your interviewee
• understanding your contributor so you can judge what will work best for them
• choosing the right lighting, frame, focal length and depth of field for your subject
• how to ask questions to prompt revealing answers
• how to ask questions so your editor will love you
• the importance and influence of sound
• your responsibility to your contributor – at the time and afterwards
• how to ask the bleedin’ obvious without being rude
• why do people talk in front of camera anyway – often about the most intimate or alarming of subjects

Nick O’Dwyer has worked as a documentary director for 25 years, making some of the most memorable and controversial films of that period. In that time, he’s worked for all the main documentary strands on all the main channels. For the past 16 years, he has been executive producer for Landmark Films www.landmarkfilms.com

Freelance Rate: £475

Corporate Rate: £825