help for short interviews ideas

[Dan Wake]

hi, I wish to make short interviews about activistm topics. can you give some example/nice ideas please?

[Mako Sports]

Uh just look at the news..

[Dan Wake]

1 hour ago, Mako Sports said:

Uh just look at the news..

which ones do you mean?

 

I wish to make some interview for non profit use. activism for human rights

[basilyeo]

You should look for something you're passionate about before embarking on a project like that.

[Grimor]

Russian Femen.

You can shoot activism and naked girls at the same time!

[TheRealOG]

You need to find what you’re interested in and go from there. 

[Dan Wake]

3 hours ago, basilyeo said:

You should look for something you're passionate about before embarking on a project like that.

 

2 hours ago, TheRealOG said:

You need to find what you’re interested in and go from there. 

 

hi thx for help, your comment seems similar but unfortunately I didn't understand what did you wants to suggest me. I don't uderstand how something that passionate and interest me can be a start for a project. can you give me an example please?

[Katrikura]

Hello:
         Here is a place, which can serve as a source of inspiration: Big Shorts Films. 

In their presentation they say: We make short social films out of real, inspiring stories. By doing so, we create a positive ripple in your mind when you watch it, which in turn travels in all directions and creates more ripples. Empowering change through storytelling, one film at a time – that’s what BIG SHORT FILMS is all about.

Personally, I have found some very good and inspiring video pieces.

[kye]

8 hours ago, Dan Wake said:

hi, I wish to make short interviews about activistm topics. can you give some example/nice ideas please?

I don't shoot these so I can't provide examples, but the suggestion of watching the news seems like a sound one.

I think it's really a question about how to learn a particular genre or style, which I have some random thoughts on:

• Find good examples (which you're looking for)
• Pull them apart in every way to understand them:
• What angles do they use?
• How long are the shots?
• What are the shots?  Talking-head, B-roll, etc
• What is the sound doing?
• How much time are people talking and how much is SFX (kind of the B-roll of audio)
• What is the story like?  Does it represent a three-act structure?  Some other structure?  What similarities are there?
• How would you shoot such a thing?
• What does the set look like?
• What equipment is required?
• Camera?  Audio?  Rigging?  Lighting?
• Watch BTS videos to see what people are doing.  Find wide shots in the BTS, pause the video, study the frame and see what you can see.

By analysing deeply you will uncover the details, by analysing many examples you will notice patterns and themes.

Think of it as studying.  Learning doesn't stop when you leave school, so studying and the techniques we used in school also shouldn't stop  

[kaylee]

i was literally gonna say "moving lights" ?

[Mark Romero 2]

6 hours ago, Dan Wake said:

hi thx for help, your comment seems similar but unfortunately I didn't understand what did you wants to suggest me. I don't uderstand how something that passionate and interest me can be a start for a project. can you give me an example please?

Hi There, Dan:

Are you looking for help with your filming TECHNIQUE?

Or are you looking for help in picking topics?

If you are looking for help with TECHNIQUE, here is a simple one for sit down interview.

 

 

But if you are instead looking for suggestions on what topics to cover, that is harder. You said you want to make interviews about activism topics. Why do you want to do that? Do you feel strongly about activism? or do you just want to practice shooting interviews / get paid to make videos and you don't really care about social activism? 

If you don't know much about activism / human rights then I can make some suggestions by private message to you. I don't want to turn a public thread into a political thread on this forum.

[antaunbobby]

activistm topics suggestion:

Freedom rising
How to be a great leader
Photojournalism up close
Climate change: Oh, it's real.

[Dan Wake]

13 hours ago, Mark Romero 2 said:

Hi There, Dan:

Are you looking for help with your filming TECHNIQUE?

Or are you looking for help in picking topics?

If you are looking for help with TECHNIQUE, here is a simple one for sit down interview.

 

 

But if you are instead looking for suggestions on what topics to cover, that is harder. You said you want to make interviews about activism topics. Why do you want to do that? Do you feel strongly about activism? or do you just want to practice shooting interviews / get paid to make videos and you don't really care about social activism? 

If you don't know much about activism / human rights then I can make some suggestions by private message to you. I don't want to turn a public thread into a political thread on this forum.

thx for help. I do know how to do it technically, and I do know the topic of the activism, but I miss the style, the narrative stucture, many of the thinks that Kye was suggesting me to observ in the works made by other people. I'm looking for something cool to emulate about everything from framing to edit, narrative, sound.... all condensed in a mini interview format.

[webrunner5]

I can tell you from my ENG days you better have a Thick Hide and be able to hold your tongue. That kind of stuff can get heated as hell. The people you are going to interview are a bit over the edge, and they are balls to the wall, gung-ho into it. It can get ugly. If you are a small person you might look for other work lol. ?

[thebrothersthre3]

1 hour ago, webrunner5 said:

I can tell you from my ENG days you better have a Thick Hide and be able to hold your tongue. That kind of stuff can get heated as hell. The people you are going to interview are a bit over the edge, and they are balls to the wall, gung-ho into it. It can get ugly. If you are a small person you might look for other work lol. ?

Why would they be heated towards the people making a video for them tho?

[kaylee]

15 hours ago, antaunbobby said:

Climate change: Oh, it's real

watch this guy explain the graph

 

[webrunner5]

4 hours ago, thebrothersthre3 said:

Why would they be heated towards the people making a video for them tho?

Because if you are good, you ask tough questions, not just go there to kiss their ass. Remember it is an "interview", not a love fest. And it gets ugly at times, not always but..

If you don't ask questions why even do it. That means you are agreeing hook, line, and sinker with them as they say. Waste of your time and the viewers time. We are talking activists, not your mother. And if this is out on the street there is a group across the street that wants to kick your ass and theirs. Been there as they say. You Have to be Ballsy as hell to do this stuff. This is not for the meek. Why do you think I am such a horses ass lol. I am, "one of us is going to die, and it ain't me" types ?. They trained me well.

[TheRealOG]

44 minutes ago, webrunner5 said:

Because if you are good, you ask tough questions, not just go there to kiss their ass. Remember it is an "interview", not a love fest. And it gets ugly at times, not always but..

If you don't ask questions why even do it. That means you are agreeing hook, line, and sinker with them as they say. Waste of your time and the viewers time. We are talking activists, not your mother. And if this is out on the street there is a group across the street that wants to kick your ass and theirs. Been there as they say. You Have to be Ballsy as hell to do this stuff. This is not for the meek. Why do you think I am such a horses ass lol. I am, "one of us is going to die, and it ain't me" types ?. They trained me well.

I don't think Dan gets it. Dan's current thoughts are incoherent. You need to make sense, create a plan, find your topic, and attack it. If you're gonna be so generic about your topic, no one cares. Why should anyone care about your generic ideas? The topic of activism is too general and no one needs to watch that. If you do your research and find something interesting, then you might have a shot. Find something that is occurring in your area. Are there a particular group or individuals in your community that are activists? Are there homeless veterans on the street who aren't getting enough services from the VA in your neighborhood? Is there a group of local veterans who are trying to help them out by feeding them or shelter them. Now you have a topic and a particular group to interview for a specific reason. You're shining a light into a problem that remains in the dark. You will need a thick skin because docs or journalism is a tough job. You're dealing with real folks (we're being really nice to you in comparison)

[kye]

48 minutes ago, webrunner5 said:

Because if you are good, you ask tough questions, not just go there to kiss their ass. Remember it is an "interview", not a love fest. And it gets ugly at times, not always but..

If you don't ask questions why even do it. That means you are agreeing hook, line, and sinker with them as they say. Waste of your time and the viewers time. We are talking activists, not your mother. And if this is out on the street there is a group across the street that wants to kick your ass and theirs. Been there as they say. You Have to be Ballsy as hell to do this stuff. This is not for the meek. Why do you think I am such a horses ass lol. I am, "one of us is going to die, and it ain't me" types ?. They trained me well.

I agree - you're absolutely on the money from a journalistic perspective.  This approach ranges anywhere from hard-hitting journalism (where you ask tough questions in an attempt to go beyond the PR messaging and pre-prepared sound bytes and expose something new) through to 'covert' tactics like Who Is America (where you pretend to be aligned with the views of the person you are interviewing in order to get them to open up about views they would not normally reveal to a broader audience).

Other approaches could be PR videos where you aren't interested in exposing any new information, but simply showcasing the interviewees rhetoric or rationale or world-view.  Depending on your personal beliefs this could either be viewed as "making sense" or "propaganda"

Another approach could be to move beyond PR and go for education.  For example, there is global agreement from people that know what they're talking about that we're in a climate crisis and yet the debate still rages on, which means that the gap isn't knowledge, it's education.  These videos might be a balance of rationale / world-view and polite skepticism designed to inform viewers about the topic and respectfully convince them of a particular perspective.

I think understanding the position you want to take as a film-maker around these topics is a great place to start, because it radically changes the style of interaction you want to have with the people you are interviewing.

[webrunner5]

I can't tell you how many times I felt in danger. These people take what they believe in a Really serious way. As you say most of it is good news stories helping society in a good way, but Oh Boy the ones that aren't, Jesus grab your ass. You have to get tough at times. That is why 60 Minutes has been around for hell, forever. They ask the tough questions and go about it like a Pit Bull. I don't think I could do that all the time. Scary stuff.

If you can't get in an argument with your nose 4 inches from the next person, standing toe to toe, pointing your finger at them, Like I said, find another career. And I was Just the cameraman! My reporters, women included, were tough as nails. There is a reason they make top end Microphones built like a tank. Have one of those shoved up your nose lol.