Interview / Feature Story Exercise

Overview

The feature story is commonly found in news, current affairs and magazine show programs. This exercise allows you to produce a 2-minute story on any person and topic you find interesting. The primary requirements are that you include an interview that you have lit, and that you incorporate some nice B-roll to match the content.

Logistics: Basing your story around an interview is a great place to start. Find someone who is an expert in something, and that can speak articulately about their work, cause or hobby. It should be something, which allows for B-roll shots. It is suggested you visit your subject ahead of time and decide on a good place to shoot the interview. It is also suggested that you shoot the interview first, then the appropriate B-roll.

Unless you prefer to work alone, you should team up with a partner for this exercise and help each other shoot each other's projects. One of you will be the "producer" while the other will serve as the PA and help setup gear, etc. If you are the producer, it is up to you to decide if you want to run camera and have your partner ask questions, or you may choose to ask questions and have your partner tape. Regardless, YOU are the one responsible for the quality, content and grade.

Objectives:

• Gain experience in the planning and designing of the interview
• Know how to set up and use portable lighting instruments
• Know how to use lavaliere and other types of microphones
• Can plan, shoot and edit B-roll sequences

Requirements

• Shoot between 5 - 10 minutes of original interview footage (The more you shoot, the harder the assignment will be!)
• Shoot appropriate B-roll
• Edit piece to fit just inside either a two or three-minute window (eg 1:59:25 is nice) It must be either 2 or 3 minutes- not somewhere in between (2:37)
• Light your interview
• Interviewer will not be seen or heard
• You can work with a partner. If you do, both can help light the interview, but both will have to shoot equal amounts of B-roll and edit his or her own project.

Paperwork

• Proposal (who, what, where, why, objective, etc.)
• List of questions/ideas for interview
• Copy of release forms
• Footage log (identifies key points from interview)
• Diagram/drawing of interview setup showing talent, camera positions and lighting.
• Individual typed critique

Grading (50 points total):

• Pre-production (10 points)
• Camera & lighting (20 points)
• Post-production (15 points)
• Critique (5 points)

Be sure to check out the interview tips in the class lecture notes.

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