5 Secrets to Recording a Documentary Interview For Animation
Documentary audio has been used to powerful effect in all types of animation. John Hubley used improvised recordings of his children as the soundtrack to his Academy Award-winning “Moonbird”. Man-on-the-street recordings gave Ralph Bakshi the realism he was looking for in films like Fritz the Cat. Nick Park’s inventive reinterpretations of conversations with everyday people resulted in the outstanding “Creature Comforts”.
In “Q&A” and “Germans in the Woods”, Rauch Brothers used documentary audio recorded by StoryCorps. The real life stories they capture are incredibly powerful and poetic. It also gave us the opportunity to make a film without worrying about scripts, actors, effects, or music. Below are five secrets to recording the personal, intimate kind of interviews we have used.
TIP: Thanksgiving is the perfect time of year to record an interview with a family member. StoryCorps has a great D-I-Y guide, available in conjunction with the National Day of Listening this Friday.
1. Be Prepared. Have a list of questions written down before the interview. StoryCorps’ question generator is a great place to get started. You should also set up and test your recording equipment ahead of time. The more prepared you are, the better the interview will go.
2. Make Your Interviewee Comfortable. People are often nervous about being interviewed. Try to choose a time and place for the conversation that will put your interviewee at ease. A quiet, cozy room at home often works nicely. Take a moment before the interview to discuss what you will talk about. This helps your interviewee know what to expect. It’s also important to reassure them that there is no way they can mess up the interview or do it wrong. All they have to do is be themselves.
3. Ask Follow Up Questions. Most people are not natural storytellers. We leave out the beginning. We get stuck in the middle and never make it to the end. Ask questions that flesh out the story and create a beginning, middle, and end. Questions that coax out details are also helpful. If the day your mom won the spelling bee was the happiest day of her life, find out more. What was it like standing on stage? What was the word she won with? Who were her competitors? Keep in mind that yes and no questions are a dead-end. Who, what, and how questions work much better. Don’t get hung up on dates and facts. Instead, emotions and feelings will be the most interesting part of the story.
4. Record More Than You Need. Even if your animation will be just 2 minutes long, you should record at least 40 minutes of conversation. You will want to edit your interview down to only the most interesting parts that tell the story in a clear and concise way. When you sit down to do this, you’ll always be better off with too much rather than too little.
5. Enjoy Yourself. Not every recording will work for animation. That’s okay. The process of making the recording itself should be rewarding and fun. You will have the opportunity to get to know someone in a unique way. You will improve your interviewing and recording technique. Relax and enjoy and things will come much easier to you. If you don’t get what you want out of your first recording, try again. Ask about a different story. Choose a different interviewee. Keep at it until you get what you’re after. You’ll learn a lot in the process.
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Mike
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Brett W. Thompson
