Codes and Conventions

Exctract 1


Extract 2



In class we watched these two documentaries and focused solely on the interviews that were being shown. After we had seen these two clips, as a class we discussed the codes and conventions of an interview, and this is what we came up with.

Codes and Conventions of Filming and Editing interviews
-Interviewee positioned to left or right of frame
If more than one interviewee, it alternates
-Interviewees filmed in medium shot, medium close up and close up
-Questions are edited out
-Mise-en-scene - background reinforces the content of the interview and is relevan to the interviewee, providing mroe information abut them in terms of ocupation or personal environment.
-Graphics are used to anchor who the person is on screen and their relevance to the topic of the documentary.
-Interviewee looks at the interviewer not directly into the camera
-Positioning of the interviewer is therefore important, if the interviewee is on the right of the frame, the interviewer is on the left of the camera.
The interviewer should sit or stand as close to the camera as possible
-Framing follows the rule of thirds
Eyeline of interviewee is rougly a third of the way down the screen
-Interviews are never filmed with a light source behind the interviewee
e.g infront of a window or with the sun behind them. The light is always infront of them, behind the camera.
-cutaways are edited into interviews for two reasons:
to break up interviewx and illustrate what they're talking about
to avoid jump cuts when the questions are edited out
-cutaways are either:
Archive material
Suggested by something said to the interviewer and therefore filmed after the interview
-Sometimes aspects of the interviewee are filmed wth another camera such as extreme close ups of eyes, mouth and hands and used as cutaway.