Codes and Conventions of

Interviews

Framing

• Interviewees are framed to the left or right of the screen and the rule of thirds should be used.

• The rule of thirds involves the interviewees eye-line being a third down from the top of the screen or either a third in from the left or the right.

Mise-en-scene

• The mise-en-scene of the interview associates with the subject or the topic and can be applied by chroma-key or posters to do with the subject or even the setting relevant to the topic.

Graphics

• The name and relevance of interviewees is the most common graphic and this done to explain who the interviewees are and to anchor their relevance to the topic of the documentary.

• Other graphics will be the title and usually the date and location will appear on screen to inform the audience what is happening, however, the narrator can often do explain.

Cutaways

• Cutaways are what are put into interviews in editing to break up the interview and give it an even flow.

• They will be filmed separately or along with the interview and be relevant to what the interviewee is talking about and be edited into the interview afterwards.

Editing

• Questions will be edited out of interviews because more than often the interviewee will repeat the question in their answer and most questions are open.

• Cutaways are also edited into the interviews and the less important and closed questions will be edited out completely.