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The Interrortron


Despite the sinister sounding name the technique refers very simply to 'down the lens' interviews. It's a very popular technique widely used in current documentary practice - think C4's 'First Dates' & '24 Hours in..' series, although popularised by the likes of Errol Morris and others before. It's very engaging - the viewer makes eye contact with the subject. It breaks the 'fourth wall'. You aren't just a passive viewer. For some subject matters it can even be over-bearing: much as you want to look away, the person speaking demands your attention. You may think that the interview subjects are all super-confident or media trained and therefore able to talk right into the dead black eye of a camera lens, without any problem, but that's not always the case. It requires a bit of additional kit and a different approach, and certainly best handled with a somebody off camera to ask the questions so that the camera-person can concentrate fully on their focus (focus is critical, as it becomes the focus of their audience) and even the most nervous interviewee can tell their story right into your lens like a seasoned pro. The film clip is a recent project I made for Renfrewshire Council, my friend Richard Weeks is conducting the interview on my behalf, but none of the participants are experienced and most professed to be quite nervous. I've been perfecting the technique since the end of last year and can now offer it as an option on any production package. It does take more time to set and up de-rig, which will inevitably add to the overall cost, but consider the impact.

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