A recent trend within investigative journalism has been a special type of interview, called “man-on-the-street” interviews. For this type of interview, a reporter—or anyone else researching a particular subject in which they need a response from the public—hits the streets to question the public impromptu. If you are thinking about utilizing this type of interview for your research, follow these tips to maximize your success.
Before you even hit the streets, brainstorm your topic and develop a list of ten general questions relating to it. These general questions can thus be customized depending on your interviewee. For example, if you are researching the effects of construction in a particular area, you might ask, “Do you feel that construction in this area is preventing you from completing your everyday tasks?”
One of the most important things to remember when you are completing man-on-the-street interviews is to be confident. Potential interviewees are less-likely to answer your questions if you do not appear confident in your actions. Don’t get discouraged if someone tells you that they don’t want to be on camera—respect their wishes and move on to the next possible interviewee.
Also, limit the time you spend on each interview. Each interaction with the man-on-the-street shouldn’t be longer than ten minutes—but keep in mind that even ten minutes is a long stretch. As soon as you get an excellent sound bite, move on to the next person. Make sure that you aim to interview many people from a variety of cultures in order to receive an array of sound bites; a safe number of interviews to conduct is between six and ten. Most importantly, don’t forget to have interviewees sign release forms in order to appear on the air!
The professionals at NG Production Films understand that filming a man-on-the-street interview in Orlando can be a daunting task. Please give us a call today at (877)203-2895 to see how we can help film your next Orlando video production.
