Interview

Overview

The aim of this module was to develop various skills that are essential within a career in graphic design, focusing on technology and photography. It emphasised the research process as an important step to creating a finalised product. Specifically, we focused on cameras, as well as how to create and conduct effective interviews – such was combined into a project by where we had to utilise cameras to record an interview we had wrote. The interview was conducted on 1st year students at Dundee University, who we did not know personally as preparation for the real world. The task was to find out about their relationship with photography and technology.

 

Brief 

The brief for this module was to create a video interview about a student’s relationship with technology and photography. This was achieved with help from others in the course by getting us in touch with a student we did not know very well. What was discussed during the interview depended on the background knowledge of technology and photography the interviewee had. On one hand the student could be very technologically gifted and uses many devices in a regular basis, which results in long informative answers to the questions. On the other hand, if the person is maybe not as interested in technology and the most they use is their phone, then the answers may still be informative but produce less material. In other words, the final results were different for everyone.

This interview was recorded using a Sony HD video camera. Once the footage was recorded, the brief was to create a short 3 minute video on the interview, then present the findings to a lecturer, a PhD student and some members of the class.

Researching

We started this module with a mini project that was to create a timeline/ infographic of the history of cameras. This project was to help get us into the subject matter in a creative way. Half of the battle was researching the history of cameras, specifically researching general information on cameras and their role through time; secondly I decided to take it upon myself to think about my own interaction with cameras throughout my years – as little as that may be. Thinking back, I had used large cameras that look nothing like what is typically for sale in stores today. One of my first exposures to cameras was how my family would always be taking photos at birthday parties and social events. However, i did not have a camera of my own till I was 12, when i got my first mobile phone (a motorola flip) which had an inbuilt camera. The camera wasn’t great quality but I remember how exciting it was at that age to have this device.

The completed infographic had more visual elements than information but felt as though everything that is needed to intrigue someone to have a look is there. The information that is there is the name of the camera, the date it was released and a bit about its place in that period of time. If you look towards the bottom of the infographic there is a section about my personal experiences with camera’s and technology. Just a quick list of devices I have used through my life and what I thought of them. This mini task got me to evaluate myself when it comes to technology, which really helped for when I needed to decide what to ask my participant.

 

Exercises

Moving on from the mini project, we were introduced to PhD researchers (past students) Sara and Katie, who enlighten us with their journey of 15 years of study that brought them to their careers as university researchers/ designers. Their work was motivating and has inspired me as a design student to create products that help others that need it.

An exercise Sara gave us was understanding the difference between closed ended (can only be answered by yes or no) and open ended questions (require a longer answer), as well as leading (suggests a particular answer) and non leading questions (allows for multiple answers). Moreover, Sara talked to us as a class and walked through a powerpoint presentation where we learnt the words to use that assist in getting an informative response.

The task after that was watching a TED Talk titled “Photography from a Different Angle” where a woman called Nivi Morales told us about her disability and how its effected her love of photography. This was an exercise where we had to listen to her story and write down any insights that we believe she gave. She has a disability with her sight where the image in the centre of her vision is relatively clear but everything around the focal point is fuzzy. She explained how having this disability you might think would discourage her from having photography as a passion and career but in fact tells us that there is no limit to what you can achieve.

 

Interview

The interview took place on Wednesday 23rd at 12:00 in the participants accommodation. I chose this location to put my participant in a place of comfort and knew this would change the dynamic of the interview completely. Seeing as though we don’t know much about each other, I felt like it would also help me conduct the interview as I was probably just as nervous as him.

Using the connect2 link I booked a Sony camera, radio microphone and tripod. I had never used this equipment before or anything like it so it took a while to set up but gave my participant time to gather himself.

Location is an important part to any interview and felt that this contributed to the feel of my video. I wanted a professional yet casual interview and chose a position in the living area that I thought would look best. Having my participant placed near the window we got some natural light from his left, and on his right a blank wall which I felt would keep the audience focused on him.

The questions that I had prepared were mostly based around his interaction with technology, knowing that his course was applied computing. Believing that focusing on that field with this specific participant would result in interesting and informative responses. The way I ordered my questions was to keep the conversation natural rather than jumping from topic to topic and I felt I accomplished that. By starting with general questions such as “what technology do you use in everyday life?” gets the participant to start listing devices giving him confidence to answer more difficult questions. The end of the interview I wanted to get a look at his personal feelings towards social media and how peer pressure plays a strong role. I could tell he found this question more challenging to answer by observing his facial reactions and resistance to answer. In the end he didn’t have a conclusive answer but his personal opinion which seemed to sum up the interview nicely.

Transcribing

Once the footage was captured and put safely onto the computer the next task was to transcribe the entire interview. This is simply watching the footage, and typing up the entire conversation. I did this by starting and stopping the video at every sentence, so as if you were to read it. I realised that I am quite slow at transcribing, so i did not enjoy it very much. However, whilst transcribing can take up a large amount of time, for me it took about an hour and a half as my interview didn’t have much small talk but quick and informative answers.

Having the transcript in front of me really helped to understand the answers in depth. I didn’t get the holy grail of insights but with the answers he gave I analysed them and split them into different themes allowing for a kind of mind map of the interview. You can see how when we have a conversation we don’t realise everything that is being said in depth at the moment.

 

With help from Katie I had a better insight into how this was done. It may sound simple but we can learn much more from the answers given when you write them down and really have a deep think about what is being said. She told us about her 3 step method which I put into practice myself and found it helped to fully evaluate the interview. I believe I wouldn’t have found insights without this way of thinking.

Final Edit

The hardest part of editing was deciding what to cut to keep to my time limit. I found that I had to cut large amounts of important information and was worried to do so. I had to play around with the footage for a while but when I had finished I was happy with the final result. Some cuts might have been edited badly but that is something I can work on in the future.

Personal Experience

Technology is something I personally can’t live without. When I was presented with this module, at first I found it daunting as I have never conducted an interview before. I have edited many different video files and used premiere pro to make showreels, but never made my own video pointing a camera at someone I barely know.

As the weeks went on I felt more and more anxious about this project as its something I have never done and that worried me. Once the day came that I had organised the interview to take place, all this fear went away once I set up the tripod and camera. I told my participant that my knowledge about the equipment and the entire process was lacking but they didn’t rush me and everything seemed to work well.

I recorded the interview twice because the radio lapel mic Madde the audio crackled and echoey. We tested it before we began but seemed as though it was unnecessary for capturing clear audio. Attempting to move the mic to several locations on the participant didn’t help so the second time recording, I decided to use the camera mic. The room was quiet so this didn’t seem to be an issue. I had never used any of this equipment before but by the end of the day I felt more confident that when I do this or something similar again I will do better.

Conclusion

I feel as though I now know how to conduct an interview successfully and get the information I disire. Then take the new found information and fully analyse it to understand it in depth.  This module has been very educational as well as enjoyable. I have learnt new skills that I will carry with me throughout my time in design. Skills such as using the various pieces of equipment. Booking it out, setting it up and recording a good quality video. This knowledge will be used for many years to come. This module has not just taught me camera and recording skills but also communicating skills.

 

Vimeo link to video : https://vimeo.com/314519958