From Director Debi Lang: I asked our Associate Producer Anna Ashford to submit a blog to share what the most valuable thing she learned while working with CFTWF
One of the most valuable experiences I took away from my month working for Caring for the World Films in Uganda was learning how to interview, and more importantly, learning how to interview ethically. As the Field Producer, (and also the owner of a British accent), Debi decided she would want me to conduct the interviews. I had never before worked on a film crew or in journalism so this experience was totally new to me. So what did I learn? The first, and most obvious, thing to learn about interviewing is to ask open questions, allowing the interviewees to give you the answer themselves and prevent meaningless “yes/no” answers. Furthermore asking open questions allows you to dig deeper, the most valuable cliché for any journalist. It is far easier said than done though I discovered. As we were sussing the ins and outs of how Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project works we had to dig deeper on numerous fronts, including several very sensitive ones; teenage pregnancies, family deaths and rape. So asking open questions is very important.
One of the most valuable experiences I took away from my month working for Caring for the World Films in Uganda was learning how to interview, and more importantly, learning how to interview ethically. As the Field Producer, (and also the owner of a British accent), Debi decided she would want me to conduct the interviews. I had never before worked on a film crew or in journalism so this experience was totally new to me. So what did I learn? The first, and most obvious, thing to learn about interviewing is to ask open questions, allowing the interviewees to give you the answer themselves and prevent meaningless “yes/no” answers. Furthermore asking open questions allows you to dig deeper, the most valuable cliché for any journalist. It is far easier said than done though I discovered. As we were sussing the ins and outs of how Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project works we had to dig deeper on numerous fronts, including several very sensitive ones; teenage pregnancies, family deaths and rape. So asking open questions is very important.