This week we are going explore interview techniques, and, of course, you'll be writing a couple of your own.
Let's begin by taking a look at a couple of interviews. And what better way than Interview Magazine. (http://www.interviewmagazine.com/) Browse through the magazine and read one interview in depth.
By the end of the class on Monday, write 30- 50 words on why this was an effective interview. (What type of questions were used? How did the interviewer handle incomplete questions? What back ground material did the interviewer bring to the table?)
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Owen Responding to post on the interview of Lady Gaga.
ReplyDeleteThis article is full of aids. It uses short and to the point questions so as to not confuse Lady Gaga. She can't handle big words or sentences. The interview is not long because the Lady begins to melt under the hot lights after awhile. This woman does not make music.
Noah responding to the interview of Wavves.
ReplyDeleteJust to start this off I HATE WAVVES but I will try to not let that affect my resonse to the interview. However in the music section this article focuses the smallest amount on the actual music of Wavves then anything else. "It’s no small feat considering that Williams’s music—scuzzed-out home-recorded surf rock that marries sunny ’60s-pop leanings with gothy dirtbag SoCal skate punk—is willfully unpolished and obsessed with the most adolescent of concerns." This is the only sentence describing the music of Wavves and it is extremely wrong and misleading. The music of Wavves is trendy lo fi minimal music created with minimal effort. However what this article does flawlessly is focus on the image of Wavves. Further pushing the egotistical approach of todays hipster music its all an image. Sing about solitude and and faux art and dress like everyone else. This article isn't a review or a reflection of the music but its an ego boost further pushing hipsterdom farther than its ever needed. Music shouldnt be trendy, a fashion statement, or a way to get money but all this interview does is promote that further. Doesnt seem like this bullllllshit will end.
This article focuses mostly on different bands out in NYC right now, all of which consist of really goofy hipsters. It describes the group Mirror Mirror as a psychedellic group but looking at a picture of the group will say that this is very wrong. it concludes with saying that the diversity in music has created a free for all enviroment for music. This is good but people that know nothing about music will continue to make garbage.
ReplyDeleteAmanda Said...
ReplyDeleteFILM
END OF THE LINE
By DARRELL HARTMAN
This interview was successful because the interviewer asked questions based on previous answers. He made transitions rather than skipping to the next question and changing the subject. Also, the interviewer saw the movie that was being discussed so he could make references and ask specific questions about the film.
I noticed many questions were open questions that let the person who was being interviewed open up abut a subject. In the interview with Mike Tyson it seemed his first question wasn’t really interesting to him until he was asked about his childhood and his old neighborhood. Many of the interviews make observations about the person and ask if it’s true. Interviews try to ask polite as they can about private issues, or questions that can make the person whose being interviewed say something they haven’t before. - Felisa
ReplyDeleteI noticed many questions were open questions that let the person who was being interviewed open up abut a subject. In the interview with Mike Tyson it seemed his first question wasn’t really interesting to him until he was asked about his childhood and his old neighborhood. Many of the interviews make observations about the person and ask if it’s true. Interviews try to ask polite as they can about private issues, or questions that can make the person whose being interviewed say something they haven’t before.
ReplyDeleteJustin Said....
ReplyDeleteThat in the Mike Tyson interview the interview handled Tyson in a very polite way. He coul tell that Tyson was a person that doesn't enjoy talking about much, but in order to get what he was looking for in the interviews, the interviewer would restate questions in different words, and if Tyson were to not answer the way the interviewer wanted, he would move on. A lot of questions were ask about his childhood.
Felisa-I noticed many questions were open questions that let the person who was being interviewed open up abut a subject. In the interview with Mike Tyson it seemed his first question wasn’t really interesting to him until he was asked about his childhood and his old neighborhood. Many of the interviews make observations about the person and ask if it’s true. Interviews try to ask polite as they can about private issues, or questions that can make the person whose being interviewed say something they haven’t before.
ReplyDeleteThe interview I chose was one regarding an Argentine polo player named Nacho Figueras. This interview was very successuful because the interviewer was able to ask personal in depth questions which gave the reader more of an insight into both his life on and off the field. Finally the interview accomplished its goal in showing how Figueras is continuing to push for change in the way the sport of polo is viewed.
ReplyDeleteKaty :
ReplyDeleteI read an interview of Natalie Portman. It was especially interesting because Jake Gyllenhall was the interviewer. It was good because as she answered questions, he would come up with other questions based on what she said, to help her elaborate. He also added a lot of information from his own life, to connect things. The questions he asked were interesting because they delved more into what she beleived and who she is as a person. They didn't really focus on her career, they made her out to be a real person, and not one who needs to prove herself. The questions asked really made her (and the reader) think, they weren't necessarily straightforward questions, which made them more interesting.
Zthoeri Hosier
ReplyDeleteJournalism
Period 4
Mrs. Parker
The interview that I am analyzing is between Owen Wilson and Woody Harrelson. The Interview concerns the movie The Messenger, where Harrelson will be starring. I found this interview to be effective because of the casual, yet professional conduct between both parties. Also, the questions and answers, in general, ranged widely in terms of subject matter, demonstrating an actual conversation, as opposed to a standard Q & A. Finally, Harrelson, instead of simply answering questions, engaged Wilson in the interview by giving him opportunities to expand on the given topic at the time. From this interview, I now know of the rollercoaster ride that Woody Harrelson’s acting carrier was. I also learned that both Wilson, and Harrelson are bad at poker.
Nastalsia-Elizabeth Neel,By Michel Auder
ReplyDelete..Auder really got Ms Neel to open up about very personal situations even though in the beginning she seemed very uncomfortable doing so. I think its because he seemed very personable and, and it seemed as if it wasnt an interview at all. It was like you were hearing a conversations between two friends.
I read the Kristen Stewart interview. It was effective in that it was descriptive towards the whole idea of who the actress is and how has her lifestyle/career affected her as well as the fans. The interview had mentioned future things such as the 3rd book of the twilight saga “Eclipse”, to be in theaters next year. In the interview questions such as buying a house? and getting married? were said. These questions particularly pertain to Kristen Stewart and they also apply to her personal life and relationship with Robert Pattinson. But these questions were just headlines, questions that will grab the public’s attention. The people seem to take the role playing of Stewart’s and Pattinson’s characters in the twilight films and apply it to their actual lives in reality. Within the twilight films there is relation to life in general. The youth of the world happens to be misunderstood by a majority of the population and Stewart’s role playing interconnects with loneliness and being misunderstood.
ReplyDeleteThe interview I chose to respond to was about Maurizio Cattelan and why the current political and economic climates could surprisingly turn into an opportunity for artists. This interview was not as productive as it could have been. This was because for starters the questions asked were not direct enough letting Cattelan bend the question to a different topic. This lets them to end up talking about optimism following Barack Obama’s election running parallel. Lastly the interviewer just went with the off topic discussion leading down a road of disaster.
ReplyDeleteMichelle Davis- The interview was with michael Jackson and Bob colacello. He asked michael simple questions about performing on stage and about his life being famous and all. Colacello asks Jackson questions based on the things he last said. which leads to his next question
ReplyDeleteAlanna Forster
ReplyDeleteI read the interview with Kirsten Stewart, by Dennis Hopper. THe interview is very light and easy going in the beginning, as he hands the phone to his daughter so she can talk to Kirsten Stewart. He asks her things like how she started acting and what it was like growing up with parents already in the industry. He discusses the media around Twilight and how much attention she is getting, as well as how she feels about it. Kirsten Stewart goes into a lot of detail about the past year or so of her life and how the movie has affected her. The interview was good and to the point, it actually kept the reader quite captivated throughout.
The mike tyson interview was a good interview because many questions were asked about mike tysons fighting expierence his training and all of the hardships of life. They were talking about how mike tyson was a shy person but a ruthless fighter and how he was never fewarless going into a fight.
ReplyDeleteLYLA SAYS: This was an effective interview because the interviewer asked a variety of open-ended questions, in order to give the reader a multitude of different topics addressed (to retain their interest) and to give Kristen Stewart plenty to work with when answering. The interviewer addressed questions about Kristen's childhood, her involvement in the Twilight series, the difficulties of fame, etc.
ReplyDeleteIn order to keep the momentum of the interview going, the interviewer framed his next questions around the answers that Kristen gave, making conversation flow smoothly.
I read the interview about the road. director john Hillcoat was interview. it was very interesting, mainly because i have read the book by mccarthy. they asked question about how mccarthy felt about the film. it was interesting on how he responded by going into the bathroom for twenty minutes (probably crying) after veiwing it. Very touching
ReplyDeletesays Amy Lin
ReplyDeleteKristen Stewart interviewed by Dennis Hopper. This interview was effective because it asked the who, what, where, when, why, and how questions on Kristen Stewart. Not only does he asks those he also asked her opinion to questions and how she thinks while she working and not. It answers about what kind of personality she has and her persoinal backround information without any offense. It also answers most of magazines headlines so it would catch alot of attention.
Claire Riby
ReplyDeleteI read the article on Donatella Versace by Lenny Kravitz. The interview was about Donatella's new clothing line and also on Lenny Kravitz's reissue of his first album "let love rule." The talked about how they first met which was in a Versace fashion show where Lenny Kravitz performed at. Lenny asked Versace a variety of question about her new line and how music (especially metallica) influenced not only her newest line but many of her past ones. Kravitz and Versace also discussed how they mesh their business with their family. Both talk about its difficulties yet how family will always come first. The interview was definitely an interview between friends, and even though it was supposed to be on Donatella, Kravtiz was also discussed about in the article.
Stephanie Scheib
ReplyDeleteStranger Than Fiction
By REBECCA SINN
The interview was unsuccessful because the interviewer had some background information on Ruth Wilson and her family because the interview is mostly about her family and not the show she is doing. Most of the questions were about how her grandfather was a spy, a writer and practiced polygamy. And how her family never knew this until relatively recently as in the past 4 years. The interview later talked about The Prisoner a TV show. The interviewer knew about the previous versions of The Prisoner and asked how this version differs from previous versions.
Jala- i read a interview with Kid sister. Im a fan of her music so i looked into what she had t say. While she was being interviewed she was getting her hair done whichi thought was funny. MICHAEL D AYERS (the guy inteviewing her)was asking her questions about her new cd, but since she was getting her hair done she put him on hold to ask the girl who was doing her hair if she could turn the music down because it was distracting her. After she went on a tanget about the music that was playing in the background and how much she loved it i notice that Ayers jumped right back on subject to get the information he wanted from her. Even though he didnt even responed to what she said and just ignored her...but i guess you gotta do what you gotta do...
ReplyDeleteI chose an interview of Natalie Portman by Jake Gyllenhaal. After both being in the movie Brothers, also starring Toby McGuire, they did not really need any ice breakers, though they did add them. This helped a great deal in the interviewing process because they were already comfortable with each other and didn't mind opening up or asking personal questions. Because of this, Gyllenhaal asked many random and many personal questions which let us see more of Portman's personality. Questions like "Okay, growing up, what were some of your favorite toys to play with?" helped to create a connection between interviewee and reader. Though there were many served questions, he also delved into her fears and other personal matters.
ReplyDelete--Caroline West
Emily says:
ReplyDeletethe interview I choise was about Natalie Portman. I found the interview very interesting because some of the questions that were asked were out of the ordinary. such as what are your cures for jet lag, and what song describes your life right now. Jake Gyllenhaal did a great job on the interview in keeping the questions flowing and keeping the questions interesting.
Suzette: After reading the Winona Ryder interview by Stephen Mooallem,I noticed how the questions were kept brief and simple. This gave the person a chance to elaborate and explain. The interviwer kept the questions close to home and connected directly to Ryder's life. Being that she started off young, a lot of the questions pertained to how she felt, what she remembered, and how her family life was.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the Kid Cudi interview its clear that the interviewer asked very basic questions that would be typical of a new popular hip hop artist. The interview was effective in the aspects of getting to know kid cudi in a very dilute manner. The interviewer asks Cudi why he makes the songs and what messages he is trying to bring out in his music. A very typical interview not very interesting.
ReplyDeleteDevonte
ReplyDeleteThe interview I am reviewing is between Elvis Mitchell and Mike Tyson. The interview was basicly centered around the documentary that was made about Tyson. It talked about his childhood and growing up and his career as a boxer
Rob Pruitt interview
ReplyDeleteThis was a good interview because the interviewer was able to ask the artist relevent, interesting questions with out making them short and with out contex. The interviewer connects Pruitts artworks with his house and is very successful at making the conversation flow. The interviewer also made sure to have researched the artist before hand.
The interveiw i choose to use was about shoe vacuum packed.They used unneccessary question like are you on the light side or the dark side. They didnt even answer the question they just went on about something new on that topic. They talked about other highlights didnt give really no background information. by lashaunte mcknight
ReplyDeleteBrittany Lawson
ReplyDeleteThe interview that i read involved T.I's wife "Tiny". Her daughter, and Lil' wayne's daughter have an upcoming group called the OMG girls. The interview was effective because it gives the reader updates on to artists as well as their family members. The interviewer basically asks questions about what Tiny does for the group, and she answers the questins. Its a very vague inteview, and its not very interesting.
pretty much the interview was about a world class boxer, mike tyson and how he dealed with asthma while he was in the ring. the interviewer talks to him about this issue and also a documentary about his childhoold
ReplyDeletePeter's response:
ReplyDeletePrior to reading this interview, I knew only one thing about The Cool Kids. Their lawyers presented one of my favorite bands, Teenage Cool Kids, with a cease and desist order, claiming that they were stepping on the feet of The Cool Kids with a similar name. When reading about this debacle, which has now since been diffused, I decided to take a listen to the Chicago based group The Cool Kids and found something that was exponentially less than thrilling. Reading this interview only confirmed my dislike of the band. The read began with a little background information on the band commenting on the so-called “old-school” sound of the duo and revealing that the pair met via Internet. This is an automatic no-no in my book. The questions that were asked of the group lead to contradicting answers from the two members. Chuck English claims, “We're just being ourselves,” while band mate Mikey Rocks says that they “definitely look up to other artists that are doing something creative.” Again as in other interviews, after the first two questions the focus changes from the “music” that made the duo known, to their fashion sense, in which case the pair become a little more than enthusiastic and display a little bit of passion in their interview.
(Cyndi Lauper Interview) I felt like this interview was a lot more like two friends catching up, rather than an interview for an audience who doesn't know Cyndi Lauper on that kind of level. I didn't really mind that as much because I know who Cyndi Lauper is, and I know that she (quite prominently) has become an icon in the gay-lesbian-bisexual-transgender community because of her support. But if I was just reading this interview, trying to learn more about Cyndi Lauper, I wouldn't have learned very much.
ReplyDeleteZoe C
Responding to an interview written about actress Natalie Portman, by actor Jake Gyllenhaal.
ReplyDeleteThis interview uses a lot of interesting techniques. He starts with an "icebreaker question", which appears to just be a random question to help "break the ice" between the interviewer and interviewee. He asked Portman whose face she would add to Mt. Rushmore. She couldn't answer, but then again, neither could he. The rest of the interview consisted of sharp changes in topics, followed by smooth transitions back to an earlier topics. Sometimes, Gylenhaal just made a statement, and waited for Portman's response, rather than just asking a straight question.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletethe interview im reading is about the creators of fantastic MAN.... the interview is effective because it has a lead and clearly states what the interview will be about. the questions that were asked were very general but they allowed the person being interviewed to give a variwety of answers and also the article shows the actual conversation being had by the two crearors. also the questions being asked allowed the people being interviewed to say a lot of information that would be interesting to the person reading it. also since there are two creators the interview is effective in showing both of their responses to the questions
ReplyDeleteKristie said...
ReplyDeleteKristen Stewart interview by Dennis Hopper
I read the interview about Kristen Stewart. The interview was really good because the interviewer only asked small questions and Stewart expanded on the questions and gave more detailed answers. She was very honest about her opinions, and did not try to seem like anyone but herself. example: her language. It seems like she was giving out more information than she was asked for so the interview really gives the reader insight to her life. I like how she did'nt just say everything was ok and going great when it wasnt, and she spoke in depth about her struggles and frustrations with her career. The interviewer did not give too much background information but Stewart filled in the gaps. The topics jumped after almost every question because Hopper probably felt like there was no information left to be covered within the topics.
Venessa Simpson
ReplyDeleteAfter reading Kristen Stewart’s interview I felt very sympathetic for her. It really showed me a different side of her that I didn’t see before. I didn’t really think the interview, as a whole was that amazing however. The questions the interviewer asked didn’t seem to deep or provocative and he never followed up on the questions he asked. When I chose to read her interview I hoped to find out her true feels about her new stardom and what she plans on doing with the rest of her life.
Michael Jackson, Andy Warhol, and Bob (something-or-other)
ReplyDeleteThis interview is a great interview because the interviewer asked researched and intelligent questions. The questions were answered and explained well. The information was relevant to Michael Jackson's future, fame, music, and past. Questions were asked about Jackson's family life, numerous movie deals, feelings on the music industry, and current events. There is a general sense of joy about being onstage for shows. The excitement he feels is "as if another spirit overcomes" him and he "just goes crazy." The audience loves it every time.
Kristen Stewart interview
ReplyDeleteThis was a very personal interview and it really revealed Stewart's human side. She admitted to getting nervous when kids talk to and admire her because she doesn't really know what to say. She also shared how she wishes she could go on a walk after work rather than going straight to her hotel room. After asking a public question the interviewer always followed with a personal question.
Bjork interview
ReplyDeleteIt was a three sided, unconventional interview, with two official interviewers Mathias Augustyniak & Michaël Amzalagare with Bjork throwing questions at them as well. They came in with background knowledge and the conversation was completely casual. Mostly focusing on the artist coming up album and her opinions on art and Iceland.