360 video requires a different approach
Click and drag on the video to explore the 360-degree environment. “Interviews for News and Documentaries on 360 Video,” is a 360 video project by Tom Burton, Zul Tinarbuko and Adonis Durado
Interviews are the building blocks of reality storytelling, especially in video. When real people tell their stories or share their expertise, documentary and news projects have authenticity and credibility. We hear stories from the people who have lived them.
In a traditional linear video, interviews are edited for length and used as narration. They rarely run for a long time without overlaying videos of related scenes. The clips called b-roll reinforce the storytelling, add information and provide visual variety. The combination of voice and images are sequenced to direct a specific, linear narrative.
A 360 video nearly abandons the formula of a B-roll interview. Each scene in 360 video has to run longer to allow viewers a chance to explore the surroundings. Four-second cuts or shorter ones are common in a linear video. That pace would be disorienting in 360 video where each edit is at least 15 seconds long.
During pre-production planning for a 360 interview, an experienced videographer should consider these points:
Will the interviewer be in the scene?
If the interviewer isn't seen, will the person in the story speak to the camera?
Can the interview be recorded separately and then used as voiceover narration?
Where will the interview take place?
As you answer these questions, also consider that technology is changing quickly, and each camera system captures and presents video differently. The final video delivery is also a variable whether the viewer uses a head-mounted device (HMD), a smartphone with a viewer, or on a desktop platform. It's best to experiment with different approaches and to view the videos across platforms. Be sure to have a friend who is not involved with your projects watch the videos too. Their experience in this new medium is valuable feedback.
CONVERSATION
The best interviews are conversations rather than question-and-answer sessions. People sound natural, and they tell a story. An experienced interviewer can steer a conversation to draw out a compelling narrative or revealing details. Each journalist or filmmaker has their approach, based on their personality.
Academics have studied the best interview approaches. In their book, "Interviewing: Principles and Practices," Charles J. Stewart and Will B. Cash, Jr. delve deeply into how interviews work, the best way to word questions, and what it takes to get the information you are seeking when you are the interviewer. Their definition is that an interview involves two parties who interact with each other. As important, an interview is a conversation with a purpose.
For journalism and documentaries, the purpose is to tell a real story. The goal of the interview is to get anecdotes, information, and emotional reactions to that story. The goal is to capture authentic dialogue that audio journalists sometimes call "good tape." For most video interviews of this type, the interviewer is seen briefly on camera, if at all.
If a traditional two-person interview is recorded with 360 video without changing the set-up, the interviewer can't hide. In the final version, a viewer can look around the full scene and see everything: the interviewer, audio technicians, videographers, lighting, and other production equipment.
Producers who record in this style feel viewers like the behind-the-scenes feel of seeing the crew and the rest of the scene, especially if the person interviewed is famous. The illusion of being in the room with a celebrity feels like an exclusive kind of access.
If you do keep the interviewer in the video, consider where you place the 360 camera. At first, it seems as if the camera should be between the interviewer and the interviewee. With this, both people would be looking into the camera, making virtual eye contact with the viewer. However, it can lead to back-and-forth head swinging if the viewer uses an HMD or a smartphone viewer. Look at the person, look at the interview, look back at the person. It is like watching a tennis match at the net rather than from the stands.
An alternative is to move the camera to the side, allowing the two people to be closer to each other in the framing. The viewer's virtual experience is then like being a third person listening to two interesting people.
You can see examples of this in the video on this page created at the GRID Lab at Ohio University's Scripps College of Communication. Working with fellow graduate students Zul Tinarbuko and Adonis Durado, we recorded interview examples, including the interviewer/interviewee set-up. The interview with GRID Lab manager Anthony Zoccola at the 01:15 mark shows how the camera set in between the two can also create a sense of being too close to the people — a virtual invading of personal space. The second camera position in this example is to the side of both parties. This viewing requires a minimal shift to view one person or the other.
There is a challenge deciding how long to let the conversation go before cutting to a different scene or angle. In our video, the interview is on the green chromakey set at the GRID Lab. While it is interesting initially, there isn't enough to hold a viewer's attention for the scene's length. People who saw this video in a headset said they found little of interest when they looked around the scene. If someone is engaging with 360 video, they expect each scene to be engaging, and if it isn't, they are likely to leave the video before the end.
ONE-PERSON PRESENTATION
Eliminating the interviewer from the recording solves some of the challenges outlined above. Letting the person be centerstage puts them at the center of their story. It takes planning to make this work but can be very effective in the 360 video experience.
Even though they won't be on video, it is still essential to have the interviewer there during recording. They can guide the person who will be telling the story and make first-time interviewees more comfortable. It will be the interviewer's responsibility to tell the person what information is needed and what stories to tell. The person being interviewed should be a good speaker who can tell their story. If they have experience in interviews, that helps. But even first-timers can become comfortable with guidance from the interviewer.
In this approach, the person telling the story can speak directly to the camera. A wireless lavalier microphone provides quality audio recording. The interviewer is not in the scene but could be there at the very beginning. They can cue the recording before moving into a hidden position in another room or behind an object.
Recording the person talking directly into the camera shifts the effect of the interview. The viewer has a virtual experience of listening (though not talking to) that person. This creates an added level of intimacy and empathy for the viewer.
VOICE OVER
In a third approach, recording the interview with audio-only keeps the natural dialogue of a two-party conversation. It also avoids any visual confusion of the video portion of the interview.
The audio interview is recorded in a place with "clean" room tone and without distracting background noise. Quiet rooms with heavy drapes, thick carpets, upholstered furniture and other sound-dampening objects are good. The interior of a car, with soft seats and headliner, also works. The microphones can be placed close without worrying about hiding them from view. And, the resulting audio can be edited easily for clarity without worrying about synchronizing the video.
The audio interview also allows for the back-and-forth conversation where the interviewer guides the person telling the story. The interviewer can easily be cut out in editing, leaving the only person's voice to tell the story. This interviewing is how audio journalists work on their assignments. The goal is to get the power of the human voice to tell the story.
If you record this way, what will the viewer see as they listen to the story? And how will they know who is speaking to them?
One approach is the 360 video equivalent of the environmental portrait that is a staple of the still photographer's set-ups. For this, a person is in a storytelling environment that has a lot to explore visually. They are posed in one spot, often looking at the camera.
For the 360 video, the person needs to be close enough to the camera to be prominent in the view. The ideal distance varies with each camera, but four to six feet away is good. More than 10 feet will be too far in most cases. The camera should be mounted at eye-level to the person so the viewer will feel as if they are on the same level.
The recording will run for a least one minute and possibly longer, so warn the person it will seem like an eternity to them. They don't have to remain frozen still. But they should not be moving around the environment unless you want their movement to lead the viewer's gaze to another part of the scene.
In the editing, be sure that when a viewer first hears a voice, they are looking at the person who is speaking. One way to reinforce that connection is to include an introduction in the audio recording. Have the person state their name and one characteristic about themself. It will sound more conversational. For instance: "I am Madeline Simmons, and I am an artist in South Texas."
You can reinforce the message again by using title graphics with the person's name. Leave the graphic on the screen longer than you would in a linear video. If a viewer has been looking at another part of the scene, this gives them time to find the speaker.
In the environmental portrait style, the camera is stationary. A 360 videographer can also choose a moving camera approach. Put the camera on a selfie stick that the person in the story carries. They can walk through an interesting environment as if they are leading you on tour. A variation is for the videographer to wear a helmet with the camera mounted on top. The videographer walks with and around the person as they take the tour.
To cover yourself, don't record just the moving camera versions of these portraits. Constant motion in 360-video can be distracting and sometimes causes motion sickness for the viewer. This motion sickness seems to lessen if the camera is attached to a vehicle. For instance, if your scene had the interviewer and interviewee riding in a horse carriage, the camera could be mounted on the carriage. The viewer would have a stable view of the carriage and the people, lessening the motion sickness trigger.
The 360 video in this project, “Interviews for News and Documentaries on 360 Video,” was a collaboration by Tom Burton, Zul Tinarbuko and Adonis Durado, graduate students at the Scripps College of Communication. We also owe a debt to Eric R. Williams, professor and director of MFA in Communication Media Arts at Ohio University. His guidance helped us with this group project and for each of us in our degree studies.
Comments