INTERVIEWS AND PHOTOGRAPHS
#Introduction to – Reporting Skills#
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4.0 Objective :
- This lesson explains the concept of interviews and describes the techniques of interviews.
- This lesson also explains the uses of photos and importance of photo journalism.
Structure of The Lesson :
4.0 Objective
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Interview Techniques
4.3 Interviews : Case Studies
4.4 Uses of Photographs
4.5 Pictures For Newspapers and Magazines
4.6 Tips For Good Stills
4.7 Types of Photography
4.8 Preparing A Picture
4.9 Summing up
4.10 Self Assessment Questions
4.11 References
4.1 Introduction :
Interviewing is a delicate art, unraveling the mind behind the success of failure of a wellknown and not so-well known person, is no easy task. An interview is considered to be a mutual view. He information is extracted and compiled in a question answer format. Direct talks give a personal touch. Editing is minimal. The communication here becomes three-in-one, the interviewer’s opinion reaching the reader through the interviewer.
The style of the interview depends both on the questions and the answers. The strategy to be used should vary from person to person. People react differently to the same kind of questions. The questions, however, may be structured or open-ended. In any case, it is important not to tax or embarrass the interviewee unduly. Some knowledge of the person’s background and character would help to prepare for an interview.
Pictures need to become a staple of the daily newspaper. Papers need to have trained news photographers and the equipment to make them effective. Journalists need to be told repeatedly if neces-sary that pictures have far more ‘readers’ than text, that’s picture is worth a thousand words and that even a poor quality of picture is worth a hundred words. Even from the paper’s layout point of view, a picture is necessary in a page that has at least three columns of space for news. When a picture is impossible to find, such a page will need a 2 or 3 column box made up to visually approximate a picture.
Interview and its techniques is one brand of journalism, the first stage of which is to decide which person is to be interviewed. Section of a person for interviewing depends on various considerations. The people in general are interested to know about prominent leaders, actors. Sportsperson, and at times, the people connected with the world of crimes. The journalists, therefore, are always in search of opportunities to search such people. Any visiting prominent person or some important person taking part in any function, etc. could be interviewed. An interviewing journalist has to decide the subject matter of his interview to make its news report. People hailing from the back ground classess are also, sometimes, interviewed to bring them in the focus of the public. Important visitors from the foreign countries can also be interviewed about the aim of the visit. The talks during the interview could range on the life, worked; their sources of motivation, daily routine, interests & inclinations thoughts, etc. or the conversation could be restricted to on e particular subject also.
4.2 Interview Techniques :
- Through study of the personality to be interviewed and the subject of the interview before hand is quite helpful in making the interview interesting and meaningful.
- Due respect should be given to the viewpoint & thought of the person being interviewed. There should be no neglect because of his person bearing, weakness of language. Educational status. Poverty or social status etc.,
- The interviiewer should not try to confuse the interviewee, nor should he put any pressure to extract some facts. The language of the interviewer should not be dry he should not try to put his own in the mouth of the interviewee, should talk less and his manner should not exhibit any bitterness, lethergy or dullness these are the factors, which create obstructions in building a congenial atmosphere.
- Due importance should be given to the views and talk of the interviewee and not to the views or talk of the interviewer himself. Listening with patience is an art do not try to dominate the interview.
- An interviewer should avoid indulging in controversial questioning. The questions, which could have adverse effect. which are against the national interest, or which aid sectarian ism, social bitterness, or which damage, somebody’s reputation, etc, should be avoided.
- The interview should be restricted to the allotted time. At the end, do not forget to thank the guest for giving his valuable time and giving his precious views.
4.3 Interviews : Case Studies :
For example
- What inspired you to make a TV serial on Indian Railways?
- Railways fascinate me
- What is the theme of the ‘Yatra’
- The story is different from the rest of the serials. Each episode will portray a character of different passengers travelling with a central character.
The interviewee sums up and adds her own comment at the end.
It would appear that ‘Yatra’ would keep the prime-time viewers glued to the screen. TV according to various studies in the country, is no longer an elite medium.
The following is an interview conducted by Sudeshna Roy with Dominique Lapieree in Business standard. A quotation from the author’s answers is displayed below.
CALCUTTA IS THE VITAMIN WE NEED
‘Dominique Lapierre is no stranger to Indians and neither is India a strange place for him’
Dominique Lapierre was in Calcutta, his ‘city of joy’, last week, when our correspondent spoke to him about his beliefs, his books, his life and his experience.
- Let us begin with city of Joy, your book on the city; how did you conceive it?
- My love for Calcutta has been growing for years
- What is it that you admire in the people here?
- It is their heroism-the life, the joy, the spirit that they reflect. In ‘city of joy I have tried to pay tribute to this spirit, to this humanity that still exists in Calcutta.
4.4 Uses of Photographs :
In the modern times, words do not attract the attention of the readers as does a picture. The events or moments captured by a photographer in his camera become permanent. These pictures can be used in various ways at times; a simple picture taken at the right time becomes a history.
There could be innumerable subjects for photography: politics, sports, nature, men and other living being, etc. the most important aspect of photography is what we are trying to capture in the camera of life on the celluloid.
4.5 Pictures for Newspapers and Magazines :
Photograph has a very important place in the field of mass communication and photojournalism is a revolutionary step towards this direction. A photo accompanying a news over any type of media has greater impact; any information without the supporting photographs appears incomplete. A relevant picture accompanied by its description make the event more interesting and gives readers or audience an impres-sion of their personal participation, Even the illiterate person understand the lanugage of pictures. A person who is totally ignorant about any event can understand the gist just by looking at the pictures; a picture never speaks a lie, because it is an evidence of an event. Picture puts life in the makeup of a newspaper; any page of a newspaper without a picture makes it insipid and lifeless. Some major newspapers publish a large photo on its front page in the form of conspicuous news. The same can be seen in the below photo-graph from a leading telugu daily.
A press photographer leads his life in danger, because a pen can be made to speak a false story, but a photo speaks the truth; a photo is, therefore, inconvertible evidence. Photographers are sometimes manhandled, their cameras are broken or damaged and they are also victimized. A photo-journalist therefore should have full knowledge of official rules, provisions and policies; over enthusiasm and viola-tion of the rules and regulations could put him in fix.
Photography is an art and its great significance lies in the fact that it makes a lasting impression. A photograph is an editorial, a report, news and a document also; but the only problem connected with the photo-journalism is that if a photographer fails to click at the right moment, the event slips away from his hands.
The present day newspapers and magazines are full off eye-catching photos. There is no definite subject for publishing the pictures; Presentation of news according to the and situation, if accompanied by appropriate pictures, make the nature of the news more meaningful and at the same time make the makeup of a newspaper more interesting.
There is a wide range of subjects for photography children, families, nature, industry, sports, literary and cultural activities, political scenario and other news information etc. Generally the newspapers and magazines publish the pictures which enhance the ‘news value’. Pictures could be black and white as well as coloured also; thought the black and white pictures are becoming a thing to the past; the present age gives priority to coloured photographs.
The coloured photographs can be obtained in two ways; taking prints to the colour reel and through the trasnparencies. The process of the transparency is similar to that of the colour photography, but its negative is used as the positive for printing. Photos taken through the transparencies are clearer and more effective, that is the reason these are used for quality colour printing. And the modern technol-ogy has shown us the digital photography which made us to give photos in seconds and any number of photos can be directly edited from camera to the computer in a few minutes. Taking photographs through a digital camera neither requires a reel, nor any processing; such photos can be downloaded in another computer and can be printed with the help of a scanner; the online editing as such pictures is also pos-sible.
Computer, the wonderful invention of the present age, is a storehouse of information and technol-ogy. The medium for taking photographs through the computer is ‘internet’. Internet keeps getting photo-
graphs on various subjects, which can be downloaded by the newspaper and magazines as per the requirements.
Here’s a highly abridged version of what transgressed: As part of a general amnesty, houses built before 2001 on plots of illegally sold land were “regularised”, and thus allowed to be resold on the market. Somebody with government connections got the bright idea of “backdating” some houses built after 2004, pretending that they were there since 2000, so that they could benefit from the amnesty and sell them.
The fast development in the field of photography has given it a revolutionary touch. Given below are the different type of photography which are in vogue at present:
- Black and white photos
- Colored photos
- Transparencies
- Digital photography
- Official photography
- Freelance photographer
4.6 Tips For Good Stills :
- The lens and camera should be chosen keeping in view the subject.
- Skills full and better use of film, shutter speed and aperture and aperture makes the stills more attentive.
- Make use of the fillters of enhance the visual effect.
- Use higher ASA films for the objects in motion.
- Proper use of flash and light enhance the appeal of the stills.
- Concentrate on the composition. A better composition gives new dimension to the still.
Types of Photography :
- wild photography
- environmental photography
- sports photography
- advertising photography
- photography at the time of wars
- political photography
- Social photography.
A photo-journalists, in addition to the knowledge on the uses of various types of lenses, should also known about the types of films to be used in the camera. After clicking, the next process is developing and printing. Today, most sophisticated machines equipped with digital automatic printing technique are available in the market, which have made the printing process very easy. The modern techniques have made the photo journalism more effective and splendid.
A photo journalist should have the ability to make forecasts on the technical and practical aspects. Otherwise also, he is expected to have the understanding of colour, film, motion, light and speed etc. A photo journalist having the ability to forecasts is able to dig out important aspects and scene out of even an ordinary looking event.
4.8 Preparing a Picture :
A favourte saying of art editors is that a photograph is not always a picture. A photograph may contain areas and objects that mean nothing to the story and may indeed be distractions. Just as unneces-sary verbiage must be cut out of a loosely written story, the useless parts of a photographs should be ‘cropped’ to bring out the picture in it.
Cropping means selecting that part of a photographs one wants to print in the paper. This selec-tion is made entirely on the basis of editorial considerations what will enhance a story, what face or scene will tell a story beat.
4.9 Summing up :
Interview is a method for highlighting the issues realted to the society and the general life. The most aspect of the interview technique is that the reporter conducting the interveiw shoud be able to express himself in an effective way, sothat a reporter or the interviewer and the interwee both join in the discussion, for this a reporter or the interwar should have an attractive personality Some of the significant aspects of the interwar are as under:
- pleasing personality
- Adept in the art of speaking
- discipline and self reliant
- patience and open-minded ness
- cooperative and trustworthy
- resolute and faithful and
- bearing a good character, courageous and moral.
Photo-journalism, though looks very simple, but it is not an easy task. Photography is not only a mechanical process; no doubt, one needs technical knowledge for photography and use of a camera, but lack of a keen eye for detail and wisdom fails to bring a realistic touch to the photographs. Clear pictures without capturing the sensitive details and life have little effect on the viewers.
Every newspaper has various aspects and its reporters and jouranlist follow such aspects to bring out his best; the aspects is also applicable to the photo-journalism aswell. A phto journalism smells, searches, digs out, builds and writes through the eyes of his camera.
