Day 2

Today is our first day of doing interviews. In the morning, we spent some time conducting interviews at Washington Square Park and were able to get some solid responses. At the start, we were a bit nervous about approaching strangers. We also spent longer than we expected searching for possible "targets." We were mainly looking for young adults of all gender and sexual orientations but were able to get a few clips of elders too.

The second interview of the day

After a brief lunch in Brooklyn, we headed out to a park in Dumbo under the Brooklyn Bridge. After making solid progress this afternoon, we headed back to our apartment and spent time discussing, reflecting, reviewing clips, and blogging about our work today. We gradually warmed up to the interview process and were able to develop a relatively efficient system. We figured out minor details throughout the process, such as who was holding the mic, where to stand, who was asking the questions, and what angle the camera should be pointing.

Claire interviewing

As the videographer, my main concern was getting the camera at the right angle, with the proper lighting, composition, and distance from the interviewee since my camera is connected to the mic we use to interview. I was also worried about how steady I held the camera. Because my camera doesn't have a stabilizer, my hands had to be very steady to avoid shakiness.

Me filming the interview

Me recording b-roll footage

Since I was constantly focusing on filming, I missed a couple of chances to ask follow-up questions to our interviewee. Our group also had a slight disagreement about the framing of interviewees, in which I got a bit overheated. After calming down and rethinking it, I realized that much of it was my fault, and I have to admit that I was too stubborn and should be humble to suggestions. For tomorrow, I will try my best to put their advice to work and will be open to acknowledging my groupmates' opinions. I will also try to be less precise in holding my camera steady and instead open up and pay attention to the interviewee, asking follow-up questions when necessary.