For the SU Elections, we had to work in groups to interview a student running for a role in the SU such as SU president. I had the role of monitoring the sound levels, so this meant operating the boom pole, attaching the microphone packs to the interviewees and making sure the sound coming into the camera was clear.
We had to make sure the interviewee was aware of wires, even though we stuck them to the floor, to make sure he didn’t trip over anything unexpected. We also asked for consent from the interviewee to show the completed video as an artefact. “It is normal to seek consent before the research starts.” (NSPCC. (2018). Research with children: ethics, safety and avoiding harm. Last accessed 21st May 2019)
I was trying to achieve a suitable video to show in the SU for the promotion of Tim Holmes, who was running to be the SU president. A potential problem that could’ve been found when interviewing is not making the interviewee feel comfortable. We made our interviewee feel at ease by introducing our team and getting to know him, as well as giving an insight into what we would be asking before the interview commenced.
We wanted to make sure the interviewee said everything he wanted to, as the interview was not only for our benefit but for his campaign. “It is always good to ask towards the end: “Is there anything else you’d like to add?” It is polite and stops the interviewee feeling annoyed that they didn’t get chance to talk about their pet subject.” (Harcup, T (2015). Journalism Principals and Practice.)
Bibliography
Harcup, T (2015). Journalism Principals and Practice. 3rd ed. London: Sage. p135.
NSPCC. (2018). Research with children: ethics, safety and avoiding harm. Available: https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/research-resources/briefings/research-with-children-ethics-safety-avoiding-harm/. Last accessed 21st May 2019.