A little side note since I seem to be talking about stills: the previous advice can be applied to both stills and video. With a still picture story, the narrative can be what you shot; sequence your images and you can create a storyline, provided you have followed previous direction. With video, usually the interview sets the tone for the narrative, so if you don’t have the right questions, you won’t have the right answers, and it will leave you without a narrative. Let’s take the family whose parents lost their jobs and they are moving out of their home because they lost that too. You can ask, “How did it feel to lose your home,” and the answer is, “Bad, I felt bad, I never thought this would happen.” That is a pretty boring/expected response because the question is boring/expected. Now consider asking a question like, “When you lost your home, how do you think that affected your children?” or “When you received notice you were defaulting on your mortgage, did you ever think you would actually lose your home? Can you give me your thoughts when you first received word the bank was foreclosing on your home? Did you tell your children?”
I suggest writing down questions with possible questions asked in various ways. Rephrase the question multiple times to ensure the answers are what you need. Thinking about (and crafting) the best possible answer will help you create a great narrative.
