When it comes to magazines, what I noticed a lot was that they had a lot of interviews from different people and that seemed to add more depth to the content published in the magazines. As I had no prior experience on the art of interviewing, I did research on conducting my own interview, transcribing it and then telling a story through the information gained.
Lesson By Media Teacher
A lesson was conducted by my Media Studies teacher on ‘Principles to Apply for a Successful Interview’. Good interviews, well researched and well crafted features, great photographs and a collection of articles that speak to its readership are what makes a magazine great.
This lesson was very informative and helped get an overview of what I should and should not do prior to an interview. As someone who barely knew anything about interviews apart from what I read in the magazines, this lesson was very insightful and assisted me in planning and preparing myself for the pending interviews.
YouTube Video
Video link: Art of Interviewing
During the lesson we watched a YouTube video on interviewing which developed my understanding further.
Listening to this video taught me that the art of interviewing is more than just asking a series of questions, it's asking questions with a purpose. It was resourceful in assisting me comprehend how I should conduct myself in an interview and how I can help the interviewee be comfortable on camera.
Reading Assignment
Followed by the lesson on conducting interviews, I was assigned to read through an article on writing an interview narrative essay. This article was centred on transcribing the interview notes and developing a story through it.
Article link: Interview narrative essay
Attached below is the annotated copy of the article after I finished reading and making notes about it.
This article was very helpful in giving me a deeper understanding on developing a complete story from basic notes and even gave insights on keeping the readers hooked to the article. The sample essay showed how I can incorporate each of the tips suggested in the article.
I read through a couple of interviews featured on fashion magazines as well. I found an article in the Avant-Garde magazine that has featured a very strong interview in my opinion.
Article link: Interview from Avant Garde
The layout of this interview was different compared to the previous one I read for my class assignment. It followed a question and answer style rather than a storytelling format. Yet, I found it very engaging. There was a good mix of lighthearted questions and hard-hitting ones, all of the questions asked were thought provoking and not factual.
Attached below is the link for the annotated PDF copy of the article after I finished making notes on it while reading. This was very convenient for me, as I was able to jot down any ideas, doubts and things I found interesting in the article.
PDF link: Avant Garde Annotated Interview
Layout Inspirations
After scrolling through Pinterest I was able to gather a collection of interview layout ideas that inspire me. I found the following better suited for my magazine.
I found the way the interview was titled '3 Questions' in the first design very different to the rest and it had also followed a question and answer format rather than building a story which was interesting as well.
Even the second image has a similar layout style - question and answer format. However what interested me in particular was the handwriting font used for the questions and a more formal font for the interviewee's responses. But I feel that the spaced out layout might be limiting when trying to write more descriptive content.
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