Since “Rabid Love” released in March (rabidlovemovie.com) I have had a steady flow of interview requests to talk about making the movie. I accepted all of them. Talking to bloggers and podcasters is a great way to promote your film. Especially with low budget projects that don’t have money for marketing, it’s really important to get the word out as much as possible. Remember, if your film does well it can only help your career as an actor. After having done a couple dozen now, I feel like I’m really getting the hang of it. Written interviews are pretty standard and give you time to spellcheck and rewrite, but it’s those pesky in person, on camera, or over the phone interviews that can get you really hung up; So here are some tips to help you charm the pants off of the next blogger you sit down with:
Know what project you’re talking about.
Pretty standard, right? Well last week I had an interview scheduled and (I thought) all ready to go until I got on the phone and found out that we were not talking about “Rabid Love” but about “Frank” another film I acted in. I pretty much rambled on the entire interview trying to switch my brain’s gears into talking about a movie I hadn’t been ready to discuss. I have no idea what I ended up saying, so save yourself that heartache and double check before hand.
Take a trip down memory lane.
Because of the time it takes to get a project edited and out to its audience, most interviews will be about projects that you shot a year or more ago. So before your interview spend a little time looking through old photos from set, rewatching the movie, or just reminiscing all the good and bad things that happened while shooting. Interviewers are almost always going to ask for a funny anecdote or horror story that happened on set. Cut down the amount of dead air time, and have a few in your back pocket ready to whip out.
Know what time zone you and your interviewer are in and the difference between the two.
The internet breaks down borders and makes it possible to feel like you’re in the same room with your interviewer, but in fact you can still be many miles away from each other. Sometimes your interviewer will be on the other side of the country or in a totally different one. I had an interview scheduled with someone I thought was American and while I hadn’t checked his time zone, I figured it would be at most 4 hours difference. Turns out he was in the UK and I totally missed our time. Luckily it was not a live interview, just a recorded one so we were able to reschedule, but I did not like coming off so unprofessional. So check ahead of time, way ahead of time.
Do your homework.
If your interviewer has a blog or a podcast check it out ahead of time. Click on some of their older interviews so you have a good idea of what their style is. This will also give you a clue as to some of the questions they are likely to ask. Some sites focus on the technical aspects of filmmaking, others just want a good sampling of your personality. For example, I did an on camera interview for horriblyhooched.com and because I watched and read their past interviews, I found out that the guys drink alcohol while interviewing filmmakers or critiquing films. So I went into the interview with beer in hand. They liked that a lot and we were all immediately on the same page. If you know ahead of time who you’ll be talking to, the tone will be set much quicker from the get go.
And finally…
Be ready to have a good time.
We in this biz are all entertainers, right? So when someone wants to interview you, they also want a piece that is entertaining for their viewers, listeners, or readers. You’re not being interrogated or interviewed for a big important job. You already did the work, and the interview is a time to look back and laugh. So go into your interview with a smile on your face and think of your interviewer as an old friend that you’re catching up with instead of the stranger you’ve never met who they most likely are. This will help set the tone and make your interview time a lot of fun for everyone involved.
Horribly Hooched interview: