Crafting an interesting compliment
When a compliment also shines light on the filmmaking process, everybody wins.
Most people on a film set people put in a lot of hard work and are incredible to work with while going completely under the radar. I think it’s very fair for filmmakers to see interviews as an opportunity to credit and thank those people.
The downside is that this has lead to a lot of Behind the Scenes content full of nice compliments and statements about how great each cast and crew member was to work with, but without much depth beyond that.
The issue is, most viewers don’t care about it. We don’t watch BTS documentaries to hear people being complimented. We want to learn about how the film was made.
So how can a balance be found that satisfies both the viewer and the filmmakers? I think with the right approach, it’s very possible to exceed the expectations of both.
When conducting interviews, I feel that a big part of our job should be to guide the conversation towards specific and interesting insights about the process. With this focus, I think we can actually draw out more meaningful compliments than what might naturally arise.
Here’s an example of how an interview commonly unfolds:
Q - What was Rick Dalton like to work with?
A - He was so great! Such a professional and a really nice guy. He brought a lot to the role and was such a joy to work with.
Not very interesting right? Even as a compliment it’s pretty generic. From here though, there are a lot of opportunities to dig deeper and find more specific insights that shine light on a particular trait of the person in question, as well as the filmmaking process its-self.
A few examples include:
Can you share one of the things you enjoyed the most about working with him?
Can you share about his process for getting into character?
How did his process and personality help to shape the day-to-day filmmaking process?
What unique elements did he bring to the character?
These are all fairly generic questions (and maybe not even the best), but they all have the potential to lead to more interesting answers and insights which can also double as really meaningful compliments. Ideally, you’ll be able to tailor questions towards the specific role, story and production to find insights that are entirely unique to the film you’re focussing on.
One example comes from Grounded: The Making of The Last of Us. When focussing on Ashley Johnson (the actress portraying Ellie), the creators start by talking about how she brought a lot to the character that wasn’t in the script initially. They then share a story from her first day of filming where her character was supposed to wait off to the side while the main character, Joel fought off a handful of enemies. She had a conversation with the director, sharing that if she was in this situation, she would be inclined to fight back. The director then shared about how he really appreciated the idea and decided to implement it into not only this scene, but a lot of other action scenes throughout the rest of the game, in order to make Ellie a more active character with a stronger personality than what was originally planned.
Hearing this story gives me a great insight into how the character was developed, as well as an appreciation for the depth that Ashley brought to the role. Ultimately, it’s a lot more meaningful than “She was great to work with.”
Another great example worth looking at is “The Fellowship of the Cast” from the bonus features of The Fellowship of the Ring. I see this as possibly the gold standard for giving insights to each of the key cast members in a way that is incredibly engaging, entertaining, and authentic.
In the end, I think everybody wins when interviewers are able to draw out compliments which also shine light on the filmmaking process.