How to Get Great Interview Footage

9 Tips to shoot an interview Documentary Style
Create an outline with several points you want to cover.

Have the subject repeat the question in their answer.

Shoulder rig with follow focus used during documentary interview.
[frame from Shooting a Documentary Style Interview - Video Tutorial - YouTube]

Shoot your interview with two cameras. Choose the camera positions by where you would like the subject to look. One wider shot showing the subject in their environment, and a close up camera that creates intimacy with the subject.

Capture two audio sources in case one of them has a problem. A wireless lav mic is great for interviews because it cuts down on background noise. A shotgun mic can capture a second audio source.

When a question sparks emotion, follow it up with questions along the same line.

Make the interview conversational and always look at your subject so they feel comfortable.

Get B-Roll about everything possible that your subject talks about.  It will make the editing process go much smoother and makes the piece a lot richer.

Don’t give out specific questions in advance
I cannot stress this point strongly enough. It’s perfectly acceptable to give someone a general idea of what the interview will be about, but do not give them your list of questions. If you do, they will try to memorize their answers in advance and you will lose spontaneity and freshness. Your interview will end up feeling stale, unauthentic and rehearsed. [via: Top 10 Video Interviewing Tips for Documentary Filmmaking]

Learn more:

What I Learned After Conducting 40+ Interviews for My First Feature Documentary

Top 10 Video Interviewing Tips for Documentary Filmmaking