COMMISSION: Initial interviews + Interview Skills

"The aim of an interview is to provide, in the interviewees own words, facts, reasons or opinions on a particular topic so that the listener can form a conclusion as to the validity of what he or she is saying." -Radio Production (R.McLeish , Fifth Edition, 2005) http://lib.myilibrary.com/Open.aspx?id=75430)

To prepare for our interview with members of MACA I looked into interview skills, specifically looking at interviewing for radio - as our project is solely based in sound. Since this was the first time we were meeting our potential key characters whose stories will carry our narrative I wanted to find out as much as possible about them, unhindered by the time constraints of recording. However, due to the nature of the club conversations were spoken over and easily lost track of. Whilst asking to relocate would have been easier and perhaps more fruitful for the interviews I think it was also important to make our interviewees as comfortable as possible to be able to explore their stories as naturally as we could.

Ian:
Came to Britain in Dec 1959
First house in Battersea, described as "Ghetto"
Paid £3,000 with 4 brothers, "It was cheap because it was such a dump"
Joined the army

Ron:
Lived in Jamaica, where white people were welcomed and treated with respect - found this a contrast to his treatment in Britain.
Came over in 1964 and had good starts.
Was received by friend.
Did 'this and that' - hard to find a solid job because of his race
Tries to take racism in his stride
"It's not the country, it's the people. Country is just land, it can't hate people."
"We (Jamaicans) are civilised, we don't need laws telling us how to treat each other."

Cynthia
Moved to London in 50s after husband
Rented from Jamaicans
Brought up christian
First job - car parts (company not their now)
Darts polishing
Already a mother but had more children
Once grown, back to work as chef - followed children and became a school chef
Once got called a "black bitch" - responded with a backhand

Lived in Lewisham, Brockly

Joined a temp agency and worked in cantines in Tesco, hospitals

Permanent job at Jigsaw nursery for 22 years

People are more polite and friendly but aggression still exists

"We weren't raised here but we came over, built and fixed this country"

 Whilst I think all three interviews could potentially make good stories, each presents their own minor problems. Cynthia would need to be kept on track as she has a tendency to drift off topic, hopefully having this knowledge will help us prepare more direct questions to achieve focused responses. I was annoyed that my conversation with Ian was cut short but I quickly realised his story will be interesting, fruitful and his entertaining charm, captivating to an audience; however, he is mild mannered and soft spoken - mic placement will be key to capturing his story clearly. Whilst Ron's intelligence and positivity make him a keen and engaging storyteller ideal for this project, our interview finished with him telling me he did not wish for his stories to be used - by being more direct in future I can avoid this potential disappointment. This being said, our conversation was still incredibly informative and I hope I can use what he has taught me of Jamaica and Jamaican culture to positively influence the work.