More than once Gail Mooney has advised photographers new to video to shut up when recording audio interviews. I got the point — I thought. If we are not quite, in general, or jump to quickly to the the next question we risk making a mess of our audio files, making editing a real bitch, possibly losing precious soundbites. That made sense. But I’ve discovered that Mooney’s advice actually is much more deeply valuable than had thought.
When Mooney was here in Buenos Aires finishing up her “Opening Our Eyes” reporting, she invited me to help her and Erin Kelly (her daughter/project partner) with one on their interviews. My job: to help with translating. Mooney gave me a quick prep talk before the interviewing, insisting that I shut up as much as possible, and advised me to nod my head, make eye contact and try to encourage further talking — on the subject’s part — by not doing any talking on my part.
If you’ve ever met or been interviewed by me, you’ll know that one of the hardest things for me to do is shut up. I talk, talk, talk, talk.
But then, on location interviewing Maria Eugenia Cuyas, with Mooney working the camera and Erin and I asking the questions, I saw the value of shutting up in action. It wasn’t — as I had thought — just about not jumping on top of the interviewees final words. It was about eliciting much more interesting, expansive answers by using the power of silence.
A Chance to Shut Up for The Master
On Mooney and Erin’s last day in Buenos Aires, I was honored to have the chance to interview them both. That’s right, in the “making-of” video short Mooney created on returning home, she and Erin are responding to my questions — and even more, to my silence. They had tons on their mind, and just needed a little prompting.
The more silent I forced myself to be, the more Continue reading “The Value of Shutting Up”