Re: [AMIA-L] A History of the Film Interview

[Luke McKernan BUFVC <luke@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I have just been alerted to this particular thread. The earliest film
interviews I know of came in 1913, when Cecil Hepworth 'interviewed'
(effectively gave them the opportunity for delivering a short speech to
camera) the politicians F.E. Smith and Bonar Law for his Vivaphone
synchronised sound system.

In 1916 Hepworth undertook a series of silent interviews of British
politicians (an earlier attempt to film a cabinet meeting fell through when
the politicians got cold feet) - these films were discovered only recently
and are held by the National Film and Television Archive. Also in the NFTVA
is a filmed directed by Maurice Elvey called THE VICTORY LEADERS, which has
silent interviews with prominent Allied war leaders - essentially speeches
to camera with intertitles.

Silent newsreels used occasional interview techniques - for example, Topical
Budget 575-5, THE MAN WHO VOWS TO KILL THE KILL JOYS (about prohibition),
released 4 September 1922. The shotlist is available on the British
Universities Newsreel Database (www.bufvc.ac.uk/newsreels), and is as
follows:

Description: [1ST SUBTITLE]: "Mr JW Glenister - distinguished American
Publisher and arch-enemy of Prohibition, came to London in search of Mr
'Pussyfoot' Johnson." Glenister seated at dining table. Gets up and moves
towards camera. [2ND SUBTITLE]: "But Mr Johnson had gone 'Pussyfooting' to
New Zealand". Close shot of Johnson posed for camera. [3RD SUBTITLE]: "So Mr
Glenister stayed in London to preach with true Yankee 'punch' and 'pep'
against 'crime-breeding Prohibition'". CU Glenister performing his speech in
an exaggerated manner for the camera. [4TH SUBTITLE]: "'Fanatics in America
are manufacturing Bolshevism, Smuggling and Drugism wholesale'". Close shot
of Glenister continuing to speak. [5TH SUBTITLE]: "'The working man's beer
has gone! And they are trying to stop his tobacco!'". Continuation of close
shot. [6TH SUBTITLE]: "'Now they want to kill the Movies - and every other
joy'". Continuation of close shot. [7TH SUBTITLE]: "The Liberty in England
is lovely!" Waiter pours out a glass of wine for Glenister, who toasts the
camera. [8TH SUBTITLE]: "Beware of Pussyfoot! Beware!". CU Glenister opening
wide his mouth and scowling at the camera. [9TH SUBTITLE]: "Still smiling".
Close shot of Johnson.

Audio interviews were common from the earliest years of sound newsreels -
the most famous example perhaps being Bernard Shaw's interview for British
Movietone News, released 28 August 1930 (full transcript available on the
BUND).


Luke

************************************************

Luke McKernan
Head of Information
British Universities Film & Video Council
77 Wells Street
London W1T 3QJ
Tel: 020 7393 1508
Fax: 020 7393 1555
E-mail: luke@xxxxxxxxxxx

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jeanpaul Goergen" <Jeanpaul.Goergen@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <AMIA-L@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, September 08, 2003 2:59 PM
Subject: Re: [AMIA-L] A History of the Film Interview


> Michael,
> the first edition of the Ufa sound newsreel, Ufa-Tonwoche Nr. 1/1930,
censured 10.9.1930, had an interview mit 80years old
> artist Max Liebermann. The print preservend in the Bundesarchiv-Filmarchiv
unfortunatelly is incomplete; from this
> interview, only the first question of the interviewer is preserved. But
you get the interview-situation, as the cameraman
> shows us also the back of the interviewer.
> In Deulig-Tonwoche Nr. 47/1932, censured 23.12.1932 is an interview with
an old lady living on the top of the Chruch in
> Wittenberg. Print preserved in Bundesarchiv-Filmarchiv.
> In Deulig-Tonwoche Nr. 69/1933, censured 26.4.1933 is an interview with an
American Radioreporter about the changes he
> noticed in Germany after Hitler took over. Print preserved in
Bundesarchiv-Filmarchiv. I havent seen this one; often (in
> the archive paper work) statements are declared interviews, so you never
know untill you see the film...
> No information on interviews in early sound documentarys: there are a lot
of statements, but no interviews  ...as far as I
> know...
> hope this helps,
> Jeanpaul Goergen, Berlin
>
> Michael Uwemedimo schrieb:
>
> > Dear Folks - I'm trying to trace a history of the film interview.
'Housing
> > Problems', Anstey and Elton (1935), is often posed as the historical
model
> > for interview-based documentary. Does anyone know of earlier (or
> > contemporary) examples, perhaps which use the interview differently?
There
> > may be some filmed interviews that predate the sound era (using
intertitles;
> > or perhaps some of the early experiments with synch sound involved
> > interviews or interview-like scenes). It would be wonderful if this were
so.
> > There may even be prototypical examples that predate cinema - Nadar
> > published the first 'photo interview' in 1886; his son experimented with
> > tying-in a series of high-speed photographs with phonograph recordings,
for
> > instance.
> >
> > As well as information about film interviews during the thirties (or
> > earlier), I'd also be very interested to learn more about the way that
the
> > interview was involved in the interplay between cinema and television
during
> > the fifties and sixties, with the development of sync-sound 16mm
technology
> > (especially in France - where of course there is Rouch and Marker, etc).
> >
> > As it goes, my 'pre-history' reaches back beyond radio, the rise of the
> > journalistic and 'social science' interview in the nineteenth-century,
> > cross-examination in the adversarial system in the eighteenth, judicial
> > interrogation under Roman-canon law, the culture of early Christian
> > confession, the pedagogical dialogues of the stoics, right back to the
> > Socratic dialogues. If anyone has any thoughts on how any of this might
> > inform a history of the film interview, I would be very glad to hear
them.
> > Thanks.
> >
> > Best - Michael
> > _______________________
> > Michael Uwemedimo
> >
> > e:michael@xxxxxxxxx
> > _______________________
>