Interview Analysis

The Graham Norton Show

This is an interview of  Will and Jaden Smith, Bradley Cooper and Heather Graham.

As this is a comedy chat show, the style of interview is entertainment and promotional. It is entertainment because there is a lighthearted atmosphere with the guests as well as the host making jokes, rather than asking serious questions about serious topics. It is also promotional because Graham invited the celebrities to talk about their latest project, film, music album or tour etc... Allowing celebrities to do this encourages them to want to be on a particular show.

Most of the questions are open ended questions that are directed towards individual guests, however, they are also of a suggestive style, in order to encourage the guests to do most of the talking and keep the show flowing. For example when Graham asks Bradley, 'Bradley, you're one of our favorite guests... but things have changed now?'. This is direct towards Bradley Cooper, however, the open and suggestive nature of the question allowed Bradley to talk more about his recent nomination for an Oscar award, without being specifically asked about it. Another similar example of this is when Will Smith is asked, 'But I love this idea Will, that you have been kind of training Jaden to become a movie star. Did you teach him a special movie star run?'. That is similar to Bradley's question as it is direct to Will and it gave him more of an opportunity to talk about the working and personal relationship he has with his son Jaden, without being specifically asked.

Graham's behaviour is relaxed, casual and friendly, this allows him to ask more personal questions about the quests that may come across as cheeky, in order to add more humour to the show.


The Impossible

This is an interview of Maria Belon.

This interview is promotional because it is about the film, 'The Impossible', and they are asking her about her personal experiences during and after the Tsunami, and how she felt going back to some of the places in Thailand during the filming of The Impossible. As well as asking her opinions on the film itself. For example, 'Why was it important for you to tell the story?'. This is an open-ended question because it gives her the opportunity to talk about her personal feelings as well as the film itself. Another example is, 'Did you ever feel like making the movie was a bad idea?'. This is another question based around the movie rather than the Tsunami itself.

The majority of the interview however, is quite investigative, as there are many questions about Maria's experience during the disaster. For example when she is asked 'What was it like to revisit the locations? Because I know you guys shot in a lot of the same locations.' This is a direct but open ended question, as it allows Maria to talk about how she felt going back to places such as the hospital she almost died in after the disaster. Another example of this is 'Do you feel there was something about making a choice or an inner strength that allowed you to survive?' This is entirely investigative as it is a question aimed at gaining information on Maria's experience, and not related to promotion of the film at all.

The interviewer is not visible in shot, however, she speaks with a formal tone only asking direct, suggestive and open ended questions, without offering any personal opinion. This is so that Maria and her responses to the questions are the main focus of the viewers attention.


Newsnight - Jeremy Paxman

This is an interview of Nick Griffin.

This interview is hard news because it is about extreme politics, Nick Griffin's views and his party BNP views and manifesto are not normal views shared by most of  the people in Britain. Jeremy Paxman does not agree with Nick Griffin so he is trying to undermine his views.

Mostly the interview is combative as Paxman is trying provoke Griffin as his comments are very negative, unrealistic and generally quite controversial. Paxman is trying to get a reaction from Griffin, he is doing this by not listening to Griffin's answers properly and by interrupting him mid-sentence.

At the start Paxman's body language is quite passive, sitting back in his chair. Later in the interview after listening to Griffin, he doesn't agree and adopts a more confrontational stance, sitting forward into Griffin's face which is very provocative. Again, he is trying to make Griffin react by doing or saying something stupid that will embarrass him and his party and his members. Also, Paxman antagonises Griffin by insulting him personally 'Are we supposed to take you seriously as a party, when you've got such a prominent figure who doesn't even know the date of the election'. This is a combative question, it is leading and open ended as it forces Griffin to defend himself on something that he had previously made a mistake by saying, however, by answering the question Griffin admits to having made the mistake in the first place.

Paxman asks more questions like this, another example referring to an advert which had implied that Griffin had been awarded medals, 'But you yourself haven't won any medals?'. This type of questioning is designed to provoke a defensive response from Griffin and at the same time undermine him as an individual rather than the political party he represents.

Paxman also asks some hard news questions related to the BNPs controversial views on nationality and immigration, 'I'm trying to get what you decide to be as a 'True British' person'. With the mixed culture of modern Britain, this raises the issue most people have with the BNP, that they seem to be targeting people from non-white backgrounds.