what to do in the day or two BEFORE the interview

1. Confirm the time and place of the interviewer with the proposed narrator. Agree on an time limit. The narrator may impose the time limit ("I only have an hour"), but if she or he does not, you should. Tell the person that you may not take this much time, but the absolute most amount of time you will stay is three (3) hours.

Use whatever seems to be that person's preferred mode of communication --- phone or e-mail. Do not rely on e-mail alone!

2. Have a conversation with your partner; make sure you are in agreement about who is going to play what role. If you're getting along, wonderful. If there is tension between you, acknowledge the tension and either deal with it, or make another team for the interview (and deal with the tension or problem as soon as you can after the interview).

3. Make sure that neither you or your partner will be participating in more than two interviews in any seven-day period -- either as an interviewer or as a videographer.

4. Make sure that no one else is planning to use the equipment. Make sure you know where the camera and tripod and mike will be the morning you're planning to leave. (Make sure that no one has driven off to Schlitterbahn with the camera in the back of her car.) If the camera has been double-booked, find another one to borrow.

5. Check to make sure you have enough batteries and film. USE ONLY SONY camcorder cassettes. If someone else is going to be using the camera before you will be, make sure you have double the amount of extra batteries and film.

6. Check the microphone.

7. Prepare but remain flexible. You should have already read as much as you can about the person, her or his relationship to a murder or capital murder, and the events themselves. Review your notes and make a tentative list of topics that you would like to hear about. Prepare to bring your notes but also to be flexible. What the person has to tell you, what she or he sees as "the story" may bear little or no resemblance to what you would see as the story. And it's not your story.

If you must have a list of questions to be comfortable, make the list, but prepare to put it to the side. Depending on the situation, you may be able to ask your questions at the end of the interview, after the narrator has said everything she or he wants to say. In many situations, you will find that the narrator has already answered your questions or revealed that they are beside the point. In some situations, you will feel relieved that you didn't ask the questions, and you won't want to ask them at the end!

8. Make sure you have an idea, insofar as is possible, of any names or places that may be in the story. Familiarize yourself with these names and their pronunciation.

9. Make sure that you know where you are going! We have lots of state, regional, and city maps in the office. Have a sense of how long it will take you to get there and plan accordingly.

10. Make sure that you have enough cash, or that you have a useable credit card. If you need advance cash, please give Virginia plenty of notice!

11. Make sure you have a copy of our IRS determination letter with you.

12. Review our consent process. Print out copies of the forms.