PART III Preliminary field interviews often happen spontaneously, so interviewers often won’t have time to thoroughly prepare. That said, if you are reading this, it’s likely because you seek to collect testimony as part of your human rights-documentation work. In a spontaneous field interview, it will be challenging to implement all the guidance here, but keep these principles in mind for those times when you find yourself recording in the field. Interviews take time, so interview with purpose. Interviews can be time-consuming, even if the duration of the actual interview is short. It takes time to identify a reliable and credible witness, locate a suitable space for recording, prepare and ask questions, and so on. Additionally, it takes time to carefully organize and preserve the footage, to transcribe the interview, and to review it for relevant content. Be strategic about whom you interview and whether you do so on or off camera. Security concerns. Speaking the truth can sometimes seriously endanger a person’s life, their family, or members of their community and, in turn, can influence the answers they give, either consciously or unconsciously. As the interviewer, it is your responsibility to ensure that the interviewee is fully aware of these risks and provides documented consent. Remain objective. Do your best not to let your personal feelings intrude into the interview. Do not communicate your feelings about the interviewee’s testimony. You may have strong reactions to what you hear, but these are best processed later, away from the interviewee. If you use an interpreter, make sure they understand this principle too and set their agendas aside when translating the conversation. Seek the truth. If you seek to document for accountability, your role is not to prove that your theory of what happened is right. Your role is to let witnesses share their views of what happened, even if it contradicts your own beliefs. Each account will contribute to getting as close as possible to the truth about what happened. If you capture evidence that suggests someone’s innocence, don’t fear it. The end goal is to hold accountable those actually responsible for crimes and to ensure the innocent are not wrongly accused. Additionally, if you have information that supports the defense’s arguments, it is much better for an investigator or lawyer to know about this evidence early, so they are not caught off guard and can prepare a response to the evidence before they get into the courtroom. Interview the person in private. All interviews, including preliminary field interviews, should be done in private whenever possible so that the information witnesses provide is not influenced by others and does not influence the testimony of other potential interviewees. Example: In cases of gender-based violence, a woman may minimize the incident or even deny it altogether if her husband is present during the interview. Or, if the first person you interview states that the getaway car was red, and the second interviewee, who thought the car was blue, overhears this answer, the second witness may experience self-doubt and become confused about how to answer. 148 VIDEO AS EVIDENCE: FILMING PRELIMINARY INTERVIEWS V 1.0 FILMING PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICAL TIPS FOR FILMING PRELIMINARY INTERVIEWS