First of all, I decided to search for how to actually interview someone for a magazine. While searching, I found this article , where it recommends to choose one of three perspectives to choose from for writing the article: literal (“the classic Q&A”), narrative (“describe what the interviewee says in the third person”), or hybrid (“leave out the questions and combine narrative statements with direct quotes”).
The article linked an example of Vanity Fair’s Adele interview, “Cover Story: Adele, Queen of Hearts”. This article’s narrative tone really resonated with me! I loved the descriptive details, giving more insight about who Adele, a world famous artist, really is behind her performances and glamour. The start my favorite part:
“When Adele sings you can hear that it’s coming from an unfiltered honesty and purity. She creates songs that go deep and expose pain and vulnerability with her soulful voice. She takes you places other artists don’t go to anymore—the way they did in the ‘70s. —BEYONCÉ...The black Porsche Cayenne S.U.V. pulls up to the driveway of my hotel. Adele is behind the wheel and alone in the car. When I get in, she tells me she loves to drive on her own—although there is a discreet security detail in the vehicle in front of us. We’re on our way to Staples Center for the second of eight sold-out L.A. concerts on her current, 43-city world tour. She’s wearing a flouncy white cotton top over black leggings and beige flats. A Van Cleef & Arpels bracelet with colored round jewels is on her right arm. Her hair is pulled up off her face in a loose bun, her huge green eyes are covered by sunglasses, and, makeup-free, she is naturally gorgeous.”
Initially, I really enjoyed the excerpt of Beyonce that gave a little background information on Adele. But what I enjoyed even more was the vivid little descriptions from what Adele is wearing to what car she drives and the integration of phrases that Adele tells the journalist. This allows the story to be engaging and expressive while also not being over-the-top with details.
While pondering over my interview beforehand, I wanted to write a simple “literal” interview with listed “Q&A’s” like this article from Marie Claire:
From the start, I thought this layout would be cleaner and more organized. However, after reading Adele’s interview from Vanity Fair, I loved the way the article described the artist so much more and gave the audience a glimpse of how her life is really like behind the cameras. Thinking of how I could apply this to my interview with my mom, I could sit in her studio and interview her, describing all the small details and the overall feeling. I would also integrate pictures of her working on one of her jackets, a profile of her, and pictures of the studio and the jackets in making.
I also loved this interview with Miley Cyrus from Vanity Fair. The overall narrative tone and candid details better describe the celebrity than a simple Q&A layout. This is why I’m thinking of laying out my magazine interview as a hybrid, using direct quotes and implementing narrative aspects.
I’ll keep researching on magazine interviews and thinking about my layout options, especially how I would establish the interview as my cover story.
Malena
D. (2018, September 07). How to write an interview article for a magazine. Retrieved from https://blog.flipsnack.com/how-write-interview-article-for-magazine/
Robinson, L., Munro, T., Paul, G., & Robinson, L. (2017, May 26). Cover Story: Adele, Queen of Hearts. Retrieved from https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2016/10/adele-cover-story
Steiker, S. (n.d.). Interviews & Book Reviews. Retrieved from http://sonorajha.com/news-interviews
Baron, Z., McGinley, R., & Baron, Z. (2019, March 01). Cover Story: Miley Everlasting. Retrieved from https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2019/02/miley-cyrus-cover-story
love it!
ReplyDelete