Production - Questions For Interviews

Before the interviews commence in the coming weeks, it was important for me to educate myself on the interviewees and ask questions relevant to them and their story. This led me to research, in-depth, all of our contributors and find out the best way to ask them questions. As our interviews will mostly play out like actuality sequences rather than interviews, I am making sure that these questions are natural and don't seem forced. When being the contributor myself, I need to make these scenes feel like a conversation, therefore knowing about my interviewees in depth before speaking to them was vital.

We had a few major topics that would be covered in these interviews. Advice for preparing to race, the cost of motorsport (finding sponsors), overcoming adversity and not letting anything get in the way of following a dream, fitness and mental strength and finally, the equipment I will need. Most of these interviews will be condensed down to 60-90 seconds meaning that I need to ensure I ask the right questions. Making sure the answers are also short means these sequences will not take up too much of this documentary.

I am aware that I need to relax going into these interviews, as previous interviews I have done could be seen as somewhat forced. Whether this is because there was a language barrier or that I had not done enough preparation, I am unsure. But I know that this time I am a lot more prepared than the interviews I did over the summer. Wrapping my head around the fact that these sequences are supposed to come off like a conversation also allows me to relax, as there is not so much pressure to get a "professional" style. The interviews for this documentary are supposed to aid my journey and not feel like a structured sit-down interview that I have done in the past.

We have arranged a test shoot before our interviews so we can understand the creative vision as a group. As we have multiple interviews I want to ensure that they do not all look exactly the same. Therefore, I have planned a slightly different camera set up for each interview. They will still follow similar guidelines, but I want to enable the camera crew to film a variety of scenes, rather than the same one six times. This test beforehand will enable us to understand the best way to approach this.

As the interviewer, in a sense, I am somewhat worried about these interviews. I am still a shy person by nature, so getting the best out of me in these scenes will be down to the rest of the group re-assuring me in what I am doing. We have purposely also picked contributors who will enable me to relax into my role and allow these interviews to be special and also natural. Below is our current interview schedule after an unfortunate issue which meant Katie had to pull out of the original shoot date. George is in contact to arrange a new day that works for us both! The questions below, are a rough guideline of what I am going to ask. I have also adapted the script to show the key answers I want from these interviews, to allow the documentary to have a clear journey and the correct narrative structure.

INTERVIEW SCHEDULE:
● 12th February: Daniel Rowbottom speaking about the basics of motorsport (How to prepare, Testing, what to do on track etc)
● 14th February: Jamie Caroline speaking about the costs of motorsport
● 21st February: Team BRIT (Disabled Motor Racing Team) speaking about overcoming adversity and struggles to fulfil a dream and be a racing driver
● TBC: Katie Milner speaking about why strength and fitness is important in motorsport
● 6th/7th April: Michael Crees speaking about the equipment needed to go racing

Daniel Rowbottom:
1. So I’m going into my first ever race weekend soon, I just need a bit of advice about how I should approach it!
2. As you go into a race weekend on a track you have not raced at before, how do you normally prepare for it?
3. Do you find simulator testing or gaming helpful when learning the track?
4. How important is doing some testing before the race?
5. When testing, what should I be looking out for?
6. How much time do you spend on setup work in your test sessions?
7. So When you’re in the car before the race, how do you make sure you are in the right mindset?
8. Great Thank you, Dan, best of luck for the year ahead!

Jamie Caroline:
1. So Jamie, how did you first get into motorsport?
2. Did you find the financial aspect of motorsport was actually harder than the driving?
3. Even when racing karts, how did you and your family manage budgets?
4. As you get further up the motorsport ladder and into cars, it starts to get really
expensive, how did you approach finding sponsors to keep you racing?
5. Do you have any advice for me when trying to secure sponsors?
6. Is it hard to constantly deal with the financial side of motorsport, while trying to focus on winning races and going for championships?
7. In 2019, do you think it’s still possible for a driver with a lot of talent to make it to the top or do you always need significant financial backing?
8. Awesome Jamie, well good luck for 2019, I'm sure you’ll win whatever you end up racing!

Bobby Trundley (Team BRIT):
1. So Bobby, growing up, how did you first find your love for motorsport?
2. As a child, did you think that autism might affect you achieving your dreams of being a racing driver?
3. How hard was it to overcome the issues you faced to actually race a kart?
4. How much of a role have your parents had in getting you racing?
 5. When getting in a kart for the first time, did it affect you, or did racing come quite naturally?
6. You’ve gone on to win some large UK kart championships, do you think this proves to anyone that you should never give up on your dreams?
7. What advice would you have for any other children growing up with autism, who want to be racing drivers?
8. Does the emergence of teams like Team Brit mean motorsport is now much more accessible to people with disabilities?
9. What is the ultimate dream going forward?
10. Thanks, Bobby, good luck in 2019!

Jon-Allan Butterworth (Team BRIT):
1. Jon, where does your love of motorsport begin?
2. So instead of taking up a motorsport career, you joined the RAF, was it hard not being able to follow this dream initially?
3. So In 2007, while in Afghanistan, you were involved in a rocket attack, what were your thoughts as it was happening?
4. So How and when did you realise you had severe injuries?
5. What was your first reaction when you realised the decision was made to amputate your left arm?
6. Something that astonishes me is that pretty quickly you adapted and joined the
Para-cycling programme in 2009, is it in your nature to push yourself and make the best out of any situation?
7. You went on to win a number of medals in Para-Cycling, how did you motivate yourself and go about finding new challenges?
8. So Recently you have turned your attention to motorsport, when did you realise this could be a possibility?
9. So When getting behind the wheel for the first time, what were the biggest
challenges?
10. Do you feel you’re at any disadvantage now when racing?
11. Bringing this back to where this all started. When you first realised you had your left arm amputated, did you think you could go on and achieve the amazing things you have?
12. Do you have any advice for anyone with a disability who wants to get involved in motorsport?
13. Well great, thank you Jon. Good luck in 2019!

Katie Milner:
1. So Katie, before I race a car for the first time, how much should I be focusing on fitness?
2. Do you have a regime you follow weekly to ensure you’re in the right condition for each race?
3. What do you find the biggest challenge is when training and trying to staying in shape?
4. In motorsport, what do you find are the areas which need the most work for a rookie driver such as myself?
5. In a similar way, mental strength seems to be really important in motorsport, can you train for that?
6. When you’re in a wheel to wheel battle, how do you stay calm, making sure to do the right thing?
7. Before I race, do you suggest I find a personal trainer and find a routine that works for me?
8. I better get to work then!

Michael Crees:
1. So Michael, how would you advise people to take their first step into motorsport, should they take a track experience, like the ones you offer here at Team Hard?
2. Before I go into my first motor race, what sort of equipment am I going to need?
3. Are there different regulations I should look out for?
4. How important is trying items on before you buy?
5. So Before I race, I’m going to need to do a racing license test, what should I expect from that?
6. Do you have any tips to stay cool when in a pressured environment like that?
7. When I hopefully pass that test, should I get as much practice in as possible before my first race?
8. What is your one bit of advise before I take part in my first motor race?
9. Great Thanks Michael, best of luck in 2019!