ur-grue Interview Question Generator
What This Skill Does
Generates a targeted, structured interview question set for a specific documentary subject — organized by narrative function, from opening rapport-builders through to the most challenging or revealing questions.
When To Use This Skill
- You are preparing for a documentary interview and want questions that go beyond what research alone can generate
- You have background on a subject but need a complete question sequence organized for on-camera flow
- You want questions that will produce usable, emotional, and specific answers rather than prepared statements
- You need questions structured so that the subject tells their story, rather than answers a questionnaire
What You Need To Provide
Required: Who the subject is and their role in the documentary; the editorial angle (what the film is trying to understand through this interview); 3–5 key facts about the subject that are already known Optional: What the subject is likely to be guarded about; any specific scenes or sequences the interview needs to support (e.g., "we need them to describe the moment they made the decision"); tone of the film; whether this is an observational film where the interview is the primary narrative device, or a documentary with separate verité footage
How the Assistant Approaches This
- Identifies the narrative work this particular interview needs to do in the film — what the subject alone can provide that no other element of the documentary can
- Opens the question set with 3–4 rapport-builders: open biographical questions that let the subject find their voice before the camera, and that may yield unexpected context
- Develops the substantive middle section: 10–15 questions that progress from factual to reflective to personally revealing, each building on the natural answer the previous question invites
- Closes with the difficult or high-stakes questions — sequenced so they arrive after trust is established, not at the beginning
- Adds production notes: which questions are most likely to yield usable sound bites, which may need a follow-up silence, and which can be safely cut if time is short
- After the question set, provides a "Next Step" note: which three questions are the most critical if time runs short, what to prepare before filming (release forms, additional research), and whether scene-breakdown-writer should be run to plan the visual context around the interview
Output Format
Numbered question list, organized into three labeled sections: Opening (3–4 questions), Substantive (10–15 questions), and High-Stakes (3–5 questions). Each section preceded by a one-paragraph director's note explaining the section's purpose. Production notes on 3–4 questions throughout. Total: 20–25 questions. 500–700 words. Output ends with a "Next Step" note: the three questions to prioritize if time runs short, what to have prepared before filming, and whether to run scene-breakdown-writer to plan the visual coverage around the interview.
Quality Criteria
- No question can be answered with "yes" or "no" — all questions are open
- Questions are in plain conversational language — not the language of a formal interview or questionnaire
- At least two questions ask the subject to describe a specific moment or scene, not a general experience
- The sequence moves from safe to sensitive — high-stakes questions do not appear in the first section
- Production notes flag which questions are most critical for the film's editorial needs
- No question embeds an assumption that the subject must agree with to answer
- Output includes at least one concrete next action the user can take immediately (identify the three must-ask questions, prepare release forms, or run scene-breakdown-writer for visual planning)
Example
Input
Subject: The director of a regional hospital who made the decision to cancel elective surgeries during a capacity crisis, a decision that was publicly criticized Role in documentary: Primary institutional subject — the person who made the decision the film is examining Editorial angle: The film is exploring how healthcare administrators make decisions under resource constraints, and the personal cost of institutional authority Known facts: Has worked in hospital administration for 22 years; was publicly criticized in local media; has never given a filmed interview about the specific decision; is known to be methodical and careful in how she speaks Guarded about: The specific internal discussions that preceded the decision; whether she believes she made the right call
Output
OPENING — Establishing Voice and World (Goal: Let the subject settle into the interview and find their register before we approach the core material.)
- You've been in hospital administration for over two decades. What does this job actually involve day to day — not the version in a job description, but the version you live?
- Walk me back to when you first came to this role. What did you think it would be, and what turned out to be different?
- When you describe what you do to someone who has no idea how a hospital works — a dinner party conversation — how do you explain it?
- What do you think most people misunderstand about how decisions get made inside a hospital?
(Production note: Question 4 often opens the most candid responses. Subjects who have felt publicly misrepresented tend to answer this one at length. Let it run.)
SUBSTANTIVE — The Decision and its Context (Goal: Build toward the specific event through context, so the subject is narrating rather than defending.)
- Take me to that period — the weeks leading up to the decision. What was the operational situation inside the hospital?
- Who else was in the room when this was being discussed? What roles did they have?
- At what point did you understand that a decision was going to have to be made — not in the abstract, but that it was going to fall to you specifically?
- Describe for me the information you had in front of you at the moment you made the call. What were you weighing?
- Were there options you considered and set aside? What were they?
- How long did the actual decision take — from the point where it was real to the point where you said: this is what we're doing?
- Who did you tell first, and how did you explain it?
- What was your expectation of how this would be received?
- When the public criticism came — how did you first encounter it? Where were you?
- Is there anything about the coverage at the time that you thought got it right?
(Production note: Question 14 is a softener before the harder version. It invites them to acknowledge something true before being asked what was wrong.)
- What would you want someone who went through a cancelled surgery during that period to understand about how that decision was made?
HIGH-STAKES — Reckoning and Reflection (Goal: Create space for the subject to express doubt, regret, or conviction. These are the most important questions in the interview. Do not rush them.)
- If you had more information — resources, time, an option you didn't have — would you have made a different call?
- Do you think you made the right decision?
(Production note: After question 17, stay silent. Do not paraphrase or rescue them from the question. The answer that comes after a pause is often the one the film needs.)
- What does that decision cost you, personally? Not professionally — personally.
- Twenty-two years from now, when someone else sits in a role like yours and faces something like this — what do you want them to know?
- Is there anything about this that you've never been asked, and that you want on record?
(Production note: Question 20 frequently produces the most unexpected answer in the interview. Save it for the end. Give it space.)
Known Limitations
- Questions are generated from the information you provide; the more specific your subject brief, the more targeted the questions — a vague brief produces generic questions
- Documentary interview technique varies significantly by directorial style; some directors prefer minimal questions and maximum silence; adapt this question set to your approach rather than following it mechanically
- High-stakes questions about legal or regulatory matters should be reviewed with the documentary's legal advisor before filming; some lines of questioning may create liability exposure
- This skill does not account for whether a subject has legal counsel present or has been coached; adjust your sequencing in real time based on how guarded the subject appears