Graham Norton: Seth Macfarlane interview BBC ONE, Series 15 - MAY 2014
The style in which Graham Norton presents his show is light-hearted, as the interviews with the guests combined with the characteristics of the interviewer have been done solely to entertain and make the audience laugh without any serious matters coming into hand. Graham Norton is a shown in which not only one guest is interviewed, but rather 3-4 (in this case 4) at the same time, which attracts me to this particular style of interviewing, as it is an un-conventional style of which is different to many other of the shows which have interview based content.
The main objectives of this interview is to entertain and investigate, which both have the audience in mind. Entertain, due to the humour being the core of this show. Graham uses innuendos, which is especially funny when interviewing a comical genius (Seth Macfarlane of Family Guy). Investigative, due to the questioning nature of Graham Norton - asking questions linked to relevant conversation within the chat show. Interviews within this show are crucially important, especially since there is more than one guest being interviewed. Interviewing carries on the conversation between interviewer and interviewee within this show, helps the plan of what happens within the show flow as naturally as possible, without any awkward moments being apparent and makes both the subjects feel comfortable with one another.
I feel the main purpose of this interview is to let the audience feel as though they're involved with the conversations between Graham Norton and the guests, letting them know more about them whilst being entertained, covering any important new events in the celebrities life. This could be things such as new films, book or even music. Within this particular show, we see Graham interviewing Seth Macfarlane, talking about the current roles he has starred in and his most famous, Family Guy, where he voices more than 2 of the characters. Whilst a picture of the Family Guy characters sits behind Graham, he asks Seth about what gave him the ideas to make the characters sound the way they do. This gives Seth the ammunition to do the voices of Stewie and Peter Griffin, as this was a relevant topic of conversation and I could tell he was excited to do. This is done by Graham Norton building rapport with Seth, making him feel comfortable to do the voices within the show. By doing this, the audience, interviewer and interviewee all benefit as they get what they want out of the interview; being entertained, creating a successful interview and showcasing the actor's talent.
Within the interview, none of the questions Graham asks as particularly closed, as rather than asking question after question, he has a conversation with the guest so they feel comfortable with answering any possible questions Graham may ask. For instance, the questions asked are more open, as the answer Graham wants is one which will enrich the conversation further so he can ask another. The way in which this works is with Graham asking Seth or one of the other guests a closed answer question, then with the reply he goes onto the open question which is both longer for him to ask and for Seth to answer. This is a clever technique by Graham Norton, as by ordering the questions by type, he receives a longer and more detailed answer to the important questions his asks.
Firstly, Graham Norton welcomes him guests to the stage by shaking their hand firmly and sitting them down on the couch opposing to him. This 'initial' meeting makes the interviewee feel comfortable, letting them know that they are going to be comfortable with him throughout the interview and shows that he is a friendly person, again building rapport between interviewer and interviewee. The communication skills which the Graham Norton use are important to creating the correct atmosphere, as he presents himself as humorous (not serious/mean or controversial). His body language says a lot about the type of person he is, as he turns to each guest to show he is actively listening and is interested in what they are saying, as well as exaggerating his hand gestures to show that he is excited about the topic which is being talked about. He also approaches the celebrities as if they are everyday people - which even though he is a celebrity in his own right, I feel he would still feel intimidated by sitting with so many famous people. This shows his confidence within the interview, which in turn makes the guests feel comfortable with him. I also feel as though Graham has a clear sense of a humour and voice projection; where even when he speaks over the guests, they aren't offended as he entertains them as much as the audience.
Overall, I feel that as an interviewer, Graham Norton is incredibly good at listening, asking the right questions at the right time and building rapport when it comes to the relationship between both him and the guest. His personality gives him an edge, as in some cases we are presented with interviewers who only ask question, without caring whether or not they are liked, but rather getting on with the job at hand. Graham also obviously knows quite a bit about the main guest (Seth Macfarlane) as he related back to information he had collected - whether through ear, text card, telly prompter or through personal knowledge, he is very convincing and knowledgeable when interviewing.
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