Steve Hoefer
Steve Hoefer is a televsion director, best known for his work on kids' programming.
Among others, he directed multiple episodes (including pilots) for several Schneider's Bakery shows that aired on Nickelodeon.
Steve joined me via phone for an in-depth discussion about television directing & his work.
To listen to the interview with Steve Hoefer, click the play button below (or click here to open the audio player in a new tab/window).
Steve Hoefer is a supporter of Cure Alzheimer's Fund.
If you'd like to donate, you can do so here, via their website.
Please note that interviewees select their own charity. Any charities mentioned or linked are neither vetted, nor endorsed, by the author or this site.
Mike Reflects
Like a lot of people born in the 90s (and beyond), I've watched a fair amount of TV directed by Steve Hoefer--All That, Drake & Josh, Zoey 101...I've linked his IMDb page above; you don't need me to recite for you. My point is, when I thought "Ya know what, Mike? You should interview a TV director", Steve Hoefer was the first, and only, name that sprang to mind.
I don't generally discuss my "interview style", outside of specific discussions on that topic, because I generally like to let my interviews speak for themselves. This feels like one of the few times that feels like a good time to make an exception.
I really enjoy opportunities to simultaneously learn about both people and the nature of their work. I think about it as an intersection of the person, the job, and how the person does the job:
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"The person" is simple: it's why I do interviews.
Readers and listeners will notice that I almost never open the door myself to discussing private matters or personal/familial relationships, nor will I generally direct the conversation to hobbies or personal tastes or beliefs. That's not what I mean when I talk about getting to know "the person".
Instead, I try to get to know who they are as a professional, while phrasing my questions in a way that allows their personalities to shine through.
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"The job" is equally simple, and (probably) more self-explanatory.
A lot of the people that I interview have a job that I generally assume readers & listeners don't. As such, I assume that most don't know the ins and outs of the work being discussed.
I think that a general discussion on the general nature of the job, especially as it relates to certain elements, can, therefore, help contextualize certain interview answers that might otherwise be ambiguous, vague, or confusing.
I'm not ashamed or embarrassed to admit that even with my prep work, I don't always fully grasp certain aspects of the job. There are times when I learn about them from the interview, as you presumably do.
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"How the person does the job" is my favorite of the three, while also probably the hardest to achieve.
There's almost always going to be a difference between how "Hypothetical Person A" does a job, compared to whomever I'm interviewing. Especially in entertainment, pretty much everyone has their own individual marks, methods, and ways.
While it's easy to ask "How do you do [this]?" or "How do you handle [that]?" (and I absolutely do it where appropriate), doing it about every tenant of the job will generally lead to a dry conversation geared toward experts, rather than a lively discussion aimed at more general audiences.
So, instead, I try to find what I can ask that will yield those same answers, while maintaining a light, conversational tone.
It's rare when I get the opportunity to balance those three things. Even rarer is when I successfully strike a good balance between those three.
I like to think I pulled it off here. Either way, it was one of my personal favorites that I've done.