As a video production business, we know all too well that filming video interviews can be challenging. Whether you’re working on promoting a business, telling someone’s story in a documentary, or crafting an informational video, you want to get the best interview possible. While some clients feel comfortable in front of the camera, most others do not.
It’s also difficult to figure out what questions to ask, how to set up the right interview environment, and how much to pre-plan or adapt on the fly. No matter which aspect of the interview you need help with, we have a quick guide to help you prepare the best video interview possible:
Build a Intentional Environment
First, you should identify what kind of video you’re making, and therefore what kind of video interview you want/need. Talk with your client about what they want to get out of the video, and identify effective ways of conveying those ideas.
If you’re filming a promotional video for a small business that wants to show off their professionalism, you can set up a more formal sit-down interview with an aesthetic backdrop like their office. Alternatively, if you’re filming a documentary style interview about a mountain biker, maybe you want a more “casual” interview on the side of their favorite trail.
You want to think about what kind of video you’re making and what clothes, background, and style fit best for your video.
Help Your Subject Feel Comfortable
One of the most important parts of an interview is getting comfortable with your subject, and letting them get comfortable with you and the camera. Being on camera can be daunting, so it’s good to expose your interview subjects to being on screen before your full interview.
Whenever you can, you should plan casual meetings, or b-roll video shoots before your interviews so that everyone gets used to being on camera. This will usually make the interview process a lot easier, since people will be more likely to open up and feel more confident talking to you in the interview.
Craft Thoughtful Questions
Questions are an essential part of interviews, but there is more to coming up with questions than you might think. For most interviews you don’t just want your subject to answer questions. Instead you want to develop an engaging conversation with your interview subject.
Your questions can be simple and to the point, but you want to guide your subject into talking about what matters to them and why, instead of leading them to one sentence answers.
If you’re talking to a business manager don’t just ask them what their company does, find ways for them to talk about what inspired their business and what motivates their work. If necessary prepare a few questions for each topic so that you have multiple ways of talking about the same idea.
Be Ready to Adapt
Once you’ve fully prepared for your interview (you know how you want it set up, you know everyone is comfortable and ready, and you know what kinds of questions you’re going to ask), you also need to be prepared to adapt.
No matter how well you know your interview subject and the environment you’ll be in, nothing goes exactly as planned. Whether you need to adjust your interview set up to get the right sunlight, or you need to come up with some new questions on the spot, you’re going to need to adapt.
The most important thing is that while you’re conducting your interview, make sure you really listen to your subject’s answers, and how they respond to certain questions over others. Use their answers to help you dig deeper into the interview and get the content you need to make a quality video and story.
If you keep all these ideas in mind and plan ahead, while also being prepared for unexpected things to happen, you should be able to craft a quality interview. If you still need creative ideas, check out some of our own examples. You can also contact us for help with your own project!