Location
• Think about the location and how this will affect the 'look and feel' as the backdrop for the video interview.
• The background can be nondescript or it can be more contextual to the interviewee and the content being discussed.
• The location could be a corporate boardroom, an industrial warehouse, a clean white backdrop or an event with a lively crowd in the background.
• Speak to us and we'll provide location suggestions based on the look and feel you're wanting to achieve for the video.
Scripted or unscripted
• We usually recommend that an interviewee's responses are unscripted. This produces video interviews that are more conversational and authentic.
• We do suggest that interviewees are briefed ahead of the shoot on the general themes for discussion and provided with some key talking points.
• It's best that interviewees don't overthink their responses word-for-word ahead of filming, we'll be there on the day to help guide them through the interview.
• We'll often film a few takes or variations of a response to capture the best delivery possible and to provide options during editing.
• There are times when the content may be highly technical or require very specific messaging. In these instances we may work with the client to script the responses or provide a teleprompter for the interviewee to read from.
Interviewee delivery
Whether it's someone who is a appearing on-camera for the first time or an experienced actor, nerves can come from anywhere. We'll start a conversation with the interviewee before the camera starts rolling. This helps build rapport and trust. We're there to work with the interviewee to make them feel comfortable, enjoy the experience and capture their best delivery.
Self-contained responses
We'll ask the interviewee to provide self-contained responses to questions as the interviewer's questions will be edited out of the final video (unless the interviewer is appearing on-camera too). This means that responses have the context needed to be edited as stand-alone comments in a video.
Succinct responses
We're usually looking for a few key sound bytes that will work well in an edit. Often, we'll let an interviewee provide a first response to a question then try it again as a shorter response to get a version that delivers the message effectively and efficiently in the video.
'Off-camera' VS 'to-camera' eye-line
• An interviewee's eye-line can be off-camera, looking at the interviewer or to-camera (known as piece-to-camera or PTC).
• Off-camera eye-line is more conversational and is the traditional interview style.
• To-camera eye-line is best suited for when the interviewee or presenter is speaking directly to the audience. An example of this would be a CEO making a company announcement to staff.
Supporting visuals
To keep your audience engaged and particularly for longer interviews, we suggest incorporating other visual elements into the video. This can be b-roll footage, animations, titles or other media that helps tell the story and adds visual interest to the video.
What is b-roll footage?
• B-roll footage is any supplementary footage that supports the main camera (A-roll) to help tell the story and make the video visually interesting.
• For example, in a video interview, a 'talking head' of a restaurateur introducing their new restaurant is the A-roll and the B-roll would be any supporting footage around the restaurant such as an establishing shot of the front facade, chefs working in the kitchen, food being plated, customers enjoying themselves.
How long does it take to film a video interview?
• Ideally our video crew would have access to the location 1 to 1.5 hours prior to commencing filming interviews to bump in and setup camera, sound and lighting equipment. We'll be ready to start rolling as soon as the interviewee arrives.
• Allow 30 mins to 1 hour to film each interviewee, depending on number of questions and complexity of the content, so we have adequate time to run through questions and any re-takes as required.
• Allow some 'reset time' between video interviews, around 10-15 mins if staying in same location/area, more time if there is a more significant location move.
• For the most efficient use of time on the shoot day, where possible, block all of the interviews back-back (e.g. morning session) then block all of the b-roll filming together (e.g. afternoon session).
Vox-pops
The term 'vox pop' actually comes from the Latin phrase vox populi, which means 'voice of the people'. In a journalistic sense, a vox-pops is about capturing opinions of the public. For video production, the term can be used more loosely to describe informal interviews. An example would be approaching people at an event to film their opinion of the event or thoughts on a topic related to the event. As vox-pops are usually captured on-location 'in the moment' they're great for providing a sense of authenticity while capturing the energy of the location or event.
