Tips and tricks for filming interview videos

Five things to consider when filming interview videos:

1. Sound

Interviews are all about conversation and therefore achieving clean sound is essential. Studies show that viewers tend to switch off when the sound quality is poor.

It’s best to find a quiet room with as little background noise as possible. Be sure to close any windows and choose a room that’s away from busy roads. Air conditioning units and other machinery can also be a common cause of background noise.

The Thirst video crew will always bring more than one set of audio equipment to provide a backup if one fails.

2. Set decoration

The room should be visually interesting but not too cluttered. Often this involves moving furniture and adding props to get the perfect composition.

A neutral colour palette often works well, complemented by a few pops of colour. These can be from a plant, lamp, or artwork. It’s a nice touch to subtly use your brand colours within the set. When adding artwork, make sure it’s not too distracting. Think blocks of colour rather than prints.

Having your company logo in the background is a nice addition although this can also be added in post-production. Ensure no other brand logos can be seen on clothing, water bottles, coffee cups etc.

We often film our interviews with a shallow depth of field, this allows the background to become blurred and makes the interviewee stand out. To achieve this effect the Thirst crew will adapt their camera settings and lens choice accordingly. It’s good practice to move the interviewee away from the wall to help add depth into the scene.

3. Interviewee positioning

Another important consideration is the positioning of the interviewee within the frame. Your decision will be influenced by the number of people being interviewed and the type of interview. The Thirst video crew will usually plan the interview staging in advance.

For one-person interviews, the subject is often placed to one side of the frame using the rule-of-thirds. The interviewee then looks across the frame and not directly at the camera.

If there are two people being interviewed, we often place them on chairs. We’ll angle the chairs inwards slightly so that the subjects are slightly facing each other whilst also looking towards the camera.

Sitting up to a desk can also be a nice option, particularly when showing a product. It also makes the interviewees feel more comfortable. We recommend that the interviewees are placed with their arms on the desk so that hands can be seen and used for gestures.

4. Lighting

Lighting is crucial to making an interview look professional. The camera needs adequate light to achieve a crisp image so we will always bring professional lighting. We usually use a three-point lighting set up which means we can create well-balanced, flattering light.

There are many other factors to consider when lighting the set, for example, assessing what natural light is available. Other lighting considerations are the time of day/year as well as avoiding reflections and glare.

Lighting will also affect the mood of your videos, so we’ll make sure it suits the purpose of your video.

5. Video resolution/Picture quality

It’s important to consider where your final videos will be viewed as this may lead to specific technical requirements. As a general rule, the Thirst crew will record videos in 4K to deliver premium quality. This also gives us the option to crop/zoom in when editing.

Final Thought

Interview videos can be a great way to promote your services and to add personality to your marketing campaigns. Feel free to get in touch for advice on your next video project.