Conducting Interviews on Camera

Every budding videographer or producer needs to know how to conduct a proper interview on camera! There are several different approaches that one could take, but some will always work better than others. If you know what you are doing, and can prep yourself and your interviewee ahead of time, you can save yourself a good deal of time, tape, and a potentially tremendous headache when you hit post production!

The first thing you need to keep in mind is simply the subject matter itself! The more you know, the better off you are. That means you have to do your research! The person you will be interviewing will likely be an expert on the subject, but if you can familiarize yourself with it as well, then why not? Take the time to wrap your head around the subject, as well as the person you are interviewing. Look into them, and try to find out what they might potentially already know. The more you know about them and their work, the more you can tailor fit your questions to fit their personal experiences more accurately. This can save you a tremendous amount of time in the interview, as well as allow you to stumble onto more interesting stories that you may not have otherwise come across. If you don't know to ask about a particular event, your interviewee might not bring it up!

Once you have done your research, you should really write up at least ten solid questions that you want to ask your subject ahead of time. You want to familiarize yourself with the questions. Also, be sure to give them to your subject ahead of time, as well. They may not feel comfortable answering some questions, and will let you know ahead of time, giving you the time you need to change your questions around to compensate. This can also really help your subject prepare for the interview, giving them an idea as to what it is you will be asking them.

Another point that is absolutely crucial is getting your appearance release signed by your interviewee BEFORE you film anything! That means you probably want to send it to them ahead of time, and either have them send the signed copy back to you, or to hand it over to you when you arrive on the day of the interview. The last thing you want to happen is to capture two hours of great interview footage, and then have your subject change their mind about wanting to be revealed on camera! if you can always manage to get this squared away ahead of time, then you will never have to deal with this potential disaster happening.

When it comes down to interview time, keep your questions handy! Start simply and modestly, having your subject state who they are, and what they do. This can be rudimentary, but it can also really help to break the ice. Not everyone is that comfortable in front of a camera lens, and some simple conversation between the two of you can really help to put them at ease.

When your subject starts to answer your questions, you really need to pay attention! Never assume that you can think about other projects, knowing that you can always listen to their answers again on tape! Obviously, this is true, and you will be able to listen to them again, but if you don't pay attention now, you can miss vital details that will spark new questions in your mind! The more insightful questions you can ask, the more in depth you will more than likely go in your interview, pulling up more interesting nuggets of information than you had originally anticipated!

So, when you set out to conduct interviews for whatever projects you find yourself producing, always remember to research your subjects, write up at least ten solid questions, send your questions to your subject along with a release form for them to sign ahead of time, keep your questions on hand when interviewing your subject, and really read into their answers and asked informed counter-questions to keep the interview going, you should wind up with fantastic interviews almost every single time! Professionalism is key, and if you always keep this level of professionalism, you need not worry about a single interview.