7 Great Tips on How to Shoot an Interview Like a Pro

Did you know that Oprah Winfrey has conducted more than 37,000 interviews in her illustrious career? There are a number of things that you need to consider doing if you’re wanting to get the best results when you’re shooting an interview. It doesn’t matter if you’re a business owner that is interviewing employees or a talk show host.

Shooting an interview requires a quiet place with good lighting and a nice background for interview filming. Having these different factors in your favor will make shooting interviews a breeze. If you’ve always been too intimidated to try to shoot an interview on your own then today is your lucky day.

You’ve come to the right spot to learn about seven great tips that will make interview shooting a walk in the park. Keep reading this article to learn more today.

1. Discuss Questions With the Person You’re Interviewing

Odds are that the person that you’re planning to interview isn’t great with handling questions that they’re not prepared for. It is a great idea to let the person that you’re interviewing know the things that you’re planning to ask them about before you shoot an interview. This gives them time to prepare while still maintaining spontaneity on the part of the person you’re interviewing.

You should also make sure to inform the person that you’re interviewing what you plan to use the footage for. It is important that you do this and that you ask for their permission to use the interview that you shoot.

2. Find a Good Background for Shooting an Interview

You also need to make sure that you find the perfect background for shooting an interview. The perfect background is one that is interesting but that won’t distract from or take away from the interview itself. Try to find something that is related to the person that you’re interviewing for the best results.

If you’re interviewing a successful entrepreneur then you should shoot the interview in front of something that is related to their business. It is a good rule of thumb that you should avoid shooting an interview in front of a bright window or white walls. You can shoot an interview in an office but this is a boring setting and will take away from the quality of the interview shooting.

It is also distracting if you’re shooting an interview in an area that sees a high volume of foot traffic. If people are walking through the shot in the background then it will distract the audience’s attention from the person getting interviewed. Keep that in mind with a 2 person interview setup.

3. Avoid Loud Areas

The main purpose of shooting an interview is to capture what the interviewee has to say. Needless to say, interviewing this person in a place that is loud and noisy will take away from the interview and the information that the person getting interviewed is sharing. It is important that you get good sound and pick out a quiet place to conduct your interview.

You shouldn’t allow anyone else in the room when you’re interviewing the interviewee as this is distracting for everyone involved and it will take away from the sound quality of the interview.

You should also do your due diligence when it comes to lighting for the interview spot. The best cameras on the market will do a lot to help but they still need ample lighting if you’re planning to shoot an interview.

4. Frame the Picture

You also need to make sure that you use the camera in an effective manner when it comes to framing the interviewee and the picture. You don’t want to be too far from the person that you’re interviewing but you also don’t want to be too close. Try to frame the subject of the interview the same way that a news anchor gets framed on television.

5. Don’t Interrupt

A huge part of shooting an interview in a successful manner is avoiding interrupting the interviewee. Start by recording for around five seconds prior to the interview getting started and keep filming until around five seconds after the interview ends. Taking this step will keep the interview from getting cut off.

Keep in mind that the footage that gets captured of the interview will still need to get edited. If the person that you’re interviewing gives a long answer then avoid cutting them off and trust that you can go back and edit any parts of the interview that you don’t need.

A good approach is to let your interviewees answer in full and then give them a full two or three seconds after answering before you move on to the next question that you have for them. Keep in mind that you’re conducting an interview rather than holding a normal conversation.

6. Have the Interviewee State Their Name

Most people that host interviews will show the interviewee’s name on the screen below their face. Doing that will give credibility to your interview since it will look much more professional. Make sure that you have the interviewee spell and say their name so that you know how to display it on the screen and how to pronounce it when you address them.

7. Get More Material Than You’ll Need

You should also always make sure that you’re getting more material than you need when it comes to shooting an interview. If you want your interview video to be around three minutes then you should make sure to get closer to ten minutes. That will give you plenty of material to choose from and the rest can get edited out of the final product.

Add Shooting an Interview to Your Schedule Today

Shooting an interview is a fun way to get a better understanding of something or someone. There are a lot of things that go into shooting a successful interview and you need to use these tips in order to make the most of your interview filming. Make sure that you don’t interrupt the interviewee, and give yourself plenty of material to work with.

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