My bread and butter as a videographer (especially a Chicago videographer) is shooting interviews and testimonials. I have filmed hundreds of such interviews, worked with other videographers preparing interviews, and seen many more video interviews all over the web. During this time I have learned some important keys to make a good and attractive interview.
First point, be brief. When I schedule a video interview, I usually end up talking to my subject for 30-40 minutes. However, an effective interview video with a subject is 1.5 minutes to 2.5 minutes. When I get a response from my subject that is long, detailed, and sounds like he’s wondering if he has an idea, I let him finish, congratulate him on how good his answer was, and ask him to summarize it in 2-3 sentences. Sometimes it takes a few shots. Therefore, allow 40 minutes for an interview.
Second, make the interview conversational. There is nothing more boring and flat than reading questions on the subject. As humans, we are social beings. Yes, the subject understands that he is ultimately speaking to an imaginary audience and is only being filmed. However, I have seen shy people open up to me when I engaged them in conversations. They forget that the camera is pointing at them and they give me rich and personal content. Sometimes, as a videographer, you can’t or don’t feel comfortable engaging in a conversation, preferring to just pay attention to the crew. If this is the case, it’s worth bringing someone else with whom the subject can talk (and engage).
Always use at least two cameras. Having multiple angles makes editing much easier. You can easily cut the interview and jump from camera to camera during transitions. The court interview shot with a camera creates distracting jump cuts. Also, having multiple camera angles makes the video more dynamic. Sometimes I even add a little slider movement to add a more dynamic feel to a static shot.
The sound quality is huge. In my video production I use high-end lavalier microphones. The lavalier mic is close to the subject and you get a lot more voice signal and less ambient noise. Truth be told, most viewers who watch these types of videos won’t be able to tell the difference between a video shot on a $30k camera and something shot on a smartphone. However, the sound of the bed is immediately noticeable. The sound of the bed screams “amateur” video. If you don’t have a good lavalier mic, you can use a shotgun mic. Ideally, the microphone should be as close to the subject as possible. You can mount such a microphone on a stand and run the cable to the camera. The mix of the sound is also crucial. To get that professional sound quality, you always want to add a bit of compression to the sound, so that the loud parts are attenuated and the quiet parts are turned up. I often use a bit of equalization to remove the low end of the sound spectrum. When mixed with some music, vocals that are compressed and slightly EQed will cut through the mix more easily.
Lastly, for a video interview to be engaging, it needs to have something visual to cut through. This is often called B-roll. B-roll shots are visual scenes that support the story being told by the subject. However, sometimes I use photographs of the subject and build a collage that visually tells the story. When I do this type of collage, I actually prefer photos that are not professionally taken, as they better represent the reality of the person being interviewed.
In summary, video interviews should be reduced to about 2 minutes, should be conversational, recorded with good sound and multiple cameras. When done right, they are one of the most powerful marketing tools for any business, product, or service.