Shooting an interview

R

randomname

Well-known member
I'm applying for a videography internship, and part of the application is making a 2 minute video about a specific member of a service organization. I've never shot interviews before so I need both some good examples of high quality, fairly stylish interviews. I figured since it will be so short I shouldnt have much problem using my T2I for it, but what advice do you guys have on lighting, camera movement, B-Roll, editing, Color grading etc. any advice would be greatly appreciated, I have a decent light kit, steadicam, shoulder mount, and a dolly available.
 
Check out the lighting and setup tutorials at this site:

http://www.lowel.com/edu/

In particular the "Components of Interview lighting" and "Lighting for HD video" have some excellent tips on how to setup, frame, and light your interview subjects.

As far as examples, a good place to start is any current affairs program (60 minutes, etc). The subject matter may be dubious but the lighting guys certainly know thier stuff. They can walk into just about any scenario, indoor or outdoor, and dress it up for perfect interview lighting in a matter of minutes. They are also masters of creating a certain mood or look (think "witness identity protected" for one of the less subtle examples).

Obviously the lighting in any major feature film is top-notch but unlike interview scenarios they are not limited so much by time, budget, space, etc, which is why I'd recommend you start by looking at current affairs programs.
 
Dolly, Jibs, etc. produce a nice look of course. But the main question is: Are you`re interview partners cool/professional and experienced enough for the recording situation? If not - I would mainly concentrate on creating a set up where the speaker feels confortable and relaxed. Use 2-3 (or more) "fixed-installed" camera angles (gives you the best posibilities for cutting the material afterwards). Just let the cameras run. Use extraordinary perspectives (from above, close up on hands, eyes, etc.) Try to catch the personality.

Cheers

Thomas.
 
Thanks, for the lighting links, the organization is just a group thats supposed to represent my school well to big donors, and the purpose of the video is to show him as an individual, a member of this organization, and as a representative of the school. Thats a lot to cover in two minutes, so I think I'm going to try to keep it as simple as possible, probably just one room with no cheesy B-roll (i'm referring to obviouslly staged shots of him doing things like studying, going to class, helping old ladies across the street, etc.) Should I keep the set as minimalist as possible so the focus stays on him? I was thinking about doing some soft, low key lighting. Should I just have my main camera locked down the whole time and find more interesting shots or moving shots with my B camera? And what about color grading? I have magic bullet, but I'm also thinking about going with black and white, would switching between color and black&white be too weird?
 
Also, I think I need to clarify one thing about the video, its supposed to be a piece on the person, not an interview, although the interview will be the main component of the video.
 
I spent 7 years in local news, which means you have less than no time to set up interviews... So I'll give advice for two scenarios... One if you have time and one if you don't.

If you have time and more than one camera, I'd suggest locking one of them down in a medium-tight shot to use for b/w. If you use the other as your primary camera, then you can zoom in and out to your hearts content depending on what the subject is saying, and still have your other camera as a backup. As far as lighting is concerned... An engineer who does lighting for national live shots once told me that he starts by lighting the background rather than the subject... He uses a waveform monitor to get the levels at an average of 60% in the background, and then uses traditional three point lighting to light the subject up as much as possible without peaking. If you want to go for a 60 Minutes look, that might be an option for you. I agree with the statements above about lowel.com/edu. It's a great resource to get ideas for professional TV lighting.

If you don't have time and are in a rush... Then definately use a window. I've never really used HMI's in the past because I've never had access to them, and you can certainly use them to match the color temp. But you can do the same job with tungsten lights and gels. It all depends on what gear you have access to. Don't let the gear you do or do not have determine the look you go for. Imagine what you want to do first, and then if you have the resources, go for it. But just use whatever you have, whether it's professional lights or windows and bounce cards...

As far as the story itself is concerned... Are you going to tell the entire story through the subject's words and voice... Or will there be a voiceover track? I guess what I'm asking is, what overall style are you going for? Because if you have a voiceover, you can most likely accomplish what you need to tell in 2 minutes. Local news stories around here are limited to 1:15 or 1:30, which is frustrating when you have an in-depth story, but you'd be amazed at how much you can tell at that time.

As far as b-roll is concerned... You definately want to get video of them doing something, but it doesn't have to be cheesy and staged. Ask them to do something they would normally do if you weren't around. Then step back, and just shadow them. Think in threes... Wide, medium, and tight. Shoot many options of those basic shots, and then when you have time get some creative, off the wall stuff as well. Whatever you decide to do, you'll definately have a more interesting story than edited clips of a talking head for 2 minutes.

Best of luck to you...
 
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