5 Tips for a perfect interview
5 Tips for a perfect interview
Sounds easy, it’s only asking questions, right?
No, filming an interview is so much more than that. Especially if you want to get a great story and desired narrative! Check out our 5 tips for a perfect interview…
1. Make people comfortable
An interview can be a stressful experience, even for the most passionate and articulate person. That’s why at Bruizer, we do everything to make interviewees comfortable, encouraging them to open up and to get the best out of them. It takes a good interviewer to understand the person and make them feel at ease. Our way is to keep the camera rolling, let the interviewee get used to being recorded and not to ask dry questions but rather let the conversation flow. You wouldn’t believe what a difference a relaxed atmosphere can make!
2. Don’t talk over people
Interrupting is generally considered a rude thing to do. But did you know that talking over your interviewee can also affect your recording? Let your subject think about their responses, and remember that, sometimes, silence is as powerful as words. By allowing your interviewee to communicate without any time pressure, you’ll enable them to find their flow and add extra thoughts, which could end up being moments of gold dust! People often think that repeating themselves during an interview is a bad thing – not necessarily, you never know which answer editors will choose for the final cut. Listening to your interviewee and not interrupting them can also help you consider their response and devise good follow-up questions based on their answers.
3. Have a questions check-list in your head
Preparing for an interview is essential and obvious, yet so often overlooked! At Bruizer we make sure to always prepare a ‘questions check-list’ before every interview, depending on the outcome our client and our crew want to achieve. If we need a very specific and hard narrative, we ask questions which will lead to the answers we need. Or if we’re looking for some honest and fresh opinions, we avoid direct questions and let the answers and conservation flow. Whichever story you want to create, we’re here to guide and help you!
4. Team work
There’s no need to tell anyone how important team work is to achieve success! Effective communication and ensuring that our crew works closely with the client, and the post-production team, to identify good responses is our key to the success. Our aim is to get the best out of people whilst creating a great story and narrative.
5. Framing and sound
We wouldn’t be film and video professionals if we forgot to mention some technicalities! Framing is key; a badly framed camera angle can make the interview look awkward, whilst bad lighting can ruin the shot. A great location with a suitable background can either reinforce the content of the interview or tell us something about the interviewee and their company. Don’t forget about the sound – background noise, wind, too loud music – all of which can contribute to either a success of a failure of your recording.
And whatever you do, remember to make the interview enjoyable – it will definitely show!