Shoot Interviews Like a Pro With These Five Tips

Interview YouTube videos can often come off as boring and unengaging. However, with a few changes to how you shoot them, they can be exciting and capture the viewer’s attention. We are going to look at what camera is best to record your interview with, help you pick the right lens, show you how to clean up your audio, show you how to use a green screen, and give you some tips to edit like a pro.

Picking the Right Camera

Picking the right camera to shoot an interview with can make all the difference. This is because it will significantly determine the quality of your video and how easy it is to edit. We recommend picking cameras that can capture footage in 4K. If you cannot, then we suggest at least picking one that shoots 1080p footage. However, the best possible thing you could do for video would be to shoot in 4K and then downscale the footage to 1080p in post-production. This will give you the best video quality possible.

The three camera types to look at are mirrorless cameras, DSLR cameras, and pocket cinema cameras. All of these cameras would work, but there are differences you should understand. The main difference between them is that mirrorless cameras are much lighter and easier to carry around than a DSLR. However, a DSLR can often shoot higher quality than a mirrorless camera, which can be important depending on the quality you are looking for. Lastly, a pocket cinema camera is the most expensive option, but it also records in the highest quality. The Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera is a great choice within the pocket cinema camera group.

Beyond the quality and weight of each video camera, you want to look at their features such as battery life, ease of use, size of the screen, optical image stabilization, external mic input, etc. These are all factors to consider when choosing your camera so you can be confident it will work well for your interviews. If you would like to try each to see what works best for you and your style, consider renting your cameras. Camera rentals are a great way to use different cameras to try and find the best camera for YouTube and your film.

You Need the Right Lens

When you are picking a lens for your camera, you want to make sure that you are shooting your interview from multiple angles and with multiple focal lengths. This will give you a variety of looks that can make your final video more interesting and engaging. The focal length you shoot at is also important because it affects the size of your subject. The mirrorless camera, DSLR, and pocket cinema cameras all allow for interchangeable lenses.

For an interview, it is good to have a wide shot from over the shoulder of the interviewer. This will allow you to see both people at the same time and give a sense of closeness between the subjects. For this shot, a 24mm or 35mm lens would work beautifully. Another shot that is great for an interview is a medium shot of each individual. This shot would allow you to see most of the body of each person individually. For this, a 50mm would work. Lastly, a close-up shot of the face builds intimacy and can show those important facial expressions well. An 85mm or 135mm would be the recommended lenses for this shot.

Clean Up the Audio

Just as important as getting great video, your audio needs to be clean. To get great audio for an interview, you will want to use an external microphone on each subject. The lavalier mic is a great choice. This type of mic is small and clips onto the shirt of each person. This will ensure that your audio is clean and free from any background noise. It is important to get a good mic that is reliable and consistent.

It is always good to have redundancy in your setup, so it is recommended to have a second way of recording the sound. For this, a boom mic would be best. A boom mic can be placed above the heads of both subjects and will give you clean sound.

Make the Background More Interesting with a Green Screen

Green screens are a great way to improve the background of an interview. This can be used if you don’t have a visually interesting studio to shoot in. A green screen is simply a screen that is green in color and placed in the background. The green color can be removed in post-production and replaced with any other background.

When using this method, green screen lighting is very important. Green screen lighting should be very even and consistent. This will ensure that the green screen is removed correctly in post-production. For your green screen lights, use a combination of softboxes and light panels. You should give adequate space between the people being interviewed and the green screen backdrop to reduce the chance of shadows. This is best to use a green screen effectively. It is also important to light your subjects correctly with a key light, fill light, and rim light.

Edit Your Footage to Make it More Engaging

To produce a great interview video, you need to have a skilled editor to put it together. The editing process can change the feel of the interview and greatly affect how engaging it is. When editing together an interview, you want to make sure that it flows smoothly and is easy to follow. You also want to switch between different shots effectively to portray the emotions being discussed at that time in the interview. For example, if there is a highly emotional moment, the zoomed-in close-up will bring the viewer into that emotion, and they will become more engaged with what the person is saying and feeling.

Lastly, you need to make sure your audio is edited together correctly. This can be done by removing any noise that may disturb the viewing experience. This includes removing any breathing sounds, lip smacks, or other noises.

When doing this, you also want to make sure there are no large pauses in the audio where someone is not saying anything. One trick you can use to help with this is having the interviewer ask a question and wait for a response before moving to the next question. Then when editing, you can remove the question and just have the person’s response in the video. This will reduce any unneeded silence and make it easier to watch.

In Conclusion

The five tips we have shared will greatly improve your interview videos. By following these tips, you will be able to produce high-quality videos that are more engaging and interesting to watch. Pairing the right camera, lens, and having quality audio are the best ways to improve immediately. Don’t hesitate to try something new with a green screen background. This can make your video more visually interesting. Piecing all of your footage together in post-production is the final step that ties everything together. Using these tips, you should see great improvement in your work and increased engagement with your videos.