5 Tips to a Great Interview

1. Plan and prepare questions to get the best answer out of your subject. When planning an interview the questions must be well written in order to get a good answer out of your interviewee. Start by asking questions to warm up your subject and make them feel comfortable, then proceed to harder questions. Ask questions that need an explanation with their answer, opposed to yes or no questions. Getting good answers are crucial in an interview.

2. Set up before the interviewee arrives. Prepare where your interviewee will sit (never do a standing interview, it can be uncomfortable and awkward), make sure that all camera and audio is ready to go without any technical difficulties before the actual interview. Doing this allows for a more professional and prepared feel. Remember to use the rule of thirds so the subject is not straight on the camera but at a corner of where the imaginary lines meet.

3. Lighting can make or break the look of an interview. You always want your subject to look the best so make sure the set is well lit. Too bright and the interviewee will look washed out, too dark and it would be hard too see. An interview should never be shot looking straight into a window, ideally the light would be facing the subject. Good lighting is essential and will make the overall look of the interview polished and professional.

4. During the interview keep quiet. Allow the interviewee to completely answer the question without any interruption. Head nods and smiles are good to let your subject know you are interested and engaged in what they are saying. Speaking while they are can be tempting but causes editing to be quite difficult and unable to use certain audio clips because of the interruption. Keep your lip zipped during the interview.

5. White balance the camera. Without white balance the hue of the camera will be either a yellowish orange or blue. Press the white balance button on the camera to balance all color. While editing the color can be corrected on the computer but it can be timely, always white balance before the interview.