Having clear, crisp audio tracks is essential for effective corporate videos, commercials, documentaries—and particularly critical for interview footage. Audiences are often willing to forgive small technical mistakes with video, but far less so with problematic audio.
This week we’ll set up to shoot an interview, and look at ways to improve audio recording quality on location. It’s easy to focus solely on capturing great visuals while shooting an interview; but audio that’s hard to hear, distorted, or runs together between interviewer and subject can quickly ruin a production–and possibly even require a reshoot. To help you capture the best audio with interview footage, this week we’ll discuss:
- Why good audio is essential to an interview
- How to place microphones for the best results
- Best practices for positioning the interviewee, interviewer, and crew
- Interview techniques including making your subject comfortable, having questions prepared, and not talking over your subject’s answers
Often you’ll only have one chance to get interview audio right, so check out this week’s episode so you’ll be prepared before your next shoot. Remember, each week’s episode is free for seven days–tell your video and photography friends to watch for free.