Filming a professional talking head interview at your office or studio
A standard one camera video shoot can be organized very quickly by a producer at a video production company. A cameraman and audio technician (sound guy) will turn up with all the required kit (camera, tripod, lights, light stands, audio mixer, boom mic, radio mic (to pin on interviewee), a little makeup if required, pop up green or blue screen, and a bag of cables to make it all work).
There are extras that can be added but these often require another crew member, for example a Porta Prompt is often useful when filming a presenter or talking head, it’s a box that sits over the camera allowing them to read off an auto cue. It can also be handy to have a 3rd pair of hands to help move the kit around, to find parking after unloading a vehicle at the door, to help with the setting up of a shoot, to make sure the lights are correct, adding filters and making sure everyone is fed and watered.
A second camera is often useful to allow for easier editing later in the edit suite, where the first part of a sentence can be cut into the next by changing camera angles or frame sizes to make a smooth transition that the viewer will never pick up on. It can be achieved with one camera by changing the shot size between takes but this gives less options in the edit suite. So it comes down to cost, if you can afford two cameras and camera crews then go for it, you should still only need the one audio technician either way.
Other crew members that can also be useful are a producer and a director. This may sound very glamorous and unnecessary but they really will help a project run smoothly. A director can be there to make sure the shots look creatively brilliant and push the camera and audio crew to do the best possible work. Whilst a producer can be great to tackle questions about the location, source better rooms for filming, ask questions during interviews and keep the clients happy and involved in a shoot. Again this depends on your budget and the situation and the more money you invest in this stage of production the better the final video should be.
Filming at a studio or your office location is very important
The location for filming can make a big difference for interviews, if you’ve decided to have the shoot done at your office or at a particular location it is worth making sure you have a large room for the shoot, making sure there is some distance between the background and the subject (interviewee) will create a much better look to the video. If there’s a room with a colourful backdrop or window with a view make use of it and have the filming done there to make the most visual impact in the final video. Also make sure you can have access to turn off any air conditioning and that the area is quiet, this helps make sure you never have the perfect take ruined by someone walking through a shot or noisy aircon bursting into life. If you can afford the cost it is often ideal to pay for the hire of a small studio, where a clean white background or green screen can be used and an area that gives the crew full control over the area. Studios are often available for hire at a very reasonable cost and allow far more work to be achieved in a single days filming.
Contact a reputable video and animation production company like Stormy Studio, who are based in Plymouth but work nationally in the UK for advice in producing your video or animation production today.