Now, understand that for most people who haven't appeared on camera,
their first time is something like between going to the dentist and
going to jail. They're just not sitting around saying, "Oh, if only someone
wanted to interview me today, I'd have so much to say."
It just doesn't work like that.
So, you have to make them feel comfortable.
Start by assuming that
everyone is absolutely petrified of the thought of doing this,
and treat everyone the same way. So here's what you'll do.
First, you'll show them the camera
and where they'll be looking
during the interview.
By the way, did you get them to sign the release right after they agreed to do the
interview? Ok, good.
Now you'll get them miced up.
and explain that hiding the mic wire avoids distractions.
So it simply needs to slide underneath their clothing
and come out between the second and third button on their shirt,
4-6 inches below their mouth.
On a pullover,
the mic pokes out at the top
and attaches to the collar.
Now, once they're miced and seated,
check that your camera is positioned at eye level. You don't want the camera
pointing up or down at your subject. And then sit down on your side of the camera
and check that there's some nose room-- a little space in front of whatever
they're facing.
Now these visual checks are done looking at the viewfinder
while your subject faces you.
Their eyes should land either here
or here.
Your camera should be just to the right or left of your subject, but not too far
to the side, or you'll miss some important facial reactions, and your composition
will be off.
And before we start recording, there are three important things you want to tell
your client.
Number one:
since your voice will not be heard in the interview, ask your client to
incorporate your questions into into his or her answers.
So if you were to ask,
"What is your name?"
you'll need an answer back like,
"My name is John," as opposed to just John.
Number two: it's almost a universal thing that when someone finishes their answer
to you, they'll look away or they'll look up at the top of the camera.
And when that happens, it shatters the illusion of a one-on-one conversation.
so try to maintain eye contact with your subject
long enough to make an edit later.
You know, just a couple of seconds worth.
I can't tell you how many times I've done a great interview,
got a fantastic answer to a point in question,
and the client looked away
just as he stopped speaking, making the shot unusable. It's very difficult to
retake a magical sound bite the way it happened the first time. So try a couple
of practice questions first to see if they
tend to look away or stay focused.
And finally, number three:
remind them that because your voice
won't be heard,
please wait half a second before they respond.
This will save you untold amounts of grief in editing, because you won't
have voices
talking over voices, which just can't be edited.
Now, we're ready to start rolling tape and talking and this is a very important
moment. If you sense your interviewee suddenly freezing up when the red light
goes on,
you need to fix this right away,
or your whole interview will be shot.
So stop the camera
and let them know that you're only going to use the best takes,
the ones that make them
look and sound their best.
And that usually calms a person down right away.
Then, ask your first question.
Now that first question should always be their name. Ask them to spell it, if you
aren't sure.
Then, say something like,
"This video is being used as a testimonial for my company, is it ok
for us to talk to you on camera?"
Now why would you do this if you've already gotten them to sign a release?
Number one: it's a good backup in case the form didn't get signed or gets lost.
And number two: it gets them to buy into the process. Of course, they'll always say
yes at this point,
so now, you're in really good shape.
As long as you're prepared.
What does being prepared mean?
Well, it means you have your questions ready to ask.
Not just in your head, but on paper.
So let's go over the questions you should ask
of everyone
in a testimonial.