If you have a "personal celebrity" (or celebrities) you want to capture on camera, but you're not quite ready for the full Posterity Media production experience, I encourage you to conduct your own interview! Why wait to capture some important nuggets of family history on camera? And given this footage is an important historical artifact that you'll want to watch for years to come - you might as well try to make it look and sound as good as possible. If you're planning to use a smartphone, below is my complete, very detailed guide for how to get the best results. If this is a bit lengthy for you start with my 3 Tips for Recording Smartphone Interviews.
(Note: Especially if you and your interview subject are not in the same location, using Zoom to record your interview could be a great alternative. Take a peek at our 3 Tips for Recording Interview Over Zoom and Complete Guide to Recording Interviews Over Zoom for more.)
1) Testing things out before your interview
It may go without saying, and applies in any media production scenario, but don’t wait to try out any of the tips below until the day of your shoot. Record some sample videos (with someone sitting in as your subject(s), if possible) and play them back to see how they look and sound. You might have thought you had things figured out but when you actually watch the clips it turns out you need to find a new location or want to pick up an accessory to make things even better. So read on with this first tip in mind throughout!
2) Capturing great audio
It probably seems counterintuitive to talk about audio before visuals - we’re making a video here right? But when you’re recording an interview, the sound is just as important as the visuals - maybe even more so. You’re going to want to hear and understand every word spoken - and I would argue the sound of someone’s voice is as much a part of who they are as what they look like. Even though smartphone microphones are impressive given their size, audio quality is still one of the biggest benefits of using professional media gear. However, there are a few things you can do to give yourself the best chance of capturing great audio.
Find a quiet space. Sounds obvious (apologies for the pun), but the trick here is finding a room that is both quiet AND appropriate for a video interview. Technically, the quietest space available might be a closet with the door closed, but good luck capturing any visuals in there, let alone everyone fitting inside. What you’re really looking for is a spot where you can all sit comfortably (potentially for an extended period), your subject(s) will be visible on camera, and any stray noise is controllable. You don’t want to do this next to an open window where a lawnmower or ambulance could go by. You also don’t want to do this in an area that has a lot of echo - so avoid rooms with a lot of hard surfaces or super high ceilings. And you want to have the ability to turn off any noisy appliances like air conditioners during if needed.
Pay attention to microphone placement. This might be the toughest part of using a smartphone for an interview. Typically, the closer the microphone is to your subject the better audio you will get. With a smartphone, the microphone is built into the phone - so it moves with the camera. You could place the phone right next to your subject's mouth, but you probably don’t want the camera angle to be DIRECTLY IN THEIR FACE - so you’ll need to find a balance. If you’re in a quiet room, you’ll have a better chance capturing decent audio from a few feet away. But the further away the phone gets the tougher it will be to clearly hear the audio - for that reason, resist any urge to use the zoom in function on your smartphone camera. If you need a closer shot, physically move the phone closer to your subject instead.
Consider an external smartphone microphone. If you’re feeling adventurous, both wireless and wired smartphone lavalier mics (also known as lapel mics) exist - as well as shotgun mics that work with smartphones (though working with one of these may require an additional accessory to act as a stand). With any of these options, you definitely want to confirm that they will work with your specific smartphone before you buy - you may need a special adapter for the mic to connect with your phone. And be sure to test any external mics out well in advance of your shoot day in case you need to do any troubleshooting.
3) Getting the visuals right
There are two nice things about using smartphones for video: the phone adjusts a variety of settings automatically (making them pretty foolproof), and what you see on the phone screen is what you get on your recording (so it’s easy to monitor). But there are still several things you can do to get the best possible visuals.
Pickup a smartphone tripod. If you follow one tip in this entire guide, make it this one. A tripod will keep your phone steady, avoid your having to hold it up for an extended period of time, and enable you to setup a nice looking shot. There are a million different tripods out there - even something as simple (and cheap) as this tabletop one can do the trick. You could place that on a stable surface, fine-tune the height by stacking a few books underneath, and be good to go. If your location requires your camera to get a bit more height there are also taller smartphone tripods.
Use the rear-facing camera. Smartphone cameras continue to improve, and it’s possible that the front-facing camera on your phone (the one you would use for a selfie) is very high quality too, but I suggest always using the phone’s rear-facing camera (the one that faces away from the phone screen) for these types of interviews. Not only does this guarantee you’re using the best quality camera on the phone, but it will also allow you to monitor what’s happening while you’re conducting the interview from “behind the camera”.
Keep your camera at 1x zoom (the default setting). Many phones today have the ability to both zoom in and out. My recommendation is to just use the standard 1x camera setting (not zoomed in or out). If you want your subject to appear larger on the video, rather than zooming in, keep the camera at 1x and move it physically closer. This will preserve the image quality.
Aim to find balance in your visual framing. When framing, you generally want to make things “look good” and “feel natural”. For starters, I recommend turning your phone sideways to record horizontally rather than vertically. Make your subject’s face the most prominent visual in the frame. If you have them answer the questions while looking directly at the camera (in that case it will help them if you, as the interviewer, position yourself directly behind the camera) then align their face in the center of the frame (see below).
If you have them answer questions looking “off camera” (looking at you if you are positioned to one side of the camera) then you might find the frame looks more comfortable if you put them slightly on the left or right side of the frame (see below) depending on which direction they look when answering. (Note: a good reference is the Rule of Thirds.)
If you are going to be interviewing two people, have them sit next to each other as closely as possible and center your frame on the space between their faces. You’ll want to have them do their best to direct their answers straight into the camera.
With two subjects it can also be helpful to have a booster seat (such as a pillow) available - in case they are of significantly different heights - so you can try to get their faces to both appear comfortably in the frame.
Pay attention to lighting. You’re working with a smartphone - it should adjust automatically to basic lighting conditions. But it will not be able to overcome an extremely bright light coming from directly over your subject’s shoulder nor utter darkness. Your choice of location should take this into account: a room where you can easily see your subject should be fine - you shouldn’t need to play around with moving lamps around (though feel free to experiment of course) - just check your phone screen before you start to make sure everything looks ok.
Make sure your phone is prepared. Update your phone to its latest software. Plug it in to a power outlet during the interview so there’s no chance of it running out of battery. And keep in mind that videos take up a lot of storage space! An HD video can take up 1GB or more per minute of footage - so double check that you have enough storage space available for the length of your interview before getting started.
4) Asking the right questions and getting great answers
Ok! With the basics of your technical setup out of the way, now for the good stuff.
Make your subject(s) comfortable. Your first priority throughout this process should be the comfort of your subject(s) - your goal is to capture great footage of them on camera, and the more at ease they are, the more fun they are having, the better their performance will be. Part of this is physical comfort (like a good chair to sit in and having water available) but another big factor is your own preparedness. Even if this is someone you know very well - adding a touch of seriousness and formality (not too much - you don't want to scare anyone or stress them out) the more thoughtful your subject(s) will be in their interview answers.
Build your question list. This, of course, is the heart of your interview. What do you want to ask your subject(s)? What will get the best answers? What do they want to talk about? What do they not want to talk about? I have a few standard question lists that I use as a starting point (for instance, Posterity Media Question List for Interviewing Married Couple). You are welcome to use these and customize the set to fit your particular subject(s).
Overall though, you want to keep the length of your question list manageable - it should be thoughtful and include the range of topics you want to cover, but it should not be so long that it would overwhelm your subject(s) when they first see it. Keep it to a page. And while you may have some very specific questions or family stories you plan to ask about over the course of the interview, make a note about those to yourself, but keep the official question list more generic. This will make the list easier for your subject(s) to digest when preparing themselves.
Prepare your subject(s). Subjects will be less anxious if they know what to expect. I always share the list of interview questions along with my Interview Prep One-Sheet in advance. A key note is how subjects should think about their answers before the interview - I like them to have an idea of what the questions will be, maybe refresh their memory a bit, but I do not want them to try and write out any answers word-for-word. This can be tempting for some people - especially if they are concerned about getting historical facts exactly right. But I promise you it is very tough for someone who has never done it before to both memorize a scripted answer and perform it into a camera in a way that anyone else will want to watch in the future (actors are professionals for a reason!). Your subjects will give a much better performance if they answer the questions conversationally - even if it means having to pause to think about something briefly during the interview or even answer the same question multiple times.
Conduct the interview. This is arguably the most challenging part of all. Being a great interviewer takes skill, talent, and a lot of practice. My best advice is to just dive in and see how it goes! If all else fails, you can go right down your list of questions asking one after another and you’re probably going to get some decent footage. The more you conduct interviews, the more you can start to try more advanced elements: adding spontaneous follow-up questions, reordering questions on the fly, tracking your subject's eye line, silently reacting to your subject(s) to keep them engaged without stepping on their answers, coaching your subject(s) to start their answers with part of the question, leaving space at the end of answers to make life easier in the edit, trying to ensure everyone is having FUN, etc. There’s actually a whole lot to consider here! But these are certainly not needed to capture a meaningful interview.
However, if you do one thing beyond simply asking questions, make sure your subjects have a clear opportunity to take a break. Even if they seem ok, it’s a good practice to pause after maybe 30 minutes and ask - this not only makes it very clear that they can take some time if needed, but even if they are good to continue it will be a nice reset of the energy in the room.
5) Advanced tips
For those that have mastered the basics, here are some ways to take your smartphone videos to the next level. None of these are a requirement, but if you're having fun and wanted make things even better take a look below.
Upgrade your visual look. There are limits to the amount of detail your smartphone’s camera will pickup, but it can still be worth experimenting with dressing up the area behind your subject to make things more visually interesting (adding flowers, artwork, other decor). You could also try playing around with lighting - whether that’s moving a few lights around in the room, or picking up a ring light with a combo smartphone cradle and tripod (works best with only one subject). If you're interested in getting deeper on lighting strategies this article from PlayPlay is a good starting point.
Consider adjusting your file format settings (iPhone ONLY). More recently, the default video file format on iPhones has been HVEC - one that is very memory-efficient (and fine for viewing on other iPhones), but is not very compatible on other devices. If you’re an iPhone user and have any plans to edit your footage or share it with devices other than iPhones I recommend going to Settings > Camera > Formats and choosing “Most Compatible”. The downside is this will mean your videos will take up even more storage - so all the more important to check that you have enough space on your phone for these recordings.
Be intentional with video frame rate (iPhone ONLY). Some iPhones (and perhaps some Androids but I’m less familiar) offer the option adjust your video recording frame rate. I tend to prefer 24 frames per second for interview videos - but other people may prefer 30 frames per second (which is the default for iPhones). Either way, you should know how to adjust the frame rate on your iPhone in case you prefer one look to another.
Figure out a good way to store and share your footage. Video files are large. Chances are, especially if you do a decently long interview, you will not want that footage sitting on your phone taking up space. My first suggestion is to transfer those files onto a computer or external hard drive (or, honestly, both - can’t hurt to save important stuff like this in multiple places just in case) by connecting your phone to your computer with its USB power cable.
You could also archive the footage on a cloud storage service like Google Drive or Box - often directly from your phone over WiFi - though know that the size of the files will likely mean you’ll need to have a paid account for these services.
Yet another option is to upload your footage to a video sharing site like YouTube. Not only is YouTube free, but sharing is as easy as sending a YouTube link. And if this option sounds good, but you’d prefer your video not be available publicly on YouTube, you can adjust the privacy settings to be Unlisted - meaning anyone you send the link to can view it, but it will not be searchable on YouTube.
Edit your footage. It’s extremely rare that a raw interview is entertaining during every second from start to finish. Almost every recorded interview is edited to some degree before being shown or shared - significant pauses removed, perhaps even whole questions/answers, etc. Quality editing can make a huge difference in how effectively a video connects with its audience. However, this topic is complex enough that it deserves its own separate guide - and requires access to and skill with video editing software.
Your phone probably has some rudimentary built-in video editing tools (the ability to trim videos, for instance) - and your computer likely has a basic video editor too (iMovie on Macs, Clipchamp on PCs). But if you’re curious to learn more about the practice of editing, Adobe (the makers of video editing software, Premiere Pro) has a very basic overview here. If it piques your interest I would encourage you to do some googling and look through the myriad videos on YouTube that will walk you through it!
6) Conclusion
The last thing I'll mention: all of these rules are made to be broken. Anything I've listed is a suggestion based on my experience. You may find that you actually prefer a different sound or a different look than I do - which is great! To me, producing quality media is about getting adept enough to have your own opinions.
I'd also be remiss if I didn't mention that if, instead, you'd prefer to not have to think about any of the above, and come away with a professionally-produced video interview of your loved one(s), Posterity Media is here! Please be in touch through the Contact form at the bottom of our home page or reach out to me directly at john@posterity.media.
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