When filming a video for a business, more often than not you will be filming someone that represents the company rather than a professional actor. Thus, achieving a succinct and high quality interview can be occasionally difficult. Those unaccustomed to being in front of the camera will often be fidgety and strained in their responses leading to a poor delivery of content and brand image. In this article we'll be looking at a few ways to lessen the effects of nerves on non-professional talent.
An interesting case study has arisen lately, that of the viral interview between Chris Stark and Mila Kunis. Everything about the manner of the interview is awful, yet it's by far the most natural, most enjoyable interviews I've seen in a long while and because of that it effectively promotes the content more than a regular Q&A would have done. So what can we learn?
Firstly, make your subject comfortable and motivated to talk. To do this, sit down with them beforehand and talk over the content, ask questions, be interested and the subject will be happy to tell you what you want to know. As well as this, it'll also help the subject develop mental furrows with regards to their answers, producing more succinct and natural responses.
If the subject remains nervous, despite all your easing-in methods they still might fidget. If they have fidgety hands then it's usually a good idea to frame a tighter shot on them rather than attempting to repress their urges. Do everything you can to avoid this nervousness though, a casual conversation or run-throughs before the interview starts can make all the difference.
Allowing your subject to choose their own comfortable seating position might also help. Although you know what you're doing, and the chances are you have a good idea in mind where you want your shot to be set up, do as much as you can to work around the comfort of your subject. Don't demand they adopt an uncomfortable or embarrassing position to simply satisfy your creative vision - compromise! A the end of the day, their delivery is at the heart of the video.
Once your subject is completely at ease and your shot is well arranged, a good use of light and makeup will vastly improve the shot, a shiny and dimly lit subject would be a terrible result to the hard work throughout your interview. This is vital, particularly if you're going in for a closeup where every little facial detail is on show.
Lastly, stress the nature of video production, especially the editing. Informing your subject that they can have multiple takes and can take their time when delivering a response can do wonders for their stress. A lot of nerves in front of the camera stems from a lack of understanding about the production process - many subjects believing it all has to be in one take and word perfect.
An interesting case study has arisen lately, that of the viral interview between Chris Stark and Mila Kunis. Everything about the manner of the interview is awful, yet it's by far the most natural, most enjoyable interviews I've seen in a long while and because of that it effectively promotes the content more than a regular Q&A would have done. So what can we learn?
Firstly, make your subject comfortable and motivated to talk. To do this, sit down with them beforehand and talk over the content, ask questions, be interested and the subject will be happy to tell you what you want to know. As well as this, it'll also help the subject develop mental furrows with regards to their answers, producing more succinct and natural responses.
If the subject remains nervous, despite all your easing-in methods they still might fidget. If they have fidgety hands then it's usually a good idea to frame a tighter shot on them rather than attempting to repress their urges. Do everything you can to avoid this nervousness though, a casual conversation or run-throughs before the interview starts can make all the difference.
Allowing your subject to choose their own comfortable seating position might also help. Although you know what you're doing, and the chances are you have a good idea in mind where you want your shot to be set up, do as much as you can to work around the comfort of your subject. Don't demand they adopt an uncomfortable or embarrassing position to simply satisfy your creative vision - compromise! A the end of the day, their delivery is at the heart of the video.
Once your subject is completely at ease and your shot is well arranged, a good use of light and makeup will vastly improve the shot, a shiny and dimly lit subject would be a terrible result to the hard work throughout your interview. This is vital, particularly if you're going in for a closeup where every little facial detail is on show.
Lastly, stress the nature of video production, especially the editing. Informing your subject that they can have multiple takes and can take their time when delivering a response can do wonders for their stress. A lot of nerves in front of the camera stems from a lack of understanding about the production process - many subjects believing it all has to be in one take and word perfect.
About the Author:
Watch our corporate videos that effectively demonstrate interview techniques,Masters in Public Policy, and Masters in International Relations.
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