In this new world of social distancing, producers must get creative in the ways in which we’re able to continue to create content. One way is to film interviews remotely, using zoom/skype/facetime to direct the subjects and then edit that content in engaging ways. It’s user-generated content on steroids. Here’s some tips for how to capture interviews remotely and produce high quality, useable material.
For one of our clients, we were tasked with filming a series of interviews with a wide range of subjects all over the world. The goal was to keep the focus on the subject and their story. Guided by this goal, our visual approach was to film stripped down, simple close up interviews with as abstract a background as possible. We aimed for shooting locations that were simple and modern, sometimes even just a white wall or corner. This runs counter to the type of setting we usually request for interview shoots – something with character, natural light, architecture and a setting that provides visual context for the character or story.