Getting this right saves time and money. Here are three common scenarios:
Different locations for each interview
This is the least efficient way to go. Each interview takes place at a different address, requiring travel time between locations, parking, loading in the gear, finding the interview space, framing the shot, setting up lights, yada, yada, yada. The upside is that each interview in your video production will have a distinct look.
Max Yield: 2-3 interviews, depending on traffic, travel distances.
All interviews in a single location, but with different interview set-ups or spaces
The great advantage here is that there’s only one load-in and load-out far less travel time. That buys 3-4 hours. However, if the goal is to have each interview in your video production look like it was filmed in a different location with , there will be set-up time needed to change the background and lighting before each interview. Filming in the same room or space is the most efficient, but after three or four interviews it can be challenging finding a new look. Changing the direction that the interviewees look is usually part of the strategy.
Max yield: 6-9 interviews, depending on number of rooms used.
Filming against a backdrop
This gives you the biggest bang for the buck. The lighting set-up and background can stay the same for all the interviews, and you’ll only need to make one lighting change in the middle of the day to ensure that half the interviewees look screen left and half look screen right. Once the setup is ready, you can practically schedule interviews every half-hour all day long. That’s the upside. On the downside, the interview backgrounds look basically the same. There can be some variation created with lighting patterns, but still very similar. Filming against a green screen will help you get around this limitation as you change the background during post production.
Max Yield: 12-15, depending on if the crew gets a lunch break.
