Film interviews that feel calm, confident, and easy to watch

Here’s how we make restricted spaces look good:

1. Choose the cleanist corner
   Avoid busy whiteboards, random clutter, and bright windows behind your subject.
2. Pull them away from the wall
   Even 1–2 metres helps. It gives you better separation, nicer light fall-off, and a more “premium” look.
3. Use depth, not decoration
   A plant, a lamp, or a subtle practical light in the background often does more than a “perfect” backdrop.
4. Control external light
   If the light is changing (sun in/out), you’ll fight it all day. Shut blinds/curtains and light the scene yourself where possible.
5. Capture a clean plate
   If you plan any background tweaks in post, grab 5–10 seconds of the frame without the subject under the same lighting.

Quick rule: a quiet, controllable room beats a beautiful but noisy one.

If the audio is poor, people switch off, even if the footage looks cinematic.

For most interviews we keep it simple:

• Lapel mic on the subject (fast, clean, consistent)
• Solid wireless systems are widely available now (DJI, Hollyland and similar)
• If you’re doing lots of short interviews back-to-back in a quiet space, a shotgun mic on a stand just out of frame can work well and saves swapping lapels

AI audio tools can help when you’re stuck:

• Adobe’s speech enhancement tools, CrumplePop, and built-in tools in Premiere Pro, Resolve and FCPX
• Even CapCut has decent speech clean-up now

But treat these as a safety net, not the plan.

Even a mediocre backup is better than nothing:

• A second mic on camera, or a second recorder/channel
• Quick test recording + playback before you start

Poor lighting can make a top camera look flat. Good lighting can make a phone look surprisingly good.

A simple interview lighting setup usually comes down to:

• Soft, diffused light slightly to one side of the face
• For a modern “moody” look, use less fill so one side falls into gentle shadow

• A reflector or a second light at lower power to soften shadows

• A light slightly behind and to the side helps lift the subject off the background

• A practical lamp, tube light, or subtle colour accent can make corporate spaces feel intentional

Glasses tip: if reflections are a problem, raise and angle the key light, or bounce light rather than firing it straight at eye line.

• Eye-level is your safest default
• Slightly below eye line can give a touch more authority (don’t overdo it)
• Slightly above can make people feel smaller and less confident (rarely what you want)

If the interview may be used for socials:

• Frame a touch wider
• Use camera guides (or leave safe space)
• Open-gate formats are ideal where available because they give you more flexibility in post

A second angle makes editing cleaner and more watchable:

• Lets you cut out waffly bits without jump cuts
• Adds pace
• Gives you options

A slow slider/gimbal move can look classy, but:

• Too much movement distracts from the message
• Movement needs to be subtle and motivated, not just “because we can”