Planning for an interview (Camera framing and positioning)

Camera Framing and Positioning

The most common type of interview framing is a medium shot, usually cutting at the waist or chest

Sometimes you can shoot with that framing, but have the interviewer in the shot too.

And sometimes you can shoot the interview either from the side or in close up, however only really when you have more than one camera.

 

One thing you need to think about is how many cameras you are using, and this usually depends on how you plan to film the interview. If you are just filming the interviewee's responses, then one or maybe two (for close-ups) cameras will be needed. If you are planning to film a shot with both the interviewee and the interviewer, you may want three, one for the interviewer, one for the interviewee, and one for close-ups or wides. However, if you don't intend to show both the interviewer and the interviewee in the same shot, you could just use one. To do this you would shoot the answers first, and then after the interviewee had left, you'd shoot the questions with a stand-in.