While camera gear continues to shed weight, a similar shift has taken place amongst camera crews as well. Mid-range and lower-budget shoots that used to require at least four to eight people now frequently include a crew of just one to three, each with more responsibilities than ever before. The cinematographer often acts as their own grip, gaffer, DIT, loader, and assistant camera, while the director is also an interviewer, producer, hair and makeup, the art department, the audio mixer, and sometimes even the caterer.
While you might feel disappointed with the resulting drop in available jobs and opportunities, it’s important to embrace change by training yourself up on different workflows and preparing for any type of shoot–adopting a mindset where you feel ready to tackle whatever a client or collaborator might throw your way.
Once you get comfortable being a solo operator or “one-person band,” you’ll be able get into a creative flow state no matter how many people are around to help. The key to tackling challenging small crew scenarios is thoughtfulness and attention to detail during all three phases of the filmmaking process: pre-production, production, and post-production. With scripted content, you can always review a take and shoot it again if you’re not satisfied but with multi-camera interviews, all your angles and audio need to be on point from start to finish. So, for today, let’s focus specifically on multi-cam interview scenarios where you’re shooting on your own and still want to capture as much fantastic footage as possible.
Pre-Production
Long before you hit record, the outcome of a shoot is determined by how you use prep time. Put a lot of thought and care into pre-production, and the resulting shoot will likely come together well. If you wait until the day of and try to rush or wing it, be prepared for a lot of headaches and compromises. The most important elements to decide early into the process are who your subject will be, what they’ll be speaking about, and where the interview will take place.
If you have a choice between multiple interview subjects, talk to them on the phone, a video call, or in-person before making any decisions. Interviewing multiple people is always a best-case scenario, but if you’re limited on time or money, try to figure out which subject is the most able to encapsulate complex ideas and translate them into understandable language that’s engaging. Then decide what questions to ask them. You want questions that directly tie into the purpose and themes of the video. You should already have these themes narrowed down and ready to articulate to the interview subjects, but don’t reveal the exact questions you’ll ask. That way they keep to the subject at hand but don’t have rote, pre-prepared answers.
The location you choose for the interview should reflect the content and the style of the interviewee. Think about where you’ll be able to get (or create) soft, flattering lighting, but don’t let that come before complementing the content. You might have the most picturesque waterfall backdrop nearby, but if the video is about trash collection, it’s a no-go. Also think about background noise, as frequent planes overhead or cars roaring by can be a huge headache. You want the subject to feel comfortable and focused, so avoiding any busy areas is also useful.
Once you know your location, decide how best to frame it so that the image will have visual points of interest like relevant props or chiaroscuro slashes of light and dark. Then you can decide what cameras, lenses, and lighting equipment are necessary to achieve this desired look. If your location is cramped, you want lenses more in the 24-80mm range. If you’re in a massive space, break out the super long lenses and achieve spatial compression that really makes an image stand out.
Your setting and frame will also determine audio equipment choices–can you get a boom overhead, can you stick it down low, or will you be relying on clip-on lavalier mics? While tools like a slider or dolly can add dynamic camera movement, they might be too much of a headache to operate solo. The core needs are two dynamic angles, likely a wide shot and a close-up, as well as two microphones so you always have a backup track, ideally a lavalier and a boom.
Production
Finally, you’re on set, the talent is almost here, and the time has come to lock in your shots. The most important thing to remember is not to rush it, rearranging your gear will only get harder the further into setup you go, so take at least ten minutes at the start of the shoot to walk around with your primary camera and test out different angles. No matter what you designed or prepared leading up to the shoot, you’ll likely change your mind as you take on surprises that sprung up in the moment.
Try to find or create leading lines in the back of your frame that go toward the subject, as that will draw the viewer’s eyes in. Also try not to place large lights too close to them. Close distances can help soften the light, but if your subject isn’t comfortable on camera, it can stress them out and trip them up.
Equipment is important, but even more important is developing a rapport with your subject and getting them comfortable in the space. Some small talk before the cameras roll or sharing of personal thoughts and feelings can mean the difference between tense one word answers and beautiful, personal sound bites. Once the talent is in place, do your final mic placement, lighting adjustments, and focus checks, but try to still be talking with them throughout.
Then you’re off to the races. Once the interview begins, the goal is to find a flow with your interviewee. Try not to cut them off, but also don’t let them go on long tangents if you’re confident it has zero change of ending up in the final piece. React with non-verbal cues like head nods and smiles so your voice doesn’t overlap with their audio, and give a bit of silence at the end of each answer before you jump in. This can save you major headaches in the edit when you want to let a powerful moment sit. Another classic interview technique is to try to get the subject to repeat the question in their answer. Yes, this makes the edit easier, as they’re giving each answer full context, but I don’t think it’s worth it if it totally throws off your subject and ruins their flow.
Another important consideration during the interview is knowing when to dig in with follow-up questions versus when to move on to the next topic. If the final video is going to be longer than a minute or two, follow-ups are essentials. They allow you to really dig into a topic and find unique insights that viewers won’t have heard before. If you’re working on a shorter piece, think more about snappy sound bites and how to help the subject compress more complicated answers. Asking them to repeat an answer in layman’s terms is always better than losing the bite entirely, even if it feels a bit awkward in the moment.
Post-Production
Now it’s the day after the shoot. You get to your computer, offload the footage, make a backup, bring it into your editing program of choice, and then come face to face with the results. It’s not terrible–there are some gems here and there–but no interview is ever perfect. Maybe the cameras lost focus or proper framing at points, maybe a passing train or plane messed with the audio, maybe some of the bites you thought were great turn out to be ramble-y and dry. Have no fear, the most important thing is knowing you’re only at the start of the post-production process, and you have the flexibility to condense, combine, and refine.
Start with organization, dividing the answers not only by subject, but also by length. That way you can easily balance longer stories and quicker hits. Think about the rhythm of your favorite bites–try to pair complimentary answers that have different speeds and cadences to keep the final piece interesting. Also think about which answers could have good visual accompaniment. Are they talking about an idea with corresponding B-Roll or are the ideas so heady that you’ll have a hard time trying to show them to the viewer.
When choosing interview selects, try to create a rough cut with more than you need, that way you have wiggle room with notes from a client and changes down the line. Even if there are visual bumps or inconsistencies, these can be covered up later with graphics and B-Roll. For now, think about the overall effect the chosen bites are creating, making sure they all contribute to the overall message and tone of the piece in some way.
Even these concepts are just scratching the surface of what makes good unscripted video, but hopefully they leave you with the idea that no matter how many people you have or what equipment you can afford, you can make great pieces that help you grow into bigger projects and larger crews over time.
By giving all stages of the production process the time and attention they deserve, you’re learning about each role within the process and how to do them to the best of your abilities. Then, when you get the budget to hire a whole team of specialized experts, you’ll be able to speak their language, collaborate effectively, and produce pieces that would’ve been impossible to pull off solo.
There’s a nuance to every aspect of shooting multi-camera interviews, and the only way to really get great at them is to keep shooting, editing, deciding what you liked and didn’t, then modulating your process from there. It’s all part of your filmmaking journey, where curiosity and an eagerness to learn are the secrets to success.
What are some other tips and tricks you think people should keep in mind when they’re filming multi-camera interviews without a large crew? Let us know in the comments section below!
