The "Talking Head" is one of the most widely used shots in video production. Anytime you interview someone or have someone speaking directly into the camera that is considered a talking head.
This week I will show you how easy it can be to shoot your very own impressive and professional looking talking head style interview. Here are my top 5 tips…
1. Location
First, consider the location where you are going to shoot. It is best to pick a spot that's quiet and uncluttered. You also need a decent amount of room. Ideally, the person on-camera should NOT be squished up against the wall. It's best to have several feet behind them. Otherwise, it tends to look like a mug shot. It’s also best to shoot against a non-descript backdrop.
Finally, visit sites during the same time of day or night you plan to shoot and see how they look through a lens – sometimes a great location does not translate as well on film.
2. Lighting
The best lighting for a talking head is standard triangle lighting which you can look up online. If you can‘t get fancy with your lighting, do not worry about it. Just make sure that lots of diffused light is falling on their face. You do NOT want the light behind them to be bright because then you will get a silhouette.
You need to be flattering with your lighting, think about skin tones and any awkward shadows either on the interviewees face or behind them.
3. Relaxing the interviewee
An interview is an inherently stressful situation. There is nothing to be gained by deliberately upping the tension by aggressive questioning or interview gimmicks.
In contrast, it’s worth you putting in some effort to try to relax the candidate before firing the first questions. A friendly greeting is a good start. Small talk can also be used effectively to start building some rapport straight away. Most CV’s will include a reference to the candidate’s out of hours activities and this can provide an easy opener for discussion.
Having the interviewee well briefed before the shoot can be a good idea, allowing them to prepare what they might want to say. You should treat the interview like a relaxed conversation; the more relaxed the interviewer is the more relaxed the interviewee will be.
4. Posing the right questions
The questions you ask and the way they are posed are crucial to the success of the interview. This should be decided in advance, if you want to edit the interviewer out later then the interviewee should be asked to rephrase the question in their reply, so as to make sense to the audience.
However if the interviewer is to be included in the shot, or their voice is off camera then this does not matter and can lead to a more relaxed interview. It is important to research your questions to gain the respect and trust of the interviewee. You should know what you want the interview to look and sound like before it’s conducted to make sure you get everything you need on the day.
5. Filming
Ideally, the camera should be on a tripod about 7-10 feet in front of the person and they should wear a microphone. With this much distance, you will need to zoom in to get a nice medium-close-up. However, if you have to rely on the on-camera mic for sound, you need to be closer, about 3-4 feet away or the mic won't pick up the sound well. In a case like this, you need to sacrifice the better visual effects in order to get decent audio.
You can also shoot talking heads with multiple cameras. If you have only one camera make sure you get pick ups and details after filming the interview to use as cut aways, this will help in the edit if you need to cut between takes or remove part of the shot.
Summary
These 5 tips should get you on your way to transform any talking head into a compelling and interesting story. Do you have any tips to add? Add your ideas for shooting a talking head style interview in the comments below.