From the rule of thirds, to leaving a bit of headroom, to alternating sides for each shot. Interview composition can be a bit tricky. Especially, when shooting with your iPhone. Recently, we wrote a post about how to use a tripod with your iPhone. This time we’re covering the composition part of shooting an interview.
Watch the video below for some helpful guidelines to craft the perfect shot.
Rule of Thirds When you set up your shot, imagine your frame is split into thirds horizontally and vertically. The best place to put an interview is at the cross section of those lines.
Alternate Sides Don’t interview everyone on one side of the screen or the other. Switch back and forth between interviewees in order to add visual interest to your video.
Not Too Far Don’t record your interviewees from too far away. Ideally, you want to be able to be close enough to clearly see an interviewee’s eyes and facial expressions.
Not Too Close Don’t record your interviewees so close that you cut off parts of their face. This can be especially problematic if your interviewee’s name should be displayed on the screen in the finished video – you don’t want their name plastered across their forehead because there isn’t any room for it on the screen.
Leave a Little Head Room Head room is the space between the top of your interviewee’s head and the top of the frame. It’s best to leave just a little room in there – don’t cut off the tops of interviewee’s heads.
Now that you’ve learned some new interviewing skills, why not try them out with one of our “A Video You Can Do” ideas.
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