How to get the best out of people on camera.

Picture the scene. You’ve got a brand new camera and bought a quality microphone. You’ve planned the ‘look’ you’re going for and know exactly how you’re going to light the shot.

The tripod is set, the lights are on, a nervous looking interviewee walks into the room and sits down on the perfectly placed chair. You press record, check the sound levels and…now what?

What do you say? What questions do you ask? What do you do if they aren’t comfortable on camera? What do you do if they’re nervous and can only manage you one word answers?

Often, the way people try to get around this is but scripting their videos. However tempting this can be, it can often lead to boring and inauthentic content as well as making the process such more stressful than it needs to be for everyone involved.

Thankfully there is a much better way which will leave you with quality content whilst making the experience an enjoyable one.

For eight years as a clinician in the bereavement and mental health sector, I was able to experiment with lots of different techniques to encourage normal people to talk openly and comfortably – skills that are vital if you’re a filmmaker – and I want to share those tips and tricks with you in this training.

What will be covered:

• How do I plan a video shoot?

• Should I script the video?

• How do I get people to cover the key messages without scripting them?

• What ways can counselling skills can help?

• Creating (and using) open questions.

• How to help people who are nervous.

• How can I get the best out of people on the day of filming?

• Using silence and awkwardness to your advantage.