An interview-style corporate video production can be rather difficult to pull off successfully. This isn’t helped by the fact that interview-style corporate videos get a bit of a bad rep within the industry, which explains why there was a period of time where companies avoided this type of video.

The problem with the interview-style corporate video is the fact that there isn’t much to work with, aside from the person speaking on camera. It’s not much to look at, visually, and if you combine it with some of the dull scripts that were the norm back then, you could see where the negative reputation stemmed from.

With the rise in popularity for video production services and the creative liberties that companies are taking with it, the interview-style video is slowly reemerging as a strong contender in the type of corporate video that you should be considering for your company.

However, keep in mind that while it is very much possible for this to be a great video for your company, it can still fail on you if it isn’t handled properly. To make sure that this doesn’t happen, here are some tips which can help you get your corporate video production right.

Make sure that your interviewee is prepared

One of the biggest downfalls of interview-style videos is the fact that many of the people being interviewed are unprepared for some of the questions, which leads to them fumbling for a proper answer when they are being interviewed.

This makes the video look unprofessional, as well as boring for audiences. Nobody wants to take the extra time watching someone fumble, which ends up becoming dead air. The best way to avoid this is simply by providing your interviewee with a copy of the questions before the interview begins.

In fact, this is standard practice for many professional interviews, as the questions have to be pre-screened beforehand, in case they are not allowed to cover certain topics or divulge certain types of information.

This is a good way of making sure that your interviewee isn’t going to spend a lot of time thinking on-camera, which makes the entire thing seem more natural and is better for your video. This is a better choice compared to having your interviewees read off a script, which looks awkward and makes it hard for audiences to find the interviewee relatable.

Keep the mood calm

Being on a corporate video production project for the first time can be a bit of an intimidating experience for those who have never done this before, which tends to translate poorly on camera. You should minimize the pressure on your interviewees so that they are more comfortable and confident in speaking in front of a camera.