Bringing an interview to life via video is a daunting task. Conducting and shooting it is difficult in itself, but what makes it watchable video content is the hours of hard work that happen in post-production. After the shooting has wound up, you are left with a lot of video content that needs to go into Post. All the footage you have shot must be meticulously edited to give a great result. Read look at what happens after the clapperboard sticks shut.

1. How Post-Production Pros Create
Engrossing Interview Videos

2. How Post-Production Pros Create Engrossing
Interview Videos
• Bringing an interview to life via video is a daunting task. Conducting and shooting
it is difficult in itself, but what makes it watchable video content is the hours of
hard work that happen in post-production. After the shooting has wound up, you
are left with a lot of video content that needs to go into Post. All the footage you
have shot must be meticulously edited to give a great result. Let us look at what
happens after the clapperboard sticks shut.

3. What is An Interview Video?
• The interview follows the format of a person asking questions and one or more
people answering them. The focus is on the answers and those being interviewed.
There is usually one underlying theme for the interview. Depending on the
content, these can be classified as brand films, corporate films, feedback videos,
testimonial videos et al.
• Just as the thematic focus is on the interviewed person, the camera angles also
focus on the personas at varying degrees. Different camera angles may be used,
like close-up shots, wide shots, which usually capture the answers and the
interviewees’ body language. Interviews may be shot indoors, outdoors or even in
transit. It is imaginatively produced to entice the viewers.

4. How to Edit An Interview
• The editing of an interview depends largely on how many streams you have to
edit. Some interview formats employ single or double cameras only. Modern
interview formats have more than two cameras. This means that the editor has to
go through each footage and decide how each shot will be used. There could be
multiple takes, and the video editor has to ge through all the takes and select the
best one — which makes the cut in the final edit. At times it so happens that the
final edit is compiled of two or more halves coming from different takes of the
same shot/questions. Experienced video editors excruciatingly go through all the
takes of all the shots to ensure the best ones are in the final edit.

5. Organize the Footage in Project
• Being organized and well planned is essential to editing this genre as there is a lot
of footage to be edited, and a specific chronology has to be followed. Getting all
your raw materials organized gives any editor a great starting point to work. Firstly,
all the footage is arranged into different folders or are color coded according to a
format that makes sense and is easy to reach to by glossing over the timeline.
• Using the B-Roll
• The b-roll is very useful for editing. Professional editors use b-roll, behind-the-
scenes clips, candid shots, to make an interview more lively, which also helps to
make the video edit more emmersive and engaging.
• Sync the Video and Audio
• A standard practice followed by experienced video editors is to sync the video with
audio. For almost every project, a separate audio feed is captured through the mic.
Then there could be a multi camera set up, that gives multiple video feeds. All
these feeds need to be synced up precisely in order before the final editing begins
to avoid any hassles at later stage of post-production.

6. • Use the Camera Angles Cleverly
• If multiple cameras are used to capture an interview, you will get multiple footage
streams or feeds. Different feeds need to be used cleverly to include or exclude certain
things. An example could be that there could be a person coming in front of the camera
or is behind the speaker, in which case the other feed needs to be used that is neat and
do not have any “disturbances”.
• Understand the Narrative
• The editing process is as integral to the video production process as the production or
pre-production processes. An editor has to understand what they are doing in the first
place. The narrative of the interview, the tone and style, what is being communicated,
and the overall feel of the conversation all come into play while editing.
• Keep a Transcript in Hand While Editing
• Interview footage can seem like jumbled bits of video. What can help you make sense
of the whole process of keeping a transcript in hand? Referring to the transcript as you
work through the video edit will help you focus on the narrative first. The visual aspects
of the video can be edited later to get perfection. This will help you keep track of the
narrative and make the process much easier.

7. • Edit Out the Fluff
• Part of what makes editing a powerful process is that editors know when and what
to edit out. Editing out the unwanted bits, much like trimming the fat, is integral to
getting all the attention on what is important. Focusing on the important parts
involves impeccable video editing skills.
• Add the Right Music
• Adding subtle music to the interview footage can help uplift the video. The music
has to complement the visuals, the story and the emotion of the interview. It is
also important to use licensed music so as to avoid any copyright issues at any
time in the future.
• Edit to Get the Desired Quality
• Editing is more than arranging the footage around. The important things is to tell
the story and send the message across as it was envisioned during the production
or pre-production stage. It involves putting the final cut together nicely, sound
design, audio editing, color correcting and using visual effects if necessary. All of
these are important to tell the story right.

8. • Using the Right Software
• Post-production is all about software. A lot of times it is the demand of a client or
the director to use a particular software. Other times it’s the video editor who
decides which software to use. Professionals or any video editing company uses
industry-standard software like Adobe Premiere Pro CC, DaVinci Resolve, and
FCPX. for editing.

9. The Bottom Line
• An interview, unlike other video production, has a unique format. It is always shot
from start to finish and maintains a linear, chronological order. Editing it may,
hence, seem simple, but it is not. Editing an interview the right way makes the
content seem perfect, seamless, and natural. It has to captivate the audience,
maintain focus on the interviewee, and make sure what was communicated is not
lost in the melee of editing.
• If you are unsure of how to edit your interview videos, you can always consult a
video editing agency like Motion Edits. We are a top video editing company that
provides a range of post-production services delivered by expert editors. If you’re
looking to post-produce interview videos with finesse, get in touch with us!

10. Contact
Motion Edits
• Address: 4010 Stasney street, College station, TX, 77840
• Email: video@motionedits.com
• Phone No: +1-347 349 6506
• Website: https://www.motionedits.com/