It’s our final episode of Season 3 on the show and we’re wrapping it with a tutorial on how to do something we are well-known for: filming an interview-style podcast. We have literally made hundreds of these kinds of episodes for clients, so we wanted to share our best tips for setting up a set, prepping your guest and crew, and capturing a conversation in its best form for your show.
In this episode Tiff and Christine show you the best ways to setup for video recording an interview-style podcast.
“It’s really on the host to make [the intention] known and to embody it.”
christine baird
Notes on this season:
This season of the show is all about using a studio and a crew to film your show and make it look its best! That means that we filmed the whole season in Christine’s new studio in Salt Lake City, Worthfull Studios! We invite you to watch the full episode on YouTube to see everything we are talking about >> https://youtu.be/NKkimx8C0wI
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Links mentioned:
- Looking for pro support to build your podcast? Find out more ways to work with us!
- Tiff Tyler
- Christine Baird
Subscribe to the Podcast!
Many thanks to our production team
- Luis Puente for Broll shooting
- Casey Partridge for video editing
- Worthfull Media for audio editing
- Mosaico Productions for video effects
- Amela Subašić for artwork
Transcription of this episode:
(auto-generated, please forgive typos)
Christine (00:04):
Welcome to Think Like a Producer podcast. I’m your co-host Christine Baird.
Tiff (00:09):
And I’m your co-host Tiff Tyler. Being in the podcast industry, being in the content creation industry. This is what we learned, and this is how you can get out of your own way and get started.
Christine (00:20):
You name it. We’ve probably done it. This podcast is about bringing all the wisdom to you. Tune in weekly, to learn how to think like a producer.
Christine (00:32):
Welcome to this episode of Think Like a Producer. Uh, this is something we have a lot of experience in. It’s about how to set up a good set for a interview and obviously we’re in the studio this season. We’re showing you higher production quality, so we’re gonna show you literally how we have set up hundreds of interview style content shoots. If you’ve been listening and watching the show for a while. You know, Tiff and I met years ago when we both lived in LA and worked on a big celebrity podcast together and that was an in-person interview style show in a studio in la. So we have done this a lot and granted it’s different when you have a dedicated studio and that’s the only thing that room is used for and we were able to customize it. But you know, that studio changed over time.
Christine (01:23):
Sometimes Tiff would go on location with the host of that show and travel and need to record in other places. So we’ve done it a few times and there’s a few things to know If you’re setting up for interviewing people versus something like this where you’re co-hosting or you’re solo, just direct to camera, you’re the only person. Um, there’s just a few things that we want you to be aware of to make sure you get the best out of your interviews, especially if you in invested in better production because these are important interviews and you want them to be timeless and you want them to be really well received and look and sound as good as the content is. A couple pro tips we’ve got for you. So I think off the top on my head I’ll share a couple if you have any and then we’ll cut to actually showing you live how we do this with a guest. I’m gonna mock interview one of my friends and clients who’s coming in. So a few things. Obviously you can tell right now we are in sort of a co-host set up because we are talking to you equally. We’re not really here to just like chit chat with each other. This is like an educational style show. So this isn’t really ideal for an interview. Obviously if I was interviewing you, be like, oh, and can you hear already my mouth is not next to my mic . So already
Tiff (02:35):
Also would be very profile just kind of getting the side of the face, right?
Christine (02:39):
Like this would not be ideal if I was actually interviewing Tiff. It’s much more effective if your seats are a little bit apart so that you can naturally look at each other. Your mic placement needs to take that in consideration that your guests are looking at each other. So you need to make sure that the mic is gonna be picking up where their faces, you want the viewers of that content to feel like they got to literally sit in on the conversation. So it has a very different feel and we’re gonna show you that in a minute with our, with our guest. But that’s the big thing right away that I noticed is if you’ve never done interviews in a a studio with multiple cameras and mics, it’s easy to just be like, yeah, just put a couple chairs down and here we go. And then when you get your footage back you’re like, oh no , this is not what I was thinking and why didn’t I think of that?
Christine (03:30):
And so that’s one is think about how it’s being received and think of an interview as like you want the audience to feel like they were literally just sitting right there with you listening into the conversation. And so you wanna posture it that way and you wanna sit do your step. We’ll show you an example in just a minute. Another thing to consider is if you’re interviewing someone, there’s a different dynamic and we’ve talked about this I think in past episodes of the show. You can look up some of the previous seasons that you, it’s on you as the host to really make the guest feel comfortable. And a lot needs to happen before the interview to really set the energetic tone that they’re safe, they’re respected, they’re heard that you, it’s a place that they can open up and share their best stories and their best ideas.
Christine (04:17):
And so you wanna be prepped as the host to be able to give that. And when you’re in a studio and you have multiple people coming in and out through the day and a crew, there’s a lot more going on obviously as you’re about to see. And so you just need to be aware energetically that the guest is gonna walk into a different environment than just like, Hey, we hopped on our laptops in our houses and had to chat. Like some people might be intimidated by the cameras or the lights or the microphone and you might need to be a little more, uh, patient and gentle with them kind of helping them get into flow. And you know, the first part of your episode may not be the best part of your episode and you just wanna think through and be emotionally intelligent about the time it may take for your guests to sort of warm up some people walk into a studio and just be totally at home and know exactly what they’re doing cause they have a lot of media experience and some people won’t.
Christine (05:07):
And it doesn’t mean they’re a worse guest for your show. It means you have more responsibility as a host to like bridge the gap for them. And that could take time and you might just need to be more perceptive about kind of your get to know you icebreaker time. And you also just wanna make sure this is almost a whole other episode. We’re gonna, we’re gonna wrap it soon, but you wanna make sure your crew understands the ethos, the energy, the intention of your show because they’re present on set. You’re not just doing it solo and you wanna make sure you’ve communicated to them like, Hey, here’s my intention for this shoot. Here’s who’s coming, here’s how I want them to feel. Do you, you know, are you on board with me? Can we make that happen? And really make them feel a part of your, um, I don’t wanna say intention again, it’s like another word you’re enrolling your crew cuz they’re probably freelancers unless you’re lucky enough to have a dedicated team. And even then they, you know, when they’re new they need to understand it’s really on the host to make that unknown and to embody it. And I’m gonna wrap it there cuz we could go on for a long time. And I think we’ve maybe touched on this in previous episodes. So just,
Tiff (06:18):
I don’t think you’ve touched on that though, setting the tone for like the
Christine (06:21):
Actual cut me off now we’re trying to focus on
Tiff (06:24):
No, but that’s great though because I, I mean, I think that’s great and that’s something to be, um, aware of that it’s hard to to know until you’re in those environments because there are particular podcasts or particular episodes where things are gonna possibly come up that’s very sensitive for the host or for the guests to come in and talk about and for your crew to be prepared. Like, hey, this is the intention, but this is also the topic we may cover today. For them to at least know a little bit about the, the person that’s gonna be interviewed I think is very important and working with you, um, on that podcast we were working on, I learned that from you, like all the research that you did and preparing and different things because yes, sometimes it’s the host, but a lot of times it’s the producer that’s gonna prepare the crew and let everyone know and, and prepare the host for what’s about to come and different things.
Tiff (07:11):
So I I think that’s so important. I don’t think we’ve really touched on that. Um, again, like Christine, we’re gonna show you just some of the best practices and things I think about when I’m setting up for an interview in different environments. Uh, the one thing I do wanna say or just re-emphasize is that this is a growing stage for you, especially if you haven’t done it before. Even if you work with experienced, uh, videographers, experienced producers, the way you film it, the, the environment that you’re in, the angles that you choose will constantly change and grow. The studio setting may change, uh, the backgrounds, different things may change. So in your first couple episodes, I think we’ve said this before, but we recommend that you try to find people that you know when you’re starting out to interview. If you haven’t done it before and you’re learning how to host, I think, and you tell us in the comments, I think Christine should make a whole series just on hosting and like the actual, uh, skillset you get to build to be a host.
Tiff (08:09):
It’s not like you just sit in front of the microphone and you are just good at it automatically. It’s a skill. It takes practice over and over again. And we’ve seen too many people, you know, in the beginning stages to not emphasize that it is a skill that you, you get to sharpen. You might wanna start off with a friend that you know you can call back in case something you wanted to, you know, try again, you know, people that you’re familiar with. And then when you have those bigger guests that you might only have this one opportunity to film and different things, you’ve got some time in there, you’ve got some practice and you know, at least can come in with a little bit of confidence going into the, the interview into the shoot. So again, this is a very long topic that we can talk about later in a different episode. Maybe we can do a special episode. We’ll figure that out.
Christine (08:53):
I mean, let us know in the the comments. Yes. Cause we could do a whole season about it.
Tiff (08:57):
Just hosting, just, I mean, goodness gracious. But yes, we will get into this next clip now and show you guys just some tips and trick for setting up for interviews.
Christine (09:07):
Hi everybody. We’re on set now with my really good friend and client and longtime creative collabor collaborator. It’s the end of the day y’all. Scott Porter, thank you for coming.
Scott (09:21):
So, so excited to be here.
Christine (09:22):
So we’re gonna do a little mock interview so you can see why we set up the set this way. We’re gonna pretend that I’m interviewing you for my podcast. Scott’s a podcast host and he’s interviewed tons of people. He could easily interview me, but today I took the reins and it’s like, Scott, let me ask you a couple questions. Love it. So I’m gonna show you that in a minute, but we’re just going to talk through how we set this up first so that you can see what we referenced in the intro in action. You can tell that obviously Scott and I are postured now much more to be in conversation. We’re not directly across from each other because we still need the cameras to see our faces. And you can see that, you know, I have a lens on me. Scott has a lens on him, but it’s much more of a conversational posture you can tell versus what you saw earlier with Tiff and I at the table.
Christine (10:07):
So that’s number one. And obviously we need to look like we’re comfortable. If we were like stiff and like weirdly positioned, it would not go well. Like people read energy on camera all day long and during the conversation, right? People, this is the kind of things people do and they get excited and like, this is what people need room. So that’s why a lab mic, if you’re doing an interview with video first, this is gonna be so much more usable because if we had the nice mics right on us right now with Stans coming off here, that would be awesome for audio. But truth is like we’re gonna wanna be engaging in the most powerful connection we can have is when we forget that the cameras and mics are here and we can just drop in. You know, this fun fact, Scott recorded entire season of his podcast in taquerias and taco shops around the country, . So he’s a revolutionary, but that’s why lab mics are worth kind of a little bit downgrade in the audio because we can pretend and focus more on just being in conversation. Um, Tiff do you wanna come talk through how you’ve lit and put the cameras up?
Tiff (11:17):
Sure. Oh, we, we did this as a quick tutorial, so there might be, you might put a little more time into looking at the angles and the shadows like we talked about in the lighting episode, but overall, like Christine said, we wanted to make sure that it would be a comfortable position. You can talk, you can chat so everyone is lit, right? There’s a light on Scott, there’s a light on Christine, there’s kind of like a main light that’s kind of filling in for the both of ’em. So there’s more light on this than what we did in just kind of our single interviews. And then again, uh, once we get the wide shot and we’ve had that established a closer shot, so I don’t wanna get too technical, but these are pretty much like, like a medium close shot where we’re getting, uh, feeling a bit more intimate.
Tiff (11:57):
And usually when we’re editing or we send things to editors, these are the two shots that they’re using the most and it’s just cutting between one and two. And our third camera really ends up being an establishing shot and also just a backup. Um, in case you have to switch out a camera, switch out a SD card when you’re using three cameras, there’s a lot to keep track of, um, especially if you’re shooting alone or if you, you know, um, you just have to keep track of a lot of stuff . So we recommend that you do have one or two people helping out to support so that there’s always something going. And then a monitor is also very, very important. I don’t have it hooked up now, but it’s just something to think about. This black magic in particular can, we could actually have extremely long HDMI cords and have all three cameras on this monitor to make sure that everybody’s in focus and everyone’s lit well.
Tiff (12:47):
And just having a larger screen than the ones that are built into the cameras really lets us see all the details. So like I said, positioning, making sure the cameras are in a good spot, everybody’s lit, and we did kind of, we put a lot of time to try to think of some colors, some different things in the background. So there isn’t just a plain white wall in the back. If you’re at home, you probably want to throw some greenery, some things around, but you wanna make it look as comfortable as possible. So when viewers are in, like Christine said, they’re not paying attention to everything around you, but they’re engaged in the conversation. But there’s this warm feeling that you created with how you set everything up, how you lit everything. It’s very important to just dive right into this story and nothing should be distracting.
Christine (13:30):
So with that, Scott, let’s pretend we’re hustling podcast . I would love to hear this truthfully, even though we’ve had many conversations. Why do you get so excited and what value do you see in creating media for your businesses?
Scott (13:44):
Well, I think that the media is like the absolute vehicle, amazing, beautiful, engaging vehicle to like, bring all of the storytelling to life. Um, I’ve seen it with like, uh, uh, video, I’ve seen it with, um, audio, I’ve seen it with, um, with stills. Um, it just like gives the life and richness to your message and it’s been, it’s been absolutely essential for all of the things that I’ve been doing in the last like seven years with both, with, with both my, I have a gourmet churro business and that like, brings it to life and makes it like desirable and everyone like wants to know and wants to eat these fresh filled churros. And then with everything I’ve been doing with vitamin T and my tacos and brand transformation, um, it just helps. It, it gives such a richness to the, to the story, um, and it, and really helps people envision what, what your message is.
Scott (14:49):
You know, I mean, I, so I I view yeah, like the video specifically and audio with the podcasting and, and the video series as well has just brought everything to life. And I know this is, this is your world and what you love. Um, and it’s so true and you’ve been such a tremendous like, mentor and coach through that whole process of bringing that to life and helping tell the story in a way that that really hooks people and gets them in and wants ’em to find out more, you know? And so it’s mission critical for us and for me.
Christine (15:28):
Thank you. That was really generous and awesome, and I know it’s true. I’ve seen you in action, I’ve seen you on location, I’ve seen you in a more formal environment like this. Um, I know how much you’ve committed to that and I’ve seen the impact on your business and where you wanna take your businesses. Scott’s a serial entrepreneur, so there’s multiple things always at work. Um, one more question just for fun, because I love hearing you talk about what you’re passionate about. Tell me about, you’re passionate about customer experience in creating incredible, unforgettable, magical customer experiences. Tell me if you can think of an example. I’m thinking of one, but I’m not gonna plant it in your brain. Oh, how you plant.
Scott (16:09):
I’m open to a plant
Christine (16:11):
, uh, like, you know, something with like churros and universities. Like how have you used media to show magical customer experience in your business?
Scott (16:21):
Um, so I think the first is like how we showcase those magical experiences and tell that story, um, because anyone can make churros, but we want to showcase like why our experience is so different and what makes it special. And we like to call it deep fried happiness, that we are all about having people, uh, helping to create this personal VIP type of experience. And so, um, the videos, the reviews that we highlight, that we get and how we share that is, has been like wildly important for us in driving. I mean, I, you know, you pull, we now sh ship our churro stuff online and we have, uh, at home churro making kits. I have used one so and you’ve verified on it, which is amazing. You may have been the first to Air Fry. You do realize you’re maybe a churro pioneer
Christine (17:13):
And these are the perks of being friends with you.
Scott (17:15):
. And so, um, so we, um, like you go to our website to where all of those products are listed and you can purchase them at the bottom. We just have like endless, it seems content of people creating these magical experiences at home, whether it’s video, photo, even words that, but so sharing that has dramatically impacted our business and, and driven like results there. So that’s one. The other one was the Plant . Um, so we ha we are just about to release a whole video series called Churro University, um, with, with starring our great friend Kristen Metzger. Shout out to Kristen . Um, and, uh, and it is, it’s like basically every possible question you didn’t even know you had about making churros at home, we will answer them in all these videos. Like what oil to use, uh, the difference between a piping bag versus a churro maker, how to make gluten fri dough, vegan dough, classic dough, dough from scratch using our, uh, I mean like the list of how to raid your cabinets and find the best filling flavors. All of those things. Um, bringing the churro making experience to life. That’s why we’re doing it is, uh, is to, and that’s why we launched Churro University because we want to help people create this magic at home. And so that type of experience is what sets us apart from, you know, just any old churro company that’s making churros and, and um, selling them at your local sporting event, you know, or concert.
Christine (18:53):
Amen.
Scott (18:54):
Yeah, .
Christine (18:57):
Okay. Alright. That was our high level breakthrough. I don’t know if I’d call it breakthrough. Maybe you had a breakthrough. Some people it’s a breakthrough, but we wanted to give you some of our best high level tips about setting up for an interview cuz that is very different than other kinds of content. And like Tim said earlier, it’s a skill that takes time to develop. So hopefully that was helpful. Leave us a comment below if you have specific questions. If you want us to do more videos on certain topics, we will always take your suggestions when we plan any seasons of the show. And of course, subscribe to the channel. As we’ve said in other episodes, this is the season you wanna watch, not just listen to, although you’re welcome to listen to it on podcast apps as well. And we will be having this season three available for your binging pleasure as much as you need.
Christine (19:47):
Um, please revisit these videos, ask us questions. Um, obviously we’re excited about being able to show you the higher production level that we’ve worked in for years. So we are here and thank you for watching or listening to this episode of Think Like a Producer. Thank you so much for watching this episode of Think Like a Producer. We’re so excited, I should say me, but I know Tiff has in a huge support, energetically, technically consulting wise about Worthfull Studios and having this resource. And even though we’re in Salt Lake City, we want you to come here. We want you to fly in, we want you to drive in, we you to walk in, um, anytime you’re coming through or if you wanna come to the mountains or if you live here locally, this is a studio that’s a little different than a typical media studio because we come from a unique background and we’ve really made it video first creator friendly, and it has everything that we know.
Christine (20:42):
Our clients need to make great media without the stuff that they don’t need. When I came up with the idea for the studio, I was like, there’s a gap. There’s really great this, there’s really great that, but I’m, my clients are struggling to find this. So we invite you to check out the services. You can email us with questions if you’re considering a shoot or a session and want, um, some insight about what the best way would be to book one or how long you need or what the scope of work would be. You can always contact us @worthfullmedia.com. We’ve got a contact page. You can go to WorthfullStudios.com. That’ll take you to our studio website. And of course you can always leave comments here and we’ll, uh, respond. But contact us directly on the website and explore what we can create with you because we would love that. And even if Tiff is in LA during your shoot, she’ll be here in spirit energetically, but you can always request her. She’s available to travel, uh, and she’s worth it. So thank you for watching and we invite you to come create with us at the studio.
Christine (9:37):
Thank you so much for listening to this episode of Think Like a Producer. This has been a Worthfull Media production. Massive thanks to our team who makes the show possible. Worthfull Media for audio editing, Jorge and Veronica from Mosaico Productions for video effects and Amela Subasic for our amazing artwork and graphics.
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