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Two camera interview shoot help.

E

eleven2brett

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 20, 2008
224
0
H-Town
I'm shooting a series of interviews for my church and was wondering if anyone had any tips for shooting an interview with a two camera set-up. The interviewees are the only ones that will be on camera, and even the questions will be removed in post. Sometimes we will be interviewing couples and other times we will be doing just individuals.
What is the best way to set up cameras in this type of setting, and what are some of the most important things to keep in mind while editing?
 
For the couples, one camera as a two shot, one camera catching closeups of the individual people.

For one-person interviews, one at a medium close up on the subject, then maybe a tight shot from the second camera, or catching significant hand gestures and other significant cut-ins. Make sure to vary the shots enough that they don't look like jumpcuts.
 
Like has been said, avoid jumpcuts. Camera positions that are only slightly different really jar when you cut between them.

Me personally, i'd have one camera on a static medium shot, and have one person manning the second camera on a tripod doing closeup shots changing positions every so often and focusing on what's important at that particular time. That way if at one point the shot on the second camera is shaky and not useable, you've always got that first camera as a backup.
 
I'd Go With Most Peoples Replies On This: Cam 2 For A Wide Shot And Cam 1 On The Person Who Is Doing the Talking ( This Is, Of Course Assuming You Are Shooting The Couple; A One Person Interview Rarely Needs Two Cameras If The Interviewer Is Off Cam - Too Distorting For The Viewer)

Use The MultiCam Setup On Final Cut To Switch Between Angles. Start With An Establishing Shot Of The Interviewee(s) Using Cam 2, Then Change To Cam 1 When One Person Starts To Speak. Fall Back To The Wide Shot When Cam 1 Is Changing Angle Or Interviewee Fumbles, Cutting The Sync To Match - Mainly Stick With The Person Who Is Talking, Using The WideShot Only To Cover Mistakes And Tuck The Sound Under.

Finally, When Shooting With More Then One Camera Or Using OffBoard Sound, Remember To Use A Slate / ClapperBoard!!!. If You Don't Have One, Ask One Of The Interviewees To Clap Three Times Above Their Heads. THIS CLAP MUST BE CAPTURED BY ALL CAMERAS. This Will Greatly Decrease Your Workload For The Sync.

Good Luck Mate
 
Excellent points so far...If I can second McDug's syncing (hand gesture) idea.

Also, if I could add, not sure what you are using for an editing platform...I am an FCP user and have just gotten into the Multi cam function. Unreal. One of the great features and well worth the purchase of FCP alone:) It's plug and play, and the edit on the fly feature is a HUGE time saver and looks incredible. Basically, it's a switcher. Just back and forth on the viewer (It shows you both feeds and you just click on the angle you want, on the fly, in real time. Just Awesome!). If you are unsure how to use it, grab a quick lesson on Lynda or PM me for details. (It's easy:))

J
 
Thanks for all the help guys! I'm using premiere pro CS3 for the edit. Its muti-cam tool is a god-send. I've done multi-cam shoots before with weddings and using premiere 1.5 to edit, had to do very tedious things to work with them.
 
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