How to Prepare for a Filmed Interview: On-Camera Tips for Executives and Founders

If you've agreed to be interviewed on camera for a company film, a case study or a LinkedIn video, you're probably feeling one of two things: mild dread, or the confident assumption that you'll wing it on the day. Both are normal, and both usually produce the same result — an interview that takes twice as long to film and doesn't sound like you.

The good news is that a great on-camera interview has very little to do with being a natural performer. It comes down to a handful of things you can sort out in the week before the shoot. We film interviews with CEOs, founders and subject experts every week as interview videographers in London, and the people who come across best on screen are rarely the most polished speakers. They're the ones who prepared in the right way.

Here's what that looks like.

Know what the film is for before you think about what to say

Before you write a single note, ask whoever commissioned the film one question: where will this be used?

A two-minute brand film for your homepage needs different answers to a thirty-second LinkedIn clip or a ten-minute internal culture piece. If the final edit is short, your answers need to be short too — there's no point delivering a beautifully constructed four-minute answer when the editor can only use fifteen seconds of it. And if you're being interviewed at a conference or live event rather than a controlled studio setup, expect a faster, lighter-touch approach — event interviews are usually filmed in a single take of a few minutes, so knowing your one key point matters even more.

Knowing the destination also tells you the register. A film for investors can carry more detail and precision. A recruitment film needs warmth. A social clip needs energy in the first sentence, because that's all most viewers will see.

Don't write a script — write five bullet points

The single biggest mistake we see is memorising answers word for word. It never works. Scripted answers come out flat, your eyes drift as you try to recall the next line, and the moment you stumble you lose your place entirely.

Instead, write down the three to five points you'd be disappointed not to make, and stop there. Know your material, not your lines. In a well-run interview, the videographer or director will keep steering the conversation back to those points anyway, so you don't need to carry the structure yourself — that's our job.

If there's a phrase that matters — a product name, a statistic, a line the marketing team loves — note it separately and flag it to the crew on the day. We'll make sure there's a clean take of it.

How to answer on camera: speak in complete thoughts

Here's the one technique worth practising: fold the question into your answer.

In most corporate interviews, the interviewer's voice is cut out of the final edit, so every answer needs to stand on its own. Take the question "What makes your team different?"

Unusable on its own: "Probably the experience, honestly."

Usable anywhere in the film: "What makes our team different is the depth of experience across the board."

The second version gives the editor a complete, standalone thought they can drop anywhere in the edit. You don't need to do this robotically for every answer — a good crew will prompt you when it matters. But if you practise one thing in the mirror, make it this.

What to wear for a filmed interview

You don't need a stylist, just a few practical rules:

Plain, mid-tone colours work best. Solid blues, greens, burgundy and charcoal all sit well on camera. Avoid fine stripes, small checks and tight patterns, which can shimmer on screen (an effect called moiré), and steer clear of pure white or jet black, which make life harder for the person lighting you.

Bring a second option. If your first choice clashes with the backdrop or another contributor's outfit, a spare shirt solves it in two minutes.

Think about sound as well as picture. Chunky jewellery, stiff jackets and lanyards can rustle against a lapel mic. Simpler is better.

And wear something you feel like yourself in. If you never wear a tie, don't wear one for the film — the discomfort reads on camera far more than the tie does.

What happens on the day of an interview shoot

Most people's nerves come from not knowing what they're walking into, so here's the honest version.

When you arrive, the room will already be set up: camera (or two cameras, for higher-end interviews), soft lighting, and a seat marked out for you. Someone will clip a small microphone to your collar or run a boom mic just out of frame. You'll be asked to say a few words — what you had for breakfast is the classic — so the sound recordist can check levels.

Then it's a conversation. In most interviews you'll be looking at a person just beside the lens, not down the barrel of the camera, which feels far more natural than people expect. There's no live audience, no single take that has to be perfect, and no answer you can't have another run at. If you fluff a line, you simply say it again. The edit only ever uses your best version.

A typical sit-down interview takes 30 to 60 minutes to film for a few minutes of finished content. That's not inefficiency — it's what gives the editor choice.

If you're planning a shoot and want the day to run this smoothly, working with an experienced interview filming crew makes a noticeable difference — most of what makes a contributor comfortable is decided before the camera turns on.

If you're nervous, say so

Tell the crew. Genuinely. Every experienced interview videographer has filmed hundreds of nervous contributors and has a toolkit for it: starting with easy warm-up questions that will never make the edit, keeping the room quiet and small, re-asking anything that didn't land, and reminding you, often that nothing is wasted and nothing is live.

We call this relaxed direction, and it's most of the job. The technical side of interview filming is important, but the real skill is getting someone who'd rather be anywhere else to forget the camera is there. Nerves in the first ten minutes are almost universal. Nerves at the end of the session are rare.

A quick checklist for the week before

• Confirm where the film will be used and how long the final edit is

• Write your three to five key points (not a script)

• Practise folding questions into your answers

• Choose an outfit in plain, mid-tone colours, plus a backup

• Flag any must-say phrases or statistics to the crew in advance

• Get a normal night's sleep and arrive ten minutes early — that's it

Filmed interview FAQs

How long does a filmed interview take?

Most sit-down interviews take 30 to 60 minutes to film for a one-to-three-minute final edit. Multi-contributor or multi-camera shoots run longer, but no individual contributor is usually on camera for more than an hour.

Should I memorise my answers for a video interview?

No. Memorised answers almost always sound flat and fall apart under pressure. Prepare three to five key points and let the interviewer guide the structure.

Where should I look during a filmed interview?

At the interviewer, who sits just beside the lens — not into the camera itself, unless the crew asks for a direct-to-camera piece. Looking at a person feels far more natural and reads as more genuine on screen.

What should I avoid wearing on camera?

Fine stripes and small patterns (they shimmer on screen), pure white or jet black, and anything noisy near the collar — chunky jewellery, stiff fabrics and lanyards can all interfere with a lapel microphone.

Preparing an interview shoot for your team?

If you're the one organising the film rather than sitting in front of the camera, the same principles apply at a project level: clarity on where the films will live, realistic expectations about filming time, and a crew who can put your contributors at ease. That last part matters more than any piece of equipment. And if interviews are a regular part of your content — a rolling series of thought-leadership or LinkedIn films rather than a one-off — an ongoing production package usually works out more cost-effective than booking each shoot separately.

Shootlab provides professional interview filming in London — single and multi-camera setups, cinematic lighting, broadcast-quality sound, and the kind of calm, conversational direction that makes executives look and sound like themselves. If you've got an interview project coming up, get in touch and we'll help you plan it properly — from briefing your contributors to delivering the finished films.