5 types of media make up the majority of all social media posts. These are vlogs, podcasts, product shots/videos, portraits and interviews. This series is going to show you how to make all of them with nothing but your phone!

What will you need:

A phone or a camera and a computer

Capcut (free)

OPTIONAL: Universal wireless mics, for 2 person interviews and superior sound quality (£23)

What we make:

A beautifully shot, edited and subtitled interview video for social media!

Shooting your interview

Step 1: Choose a quiet location

We want to look for a location that is not too loud, as this will make our interview hard to hear. Avoid busy hallways or roads for this reason.

Step 2: Let’s look for some shade or a window!

Try to keep your subject in shade and shoot towards a shaded area, this will look best and prevent the interviewee from needing to squint! If you can’t find shade, have your subject turn away from the sun.

Window light

Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash

Turning away from the sun

Photo by Jakob Owens on Unsplash

Using shade

Photo by Taylor on Unsplash

Step 3: Decide where you should stand

As most phones don’t have zoom lenses, you will need to zoom with your feet! Aim to stand about 1-2 metres away from your subject, this will give your video a natural look and give you the best audio with your phone’s internal microphone.

Step 4: Start recording

Remember to keep the phone steady and avoid covering the lens or microphone. If your phone has portrait mode, consider using it to draw attention to your subject.

Portrait Mode on the Google Pixel 2. Source: Google

Step 5: Asking questions

Try to ask open questions! Remember you can always start again or give suggestions if you think the answer wasn’t quite what you need. Interviewees appreciate guidance but try and save it until they have reached the end of their answer!

Congratulations, you have now shot an interview, but wait we’ll need to edit it!