Six Studio Interview Mistakes We See Most and How to Avoid Them

Many interviews look flat or harsh because the lighting was designed for the room rather than the person. A guest with glasses, a shiny forehead or a dark jacket needs different treatment from the presenter who sat in the same chair an hour earlier. A single bright source straight on removes shape; a source too high leaves the eyes in shadow.

We build the key light, the softer fill and a gentle edge light around the person in the chair, then check the result on a monitor, not by eye alone. Cameras see contrast differently from people, and what feels comfortable in the room can look grey on screen.

Ask guests to avoid fine stripes, bright white shirts and shiny jewellery. It is a small request that spares the edit suite a good deal of correction.

Picture gets the attention, yet viewers forgive a rough image far sooner than muffled speech. The usual errors are a lapel microphone that brushes against a collar, a guest who leans away from a boom, and levels set once and never checked as the conversation warms up. Nervous speakers start quietly and become louder after a few minutes.

We fit and test microphones before the guest sits, ask for a few sentences of ordinary speech, and set levels from that rather than from a polite hello. Throughout the session someone wears headphones and listens, because meters do not catch a rustle or a swallowed word.

If your guest tends to gesture, tell us in advance. We will place the microphone with that in mind and keep hands away from it.

A guest who walks in cold spends the first questions finding their footing, and that is usually the part the producer wanted to use. A short conversation before recording makes a visible difference: where to look, how long answers should run, whether notes are allowed, and what the first question will be.

We suggest that the producer or presenter speaks to the guest on the day, away from the cameras, for a few minutes. Our crew can then explain the practical points, such as staying seated, not turning the chair, and pausing a moment before answering so the edit stays clean.

What we avoid is rehearsing answers. A scripted reply sounds scripted, and a guest who has memorised lines tends to stall when a question changes.

Interviews often overrun because nobody agreed what the finished piece needed. A twenty-minute conversation for a ninety-second package means most of it is discarded, and the useful sentences are hard to find if they were not marked. Producers sometimes also ask the same question twice in different words, which leaves the editor with two similar answers and no clear choice.

Before recording, decide the length the broadcaster needs and the two or three points the piece must carry. During the session, keep a simple log of times against the best answers. Priya Nair, our senior editor, finds that a marked log shortens the cut noticeably.

Record a few cutaway shots at the end: hands, a wide of the room, the guest listening. They are quick to take and give the edit somewhere to go.

The last mistake is switching everything off the moment the final question is answered. Guests often say their clearest thing in the relaxed minute afterwards, and a presenter may realise a question was missed. Wait a little, ask whether there is anything the guest wanted to add, and keep recording while they answer.

It is also the moment to check the work. Play back a short section of picture and sound before the guest leaves, while a retake is still possible. A problem found at that point costs five minutes; found in the edit it can cost the whole interview.

Finally, confirm how the files will be named and sent, so the material reaches the editor with the information needed to use it.