Richard DePaso

The best answer is to have experience and access to equipment so that you can handle anything. We find that beginners are very good at what they learn in school or on a few jobs. However, when faced with new situations, there is no replacement for experience and you only get that by doing it or having a resource with you that has that. We start interns or new people with non-critical positions on shoots and also conduct training in our studio and gradually teach them the many situations that arise how to handle them and to know the equipment. Unfortunately, we find that many of these get impatient and think they know enough when in reality "they don't know what they don't know and think they do".

-The most important thing is to study the questions, purpose of the interview, and interview subject before the interview sessions so you know if the answers are on the right track and you can elicit useful answers. -Always get the subject to paraphrase the question in the answer. -Get the subject to say and spell their name and title on camera for later editing, and if needed, get them to say out loud permission to use the footage. -Depending on the purpose and planned video length, you may have to get subjects to shorten lengthy responses.

-Use an iPhone or Android to hone your skills at storytelling. -Get a DJI Go wireless mic system that can plug a receiver into your phone or another mic with the correct connector lightning or USB-C. -Plan your shots ahead of time to tell the story and practice -Once you practice with that and your results are acceptable, you can see if you have the skills and move on to higher-end equipment. -We use Netflix-certified Sony cameras but a mistake people make is buying equipment first and not learning the basics of photo theory (composition, exposure, white balance, audio equipment matching, etc.), and then you see their equipment for sale at a loss.

It comes down to the budget you want to put into it. You can have an inexpensive camera pointed at one speaker & and an OBS laptop or a rig that gives the features you expect to see on a newscast - multiple cameras, live switching, remote feeds, titling, graphics, video inserts, & more. Our cameras are connected with RJ45 cable for power, control, video, and audio over NDI to a vMix computer Typically we use gooseneck directional microphones, an audio mixer with USB out, and LED 300-Watt lights. WHAT IS VERY IMPORTANT IS GOOD AUDIO. Directional microphones work best, particularly in a noisy environment. vMix allows us to record the mixed program & ISOs for any needed editing. We also record prog out to a separate SSD for redundancy.

If we are helping a corporate client to market, the first question we ask is what do your customers like about working with your company? Surprisingly, many don't know