How to Prepare for an On-Camera Interview

So you’ve been told there’s a film crew coming. Maybe your marketing team has booked a production company to capture a brand film. Maybe you’ve been asked to give a testimonial for a client, or your organisation is putting together a documentary piece and they need you on camera.

Either way, you’re Googling “how to prepare for an on-camera interview” and quietly hoping for the best.

A behind the scenes look as we setup an interview shot for Marine Stewardship Council.

We get it. We’ve filmed hundreds of interviews over the past decade, and the vast majority of people we work with aren’t presenters or performers. They’re business owners, chefs, hotel managers, sustainability directors, tourism professionals: people who are brilliant at what they do but feel a knot in their stomach the moment a camera lens points their way.

Here’s the good news: you don’t need to be a natural on camera. You just need to know what to expect and how to prepare. And frankly, the best interviews we’ve ever filmed have come from people who were nervous beforehand but had something genuine to say.

This is practical advice from the production side of the camera. The stuff we tell every person we film, whether it’s their first time or their fiftieth.

What actually happens on the day

The unknown is what makes people anxious. So let’s take the mystery out of it.

When we arrive for an interview shoot, the first thing that happens isn’t filming. It’s setting up, and that takes a while. We’ll find the right spot in your space, set up lighting, position the camera, get the audio sorted. During all of this, you’re not needed. Go and have a coffee. Check your emails. Carry on with your morning.

When we’re ready for you, we’ll bring you to the spot, clip a small microphone to your clothing, and do a quick sound check. This usually involves asking you something completely unrelated to the interview: what you had for breakfast, whether you’ve got any holiday plans, that sort of thing. It’s partly a technical test and partly a way to get you talking and relaxed before the real questions start.

Then we chat. That’s genuinely what it is. One of us will sit just beside the camera and have a conversation with you. It’s not a performance. There’s no audience. It’s just two people talking, and one of them happens to have a camera nearby.

If you stumble over a word, we start again. If you lose your train of thought, we pause and come back to it. If something isn’t landing the way you want, we’ll rephrase the question and give you another go. There’s no pressure to get anything right first time, because the final film is edited. We take the best moments and build something you’ll be proud of.

The whole thing usually takes somewhere between 30 minutes and an hour for the interview itself, depending on how much ground we’re covering. Most people tell us afterwards that it was far less stressful than they’d imagined.

Before the shoot: how to prepare

A good production team will always send you the questions or topics in advance. We certainly do. Read through them, but don’t over-prepare. This is the single most common mistake we see.

When someone writes out full answers and tries to memorise them, it shows. The delivery becomes stiff, the phrasing sounds rehearsed, and the natural warmth of a real conversation disappears. We’re not looking for polished speeches. We’re looking for you, talking about something you genuinely know and care about.

Instead of scripting answers, try this: for each question, think of one or two key points you want to make and, if possible, a specific story or example that brings those points to life. That’s it. The detail will come naturally in conversation, and it’ll sound a thousand times better than anything you could memorise.

If the interview is about your business, think about the moments that really matter to you. The reason you started. A project that changed things. A customer interaction that stuck with you. Real stories land far more powerfully on camera than corporate talking points ever will.

One practical thing: if the production team hasn’t told you, ask whether the interviewer’s questions will be included in the final film. Often they won’t be, which means your answers need to stand on their own. If someone asks “What do you love about Cornwall?”, don’t reply with “The light.” Reply with “What I love about Cornwall is the light.” Your production team will remind you of this on the day, but it’s worth knowing in advance.

What to wear (and what to avoid)

This is one of the most common questions we get, and the answer is simpler than you’d think: wear what you’d normally wear on a good day at work.

If you’re a chef, wear your whites. If you run a hotel, wear what you’d wear to greet guests. If you work in an office, smart-casual is almost always the right call. The goal is to look like yourself, not like you’re wearing a costume for the camera.

A few things to avoid. Very tight stripes and small, busy patterns can create a shimmering effect on camera called moiré: it’s distracting and difficult to fix in post. Bright white can blow out under studio lighting, and all-black can look flat. Mid-tones and solid colours tend to work best. Blues, greens, warm neutrals, and muted tones are all safe choices.

If you’re not sure, ask your production team. We’ll often have a sense of the location’s colour palette and can suggest what will work well on screen. It’s a small detail, but it makes a noticeable difference.

Jewellery is fine, but be aware that dangly earrings or chunky bracelets can create noise that the microphone picks up. If in doubt, keep it simple.

On camera: what makes the difference

There are a few things that consistently make the difference between an interview that feels flat and one that feels alive. None of them are about being a “good performer.” They’re about being present and human.

Talk to the interviewer, not the lens. Unless you’ve been specifically asked to look down the camera, keep your eyes on the person asking the questions. It feels more natural for you and looks more natural on screen. Treat it like a conversation, because that’s exactly what it is.

Bring a little more energy than feels normal. Camera has a strange way of dampening energy. The level of enthusiasm that feels perfectly natural in person can come across as flat on screen. You don’t need to shout or perform, but speak up slightly, let your facial expressions do their thing, and don’t be afraid to gesture with your hands if that’s how you naturally talk. A small increase in energy translates to warmth and confidence on camera.

Pause before you answer. When someone asks you a question in normal conversation, you tend to jump straight in. On camera, give yourself a beat. Take a breath. Let the question land. It gives you time to think, makes the edit cleaner, and actually makes you look more thoughtful and composed on screen. Silence feels much longer to you than it looks to a viewer.

Don’t worry about mistakes. We can’t stress this enough. If you trip over a word, stop, take a breath, and start the answer again. The camera keeps rolling. We’ll use the best take. Some of the most natural-sounding interview moments we’ve captured came on the second or third attempt, once the person had relaxed into the answer and stopped trying to get it “right.”

Answer in full. As mentioned, the interviewer’s question is often cut from the final film. So if you’re asked “How long have you been running the hotel?”, don’t say “Twelve years.” Say “We’ve been running the hotel for twelve years.” It sounds like a tiny thing, but it’s the difference between a usable clip and one that doesn’t make sense on its own.

The things we tell every interviewee

Over the years, we’ve found ourselves saying the same reassuring things to almost every person we film. They’re worth knowing in advance:

“There’s no rush. Take your time with every answer.”

“If you want to start again, just say so. That’s completely normal and it’s what editing is for.”

“The best answers usually come when you stop trying to be perfect and just talk to us.”

“We’re going to make you look and sound great. That’s literally our job.”

“Nobody nails it first time. Even we don’t.”

These aren’t just pleasantries. They’re true. Our job is to create an environment where you feel comfortable enough to be yourself, and then capture that on camera. The technical side: the lighting, the framing, the audio, the edit: that’s all on us. Your job is simply to show up, be honest, and talk about something you know.

A note for the person organising the shoot

If you’re the marketing manager, comms lead, or business owner who booked the production crew, there are a few things you can do to set your interviewees up for success.

Share the questions with them early. Not the morning of the shoot: a few days before. Give people time to think, but tell them not to write scripts. The best preparation is reflection, not rehearsal.

Be thoughtful about who you put on camera. The most senior person isn’t always the best choice. You want someone who’s genuinely passionate about the subject and reasonably comfortable talking. Enthusiasm and authenticity matter far more than job title.

On the day, try not to hover. It’s tempting to sit in on every interview, but having an audience can make people self-conscious. Trust your production team to guide the conversation and get the best out of your people. You’ll see the results in the edit.

And if your interviewee is nervous, normalise it. Tell them the crew are friendly, the process is relaxed, and nobody expects perfection. A quick “it’s actually quite fun once you get going” goes a long way.

You’ll be fine. Honestly.

The people we film are rarely professional speakers. They’re passionate people with real stories to tell, and that’s exactly what makes great content. Every interview we’ve ever been proud of came from someone who was a bit nervous, prepared just enough, and then forgot about the camera once the conversation got going.

If you’ve got a shoot coming up, you’re already doing the right thing by reading this. Now close the laptop, think about the two or three things you most want to say, and trust that the crew will handle the rest.

And if you’d like to talk through an upcoming project or have questions about how we approach interviews, we’re always happy to chat.