Toronto and the GTA
Interview video production in Toronto
An interview video is a filmed conversation, lit and recorded properly, cut into a piece that lets one person explain something in their own words. No script, no autocue, and no corporate phrasing that nobody says out loud.
Allow two to three hours per subject for a filming session. About forty minutes of that is setting up lighting and sound, which is time the person on camera can use to get comfortable.
Recent work
5 common product roadmap questions
A question-and-answer format piece with a subject-matter expert, filmed for a software company.
What gets filmed
Interviews, by who is speaking
Executive interviews
A leader explaining a decision, a direction or a change, filmed so it sounds like a person rather than a statement.
Customer testimonials
A customer describing what they were worried about before buying and what actually happened. More persuasive than anything a company can say about itself.
Subject-matter expert interviews
The person who actually knows, answering the questions your audience keeps asking. Structured so each answer works on its own as well as in sequence.
Founder stories
Why the business exists, told by the person who started it. Usually the piece that does the most work on an about page.
Educational interviews
Explaining a process, a policy or a field to people outside it, in a form that can be published once and used for years.
Therapist and professional profiles
For practices where a prospective client is choosing a person to trust. Hearing how somebody speaks does work a written biography cannot.
How it is filmed
Preparation, lighting, audio and the options
- Interview preparation
- Questions are agreed before the filming date and sent to whoever is on camera. Nobody is asked something on the day that they have not seen. Three ideas, not a script, is the instruction that produces the best answers.
- Lighting
- Soft key light with the room's own light kept in the frame where it helps. The aim is a person who looks like themselves in a place that looks like where they work, not a portrait studio backdrop.
- Audio
- A lapel microphone on the subject and a second recorder running as backup. Room noise, air handling and reflective surfaces are dealt with before rolling, because none of it can be fixed afterwards.
- Teleprompter
- Availability is confirmed per project rather than assumed. Interview-led pieces are usually better without one: reading to camera is visible on screen, and answers sound better spoken than recited.
- Remote editing
- Where the subject is in another city, footage you record can be edited here. Recording quality has to be agreed in advance, because a remote recording cannot be relit or re-miked later.
- Captions and cutdowns
- A subtitle file is included. Vertical cutdowns with burned-in captions are quoted alongside the main piece, and they cost less when they are planned before filming rather than after.
Process
How an interview shoot runs
01
Questions agreed
The questions are written and sent in advance. Whoever is on camera knows exactly what will be asked before the day.
02
Set up
About forty minutes for lighting, sound and framing. Useful time: the person on camera gets used to the room while it happens.
03
Filming
Thirty to sixty minutes of conversation, with supporting footage afterwards. Anything that comes out badly gets another take.
04
Edit and deliver
Cut on meaning first, then picture. Colour, sound, captions, and any vertical cutdowns quoted alongside the main piece.
What you receive
What an interview delivery includes
- The finished interview piece
- Individual answers cut for reuse, where the format allows
- A subtitle file, included as standard
- Vertical cutdowns with burned-in captions, where quoted
- Colour grading and a mixed audio track
- A poster frame for embedding on a website
- Licensed music with the licence confirmed in writing
- Archived footage, so answers can be recut later without filming again
What a profile video did
A Toronto psychotherapist, in her own words
This is reproduced exactly as it was given. The account of what changed after the video went live is hers, not a claim made on her behalf.
“Working with Rosa to create a video for my website was a delight. She is responsive, creative, and collaborative. She helped me feel comfortable throughout the filming process while beautifully capturing my essence. Choosing a therapist based solely on a written bio can feel challenging. I believe that having a professional-quality video on my website improves accessibility and helps build rapport with prospective clients. Since re-doing my website and adding a video, I noticed much more client outreach. My caseload is full, and I have a waitlist. I will absolutely reach out to Rosa again in the future to create more content for my business, she is amazing!”
Cost
What determines the cost
A single interview at one location is the lowest-cost piece of video most organizations commission. These are the things that change it.
- How many people are being interviewed, and whether they can be filmed on the same day.
- How many locations. Three subjects in one building is one problem; three buildings is another.
- Whether supporting footage is needed, and how much of it.
- How many finished pieces come out of the session: one film, or a film plus individual answers plus vertical cutdowns.
- Whether the session needs a second camera, which is worth it for anything you plan to publish in full.
In their words
What clients have said
“Working with Rosa to create a video for my website was a delight. She is responsive, creative, and collaborative. She helped me feel comfortable throughout the filming process while beautifully capturing my essence. Choosing a therapist based solely on a written bio can feel challenging. I believe that having a professional-quality video on my website improves accessibility and helps build rapport with prospective clients. Since re-doing my website and adding a video, I noticed much more client outreach. My caseload is full, and I have a waitlist. I will absolutely reach out to Rosa again in the future to create more content for my business, she is amazing!”
Alex GosselinMSW, RSW
Questions
Frequently asked questions
What do I need to do to prepare?
Know the three things you want to say and stop there. You do not need to memorise anything. We agree the questions in advance, you answer them in your own words, and anything that comes out badly gets another take.
Is there a teleprompter?
Teleprompter availability is confirmed per project rather than assumed. Interview-led pieces are usually better without one: reading to camera is visible on screen, and the answers sound better when they are spoken rather than recited.
How long does a filming session take?
Allow two to three hours for a single interview. Roughly forty minutes of that is setting up lighting and sound, thirty to sixty minutes is filming, and the rest is supporting footage and packing down.
Can the interview be filmed remotely?
Remote editing of footage you record is available, and it is a reasonable option when the subject is in another city. Recording quality has to be agreed in advance, because a remote recording cannot be relit or re-miked afterwards.
Do you deliver short clips for social?
Yes. Vertical cutdowns with captions are quoted alongside the main piece, and they are cheaper when they are planned before filming rather than after.
Related services
Video Production
Video production covering pre-production, filming and editing for organizations across Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area.
Corporate Video
Video made for an organization's own communication: brand films, company profiles, recruitment, training, internal messaging and product explainers.
Website Video
Short video made specifically to sit on a website, compressed, captioned and given a poster image so it loads fast and reads clearly on a phone.
Guides that go with this
- Interview Production
How to Prepare for a Corporate Video Interview
Practical preparation for anyone being filmed for a company video: what to think about, what to wear, and what to stop doing.
7 minute read
- Video Production
Website Video: What Businesses Should Film First
If you can only make one video for your website this year, this is the one to make and where to put it.
8 minute read
- Video Production
What Makes a Strong Mini Documentary?
The five things that decide whether a documentary short works, and the two mistakes that sink most of them.
8 minute read
Contact us about an interview video
Tell us who is being interviewed, roughly what the piece has to explain and where it will be published. The questions are written before the filming date.