Dressing and Preparing for a Video Interview
Michael Kolowich
1 Comment
I can’t begin to tell you how many times we’re asked in a year by prospective interview subjects, “How should I dress?” And I also can’t tell you how many times we wish someone had asked us that question. 
Over many years and thousands of interviews, our team has collected many valuable and important tips that are useful to anyone who is preparing for a television, video, or film interview. And DigiNovations’ Senior Producer Paul Dewey, aided by Director of Photography Bill Charette, have put those tips into this convenient list:
Most of all, the key is to relax and enjoy the process. The reason we’re interviewing you is because you’re extremely knowledgeable, passionate, and articulate about a subject. Let that knowledge and passion come out naturally, and your personality will shine on camera!1. Wear comfortable clothes. If you never wear a tie at work and then you put one on for an interview it can make you uncomfortable. Bring a selection of clothes, three blouses/shirts and a couple of jackets and trousers; we’ll help you select what will look best on camera and in front of your background.
2. If you do want to wear a jacket of some kind, solid colors are best. Nothing extremely bright, no checks, extreme stripes or dramatic herringbone patterns - they tend to moiré on screen (appear to vibrate).
3. If you wear ties at work, wear a tie for your interview. Solid colors are best. Strong stripes can cause problems.
4. Shirts - pure white is not great. we prefer creamy off whites (yellow, green or blue tint) or solid colors such as blue, yellow (not too bright).
5. Glasses can shimmer and give off light kicks, but we can light around them. If you need glasses to see and that’s the way people know you, wear them.
6. We usually apply a little translucent powder to everyone to reduce the shine reflected from our lights. It’s not visible on camera. Women may want to check their hair and makeup before taping.
7. Bring water to the interview; you will probably want it.
8. Don’t overprep or memorize unless you are a vigorous and frequent speech giver. Otherwise, let us help you get the information across with our questions. Tape is inexpensive and we are more than willing to work with you to get answers that work.
9. Short answers are optimal — no more than a few sentences long. Stick to talking points if you have them, and let us help you get them across. This is not a mike Wallace pressure interview for “60 Minutes”, so don’t get wigged out: We are on your side, and we will do our best to make you look great on camera.
10. Please, no notes in your hand. You will instinctively look to them for help and we want you to focus on what’s in your head, not what’s on the paper.
11. You will be answering questions asked to you by an interviewer seated right next to the camera. Don’t look into the camera, and don’t try to give your answer or statement to any other people in the room when we are rolling. Just focus on the questioner as if they were the only person in the room. (You may see people being interviewed on news programs from a remote questioner, in which case they speak directly to the camera. We are not doing this, so just interact with the interviewer as if you’re conversing with them only.)
12. Choose a room that has as little outside light as possible, since light streaming in from the outdoors tends to place a blue cast on the scene. No matter how beautiful the view is out your window, it is almost impossible to make an indoor interview subject look their best in front of a sunlit window scene.
13. No swivel chairs for the interview subjects. Interviewees tend to exercise the swivel when they’re uncomfortable…and that shows on camera.
13. Try to enjoy the process. it’s really not so bad, and you may be surprised by how little of the interview gets used in the end. Even though that is the case, we are learning a great deal of information from different perspectives that we can incorporate into the final script.
Reader Comments (1)
To provide more food for thought, here are the guidelines I send talent when doing my talk show -- "The Conversation":
Here are a few suggestions to help make our program run as smoothly as possible.
Be Prepared: take the time to gather your information ahead of time. Think how you can communicate in a casual, self assured way. Try not to rely too much on overly complex tables, graphs or charts. Try to relay your ideas in a way that the lowest common denominator of audience can understand. Remember, the audience may know nothing about your subject so it is important to provide clear background and facts in the simplest of terms.
Basic Rules of Presenting: 1) State what your opinion or the issue is. 2) Support your statements with clear, easy-to-understand facts. 3) During the show make repeated references to the organization you represent (people may have tuned in late) 4) Summarize your thoughts toward the end of the program. 5) In a round table discussion, the moderator will try to ensure that each person has equal time to present his/her views. So, please let people complete sentences before airing your point of view.
Focus On The Critical Need To Know: remember, it is better to communicate a few ideas thoroughly than to bombard the audience with many ideas, addressed only superficially.
Show & Tell: Television is a visual medium. So try to bring in pictures, video, music, Power Point or other graphical presentations as visual aids. Ideally, these should be brought to the Producer at least a week before broadcast so that we can work out how best to incorporate them. When speaking, pause and use your aids to further illustrate your subject. Try to avoid saying the obvious such as, “Here you can see a bird.” Say something about the bird.
Appearing On TV: Look and speak to the host, not the camera. Keep eye contact with the host and try not to be distracted by the cameras, lights, and crew people. While the host or another person is speaking, avoid giving vocal cues or comments such as “Uh huh,” or “I don’t agree,” or “I see.” Instead, nod or smile. Try to avoid doing any nervous, repetitive action such as moving a thumb in circles or scratching. Viewers are drawn to and distracted by repetitive actions.
Always Assume You’re On Camera: By doing this, you will avoid being caught yawning, scratching, making faces, etc. If appropriate, try to smile often.
Sit Up Straight Or Lean Forward A Bit: Appear to be engaged in the conversation and try to avoid reclining deeply in your seat. If possible, cross your feet at the ankles or plant your feet squarely on the ground.
Relax And Move Naturally: The more relaxed and natural you are, the better you will appear. Being too formal may put too much emotional distance between you and the audience. So, just be yourself and don’t rush through your topic.
What To Wear: Consider your appearance in terms of the overall style of the show. Some clothing and patterns might look great on MTV but not here. Certain fabrics may also cause technical problems. Simplicity is best. Avoid wearing white or brilliant reds. Good colors are blue, maroon, neutral earth tones, gray, rust, subtle green, beige. Avoid clothing with patterns such as herringbone, hound-tooth, plaid, polka dots, and stripes. Avoid big, flashy jewelry that will reflect off the studio lights or jangle into your microphone. If a woman wears a skirt or blouse, make sure it is something you do not repeatedly have to pull down or push up. Knee length is good. Men should avoid ties with tiny, busy patterns – a solid or simple pattern is best.
Studio Sound: You will be wearing a Lavaliere microphone which will attach to your clothing. So, try to avoid moving your clothing, scratching, or rearranging the cloth during the show. That sound will be picked up by the lav. Try to avoid mumbling or shouting. We will do a sound test of your “normal” speaking level before recording the show.
Studio Lights Are Hot: So wear clothes that can breathe.
If Your Skin Is Shiny Or You Sweat Easily: Consider powdered face make-up.
MOST IMPORTANTLY: Breathe, relax, and have fun! Make it a lively conversation, not a lecture.