Preparing for a Video Interview Part 1

Corporate video programs often consist of interviews with executives, company leaders, content experts and third-party validators. We have conducted hundreds of on-camera interviews and while some people are familiar with the process and know what to expect, others have never appeared on-camera and it can be quite intimidating. This series of posts is intended to provide some insight into the on-camera interview process and provide you with some knowledge on how to make it go smoothly. Our next few blog posts will provide some good simple guidelines on the following:

• What to wear
• How to present yourself
• Responding to questions

In the first of this series we will talk about what to wear. Most things are okay, but there are a few things to avoid:

• Never wear anything with small stripes or a tight pattern such as herringbone. These patterns don’t respond well to video and cause an effect known as the moiré pattern.
• Avoid wearing bright white or bright red. Off white, light blue, and grey are good alternatives to white. Consider that in an interview you will be mic’d so there needs to be a place to attach a lavaliere style microphone. T-shirts make this very challenging. Dark colours are best and have a slimming effect while light colours have the opposite effect. Very bright colours can be distracting so stick with neutral tones.
• Women should wear dark nylons rather than white. Overly flashy jewelry can be distracting especially large dangly earrings, so keep the bling to a minimum. Make-up is another thing to consider. It is a good idea to come to the interview ready for the camera. Sometimes there is a make-up person on set but that is a luxury many corporate videos don’t have so look your best without being overdone.
• Another good thing consider is what setting you will be interviewed in. If you are being interviewed in the field, don’t dress for the boardroom. Most importantly, try to dress in a way that makes you feel comfortable. The more comfortable you feel, the more comfortable you will appear on camera.
• Lastly, bring options! If you are not sure then bring an extra suit jack, casual jacket, a different shirt or blouse and a few different accessories such as two or three neckties. Even if you don’t use them it gives the production crew the option of getting you to dress differently to make you look as good as possible.