I can give you some more tips by email if you wish. (Or continue here if you tell me what camera you have)
As with all these types of interviews, it would be nice to edit. If you have a Mac then you have iMovie and it is very easy to do - even for a novice. There are PC solutions, but I can't advise on them. iMovie also helps you to format for web applications.
If you can edit then it is useful to have a caption at the beginning with the date, place and who is taking part and what the subject is. Edit out any blank spots (like the beginning where you sit down). You could also do your explanation to camera in a separate shot on your own, and then cut to the interview proper. The introduction bit is often shot after the interview ;-)
I prefer the over the shoulder interview because the interviewer is not the most interesting part (even you Frank) - the subject should be larger in frame as much as possible.
With two cameras it is easy to do a professional type interview. Both cameras can be locked off. The prime camera covers the subject in mid close up from the interviewer's position (or rather slightly this side of a 'line' drawn through the two people. The other camera takes a wider shot of the interviewer, perhaps even slightly over the shoulder. You mostly use the prime camera (and its sound), but it is useful to have a change of shot as you ask questions. It is fairly easy to edit these kind of parallel shots together in a fluent whole.
Many pro interviews use only one camera. The same effect as above is achieved by shooting the interviewer after the interview, who then re-asks the questions to an empty chair. Throw in a few nods or eyerolls to cover yourself.
IMO these type of interviews are very useful coming from bloggers. The questions are different, the atmosphere different. You can't be me, I'm taken
It's my first time using the camera and I lost one clip because my eyesight is too poor to read the buttons on the camera clearly. Since I lost the sight of an eye small print instructions also defeat me.
To be honest, I was just glad to have a recording device because he speaks so fast, keeping notes would have been a nightmare, and as he can speak quite colourfully, his direct words are always better than my summary.
I thought he might be inhibited by the camera, but he clearly had some messages he wanted to get across. His comments on Ganley could land him in the Libel Court - so strict are the laws here - and people with money just use the threat of them to keep people quiet.
I've tried editing the clip to take out the start but even uploading the clips took most of the night so I gave up until I have more time. Part of me actually likes the obviously amateur set-up because it isn't meant to be a media set piece.
If I was going to do it properly I would need to have someone with me to operate the equipment. It was simply a case of pointing the camera in the right direction and hoping nothing went wrong after that.
I'm aware of the one camera two takes technique but I actually ended up ad libing most of the questions, so I would have had to be able to edit out the sound in the first take and overlay it with the questions being asked a second time around on camera. I had recorded the intro at home beforehand but would then have to splice it onto the interview itself - something I know how to do - but again it takes hours! I couldn't get my laptop sound to work at the interview - so I couldn't play it to him - for his background - so I just ended up repeating most of it as part of my opening question.
All very amateur and unprofessional, but at least one step up from pure text, and an awful lot less writing and note taking on my part - which would also have slowed up the interview process.
So in the end I opted for speed and simplicity and tried to focus on the content. notes from no w here
Audio podcasts work well - I track several sites which I download to an iPod nano, but I also download videocasts too, such as the TED presentations. You can't be me, I'm taken
The problem with affordable USB mics is that they look like toys. The problem with 'proper' recorders like the Zoom is that they're expensive, especially if you're not using them much.
I don't know of anyone making a mid-range product which does both jobs well. Someone ought to start selling one.
The Samson is the best and cheapest I've been able to find - but something smaller and cheaper would be better.
Yesterday I did a voiceover in a pukka studio with an acoustic speaker's booth with a good mic, but the track went straight to an H4, and the engineer doing flying 'marks' on it to indicate fluffs and retakes. You can't be me, I'm taken
I only have 8 gig on the nano, so I have to dump before reloading out of iTunes. You can't be me, I'm taken
Something which breaks those rules also breaks the spell. I think it feels more real, and that makes it easier to listen to what's being said.
