Shot Lists for Interviews and Talking Heads on Camera

Shot lists for interviews keep a talking head from looking like a webcam call. The subject sits once, but the camera should come away with several angles, cutaways, and B-roll so the edit has somewhere to go when the answer runs long.

An interview is not one shot. It is coverage of a conversation, planned in advance so the room does not go stale while you improvise your next angle.

The standard interview setup

• Two cameras at matched focal lengths for clean cutting between them.
• One tighter angle for emphasis on a key line.
• One wide of the subject in the space for context.
• Hands, face details, and props as cutaways.
• B-roll of the environment and the subject doing the thing they describe.

Two cameras at the same distance give you matched framing, which means cuts between them feel invisible. Add a third at a different distance and you have a rhythm: wide for context, medium for the answer, tight for the moment the voice drops.

If you only have one camera, plan to shoot the interview twice in framing terms. Run the whole thing on the medium, then ask for a few key answers again on the tight. Same words, second angle, and now you can cut.

An interview without coverage is a recording. Coverage is what makes it a scene.

Plan before the subject sits

Do your shot list before your guest arrives. Once they are in the chair, every minute you spend moving a light is a minute their energy drains. The list keeps that window short.

Decide the eyeline and the background first, because those lock the room. Eyeline toward you makes the subject look at the interviewer. Eyeline just off camera makes them look like they are thinking to themselves. The list should state which, so the cameras match.

B-roll and cutaways

B-roll covers the moments where you must trim. If the subject repeats themselves or pauses for ten seconds, a cutaway hides the edit. Plan a list of B-roll that shows what they are describing, not just pretty filler.

Ask permission to film during the setup, while they open a laptop or pour a coffee. Hands doing a task are the most versatile cutaways you can own, and they cost you nothing extra.

Key takeaways

• Treat an interview as coverage of a conversation, not a single shot.
• Match two cameras at the same distance so cuts between them disappear.
• With one camera, run the medium then repeat key answers on the tight.
• Fix eyeline and background before the subject sits down.
• Gather hands and task B-roll during setup for free cutaways.