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Interviews | Turning an hour of conversation into three minutes that matter
The hardest part of an interview film is not the cutting, it is deciding “which words stay”.
An hour is recorded and three minutes are delivered. That means 95% of the material is taken out — and what goes and what stays decides directly what the film ends up saying.
A good interview edit should not be audible as an edit. The joins between sections have to feel natural, the delivery has to stay whole, and the interviewee must never sound as though they have been quoted out of context. That takes an understanding of the content, not just technical work.
These situations are a good fit
- Company profiles: interviews with founders, managers or staff
- Customer testimonials: real users speaking for themselves (no ghostwriting, no scripted lines)
- Video versions of press interviews
- Introductory films about craftspeople or creators
- Recorded interviews with alumni or graduates
- Organising oral history and family-record interviews
Common formats and lengths
- 2–3 minutes: a highlights version for social media and the website
- 5–8 minutes: a full portrait
- 10 minutes and over: in-depth interviews or a series
- Landscape 1920×1080; a vertical version is exported separately for social media
- Subtitles are essential, particularly for interviews with technical terms or a strong accent
Please have these ready
The rules for materials are simple. Just follow whichever one of the options below matches what you have:
1. You already have footage
- Upload the original files to Google Drive, then share the folder link with us
- Please put the files in order first — name them in the order you want them to appear (01, 02, 03…). This step saves a great deal of back-and-forth and makes the quote more accurate
- Please send the original files rather than sending them through a messaging app, which compresses them and costs you quality
2. You do not have footage yet
A simple script is enough. You only need to write down three things:
- From which second to which second
- What is on screen
- What text appears
For example:
0–5 sec | Opening shot (for example an aerial of the setting, the entrance, the product itself) | Text: the brand or topic name
5–12 sec | Main content, camera pushing in slowly | Text: the one line you most want people to remember
12–20 sec | Closing shot | Text: contact details or a call to action
It does not need to be beautifully written, just clear. We will use that script to assess how feasible it is and what the scope of work would be.
3. Other things we can look at (not required)
Below are the supporting materials people often have for this kind of video. They are only a reference, not a requirement. Providing your material in either of the two ways above is enough — having these lets us assess things faster, and not having them makes no difference.
- Send the files from every camera — cutting between angles comes out much more natural
- Separate audio recordings (lavalier mic or recorder), if you have them
- The interview outline or list of questions
- The points you want kept, and anything you do not want to appear
- The correct spelling of the interviewee's name and job title
For anything else, just ask on our official LINE.
How we might approach it
Every project has a different set of materials and a different brief. What is listed below are the approaches commonly used for this kind of video; which of them we actually use, and how far we take them, depends on your material and what you need.
- Syncing the cameras: aligning every angle by its audio track so the cuts do not jump
- Cutting filler and pauses: taking out the “ers” and “you knows” and the over-long thinking pauses while keeping the natural delivery
- Handling jump cuts: when a middle section is removed we cover it with B-roll or a change of angle so the picture does not jolt
- Subtitles and line breaks: lines are broken by meaning rather than mechanically by a fixed character count
- Audio repair: air-conditioning hum, background noise and uneven levels are dealt with at the same time
We do not simply apply a fixed package. We need to see the full picture of the material and the brief first, and only once we have confirmed what can realistically be done do we provide a quotation and a production schedule. That way the price and the delivery date rest on something solid, and you will not get halfway through and find that extras are needed.
Editing can make what someone says clearer, but it cannot change the meaning of what the interviewee said. If something in the interview needs clarifying or adding to, the better answer is to record a pick-up rather than to piece it together in the edit.
Process
How we work together
Every project is bespoke, so the process starts with “taking a look first”, not with a price.
Send the material or a script
If you have footage, upload it to Google Drive and put it in order; if you do not, send a simple three-point script (from which second to which second / what is on screen / what text appears).
Assessment and quotation
Once we have seen the full picture of the material and the brief, we confirm what can be done and provide a quotation and production schedule.
Production and delivery
We deliver a first cut on the agreed schedule, and export the finished film once the revisions are confirmed. Working days are counted from confirmation of payment.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
The sound is noisy — is it still usable?
In most cases it can be improved. Air conditioning, computer fans, background noise and room echo can all be treated; how much can actually be improved depends on hearing the file first. See audio noise repair.
We only filmed with one camera — will the cuts be obvious?
Jump cuts on a single camera are genuinely harder to handle. We soften them with B-roll, a slight scale-up or a measured transition, but it does not come out as natural as multi-camera. If you can add a second camera next time, the result will be much better.
Can it be made into a series?
Yes. For a series of interviews we suggest keeping the title sequence, typeface and grade consistent — it makes the series more recognisable to viewers and saves going over the same ground each time.
Do we need to supply a transcript?
Not necessarily, but one speeds things up and helps us pick out the points you want kept more accurately.
How long does it take?
A typical interview film takes about 7–12 working days, depending on the amount of footage and whether subtitles in more than one language are needed.
Thinking about a interviews?
Email us and we will reply with what else we need to know, then move on to assessment and a quote. LINE works too.