How do I record an interview with my smartphone?


Key Points:

  • Don’t hold the phone in your hand

  • Get great audio

  • Record vertically for easy sharing

  • Record horizontally only if you plan on playing the recording on a TV

  • Frame your shot carefully

  • Make sure the lighting is good

  • Do a short test recording to ensure it all looks good!


Don't hold the phone in your hand

First things first: never hold a smartphone in your hand when recording an interview. If you don't have a tripod, no worries! You can make up a contraption of your own. For example, mount the phone on top of a stack of books, and secure the phone to the stack with tape or rubber bands so it doesn't shift mid-shoot. As an alternative to taping and banding all over your paperbacks, consider getting a smartphone case that comes with a stand. For $10-$15 dollars on Amazon, they're an affordable way to ensure steady shooting no matter where you are!

Get great audio

Being able to clearly hear the story being told is one of the most important parts of capturing a great interview! Here are some tips on how to make it happen.

Make sure the speaker is facing toward where you're pointing the phone. If a speaker's words are directed to someone else or away from your phone, they may not be picked up by your device's microphone. Instead, have them speak directly into it and make sure that when they look at you, their face is directed toward the camera as well. A common mistake is to accidentally cover the microphone on the phone. Check to ensure this isn't the case.

In addition, try to shoot in a place without too much background noise: Maybe find a quiet part of the house or wait for everyone to leave before shooting in a larger space. It's best to avoid echo-y rooms with exposed pipes or concrete floors. Turn off nearby fans and air conditioners so there is no hum or buzzing in the background. You might also want to ask participants if they can speak up and/or repeat what they said if it’s difficult to hear.

Record vertically for easy sharing

Record vertical video (portrait mode). It's easier to watch vertical videos on a phone, which is how most people consume content these days. In fact, many social platforms will auto-format your videos to portrait when they're shared. Plus when you're interviewing a single person, it's easier to frame them when shooting vertically.

This is why the StoryTiling app sets vertical recording as the default setting.

Record horizontally only if you plan on playing the recording on a TV

The main reason to consider recording video horizontally (landscape mode) is if you're planning to play the recording on a TV. If you're shooting your video this way, remember that horizontal videos are not as convenient to watch on a mobile device as vertical videos.

Frame your shot carefully

When you’re recording an interview, frame your shot carefully. Make sure that the subject is not too small in the frame and that you're capturing their body language, not just their face.

You don’t want to cut off the top of someone's head or have their feet stick out of the bottom of your frame, so set up a little early and adjust your camera accordingly. Also decide what background you want to use - nothing too busy, or it will be distracting.

Make sure the lighting is good

When it comes to lighting your subject, you have a few options. Natural light is great, as long as there isn't too much of it. Avoid direct sunlight, because it will create harsh shadows on your subject's face and make the background look very blown out. Also avoid backlighting, which makes your subject look like they're in silhouette.

But maybe you can't film outside or near a window, or maybe it's nighttime. Don't worry—you can still get decent shots indoors with minimal equipment. A simple lamp or desk lamp will do just fine as a key light (the main source of illumination). You can also use reflectors to bounce light onto the subject from another source; this works especially well if you have dark walls or other dark surfaces nearby that can act as sort of an improvised bounce board for the light you've set up in the room.

Do a short test recording to ensure it all looks good!

You’re probably keen to get started on your interview. But it’s important to make sure everything looks good before you begin your actual recording.

To do this, record a short (20 second) test clip with the person you will be interviewing. Then playback the clip and evaluate the following:

  • Framing - are they positioned properly in the frame? Are they too close or too far away from the camera?

  • Lighting - is there enough light? Is there too much light?

  • Audio - can you hear them clearly? Do you need to use your external microphone if it wasn’t plugged in for this test run?

  • Stability - was the camera stable during recording?

Now all you need is a list of questions to ask! Write your own questions using our resource, or we can email you the questions we use:

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