As for how to get permission: Some producers prefer that that a subject fills out a waiver after answering your question. The challenge with written waivers is that most of the time you’ll only have about 10 seconds to get a response, and many people who are willing to answer on camera don’t want to take the extra time to fill out paperwork. We have discovered simply asking permission, on tape, for use of their answer in a non-broadcast video will suffice. Another rule used in the broadcast news world is called “implied consent”. This rule basically says that if someone is in a public place and chooses to answer the questions they have granted consent for you to use their answer. Many news stations employ this approach. If you would feel more comfortable with written permission, however, hide the papers until after the question is answered. Then leave another crew member with the person to fill out the waiver while the shooting teams moves on to more subjects.

Shoot more than you think you need. Once you feel like you have enough answers, shoot a dozen more. Nothing is worse than getting back to the editing suite only to find that a few of your good answers aren’t useable because of any number of problems. It could be bad audio, someone across the street mooning the camera, a curse word that you didn’t hear when you originally heard the answer, and things much worse. Getting those extra shots can save you!

Shoot lots of good B-roll. B-roll is cutaway footage, like the footage you’d see on the news when a reporter is illustrating his or her voiceover with shots of the scene. Shooting B-roll helps you capture the location of where you shot the OTS interview, but more importantly it gives you editing choices later.

Keep the interview team small. Two people are the best option (an interviewer and a camera operator). Having an entourage of people hanging out in the background can make potential interviewees uncomfortable. If you prefer written consent waivers, have a third person whose sole purpose is to handle the forms.

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