Short articles on briefing guests, writing questions, filming sessions and editing interviews, published about once a day.
The journal collects practical notes from our instructors on the craft of interviewing. Read about guest briefs, question order, camera and sound choices, and how to select excerpts from a long conversation.
Editing Guide
A step-by-step walk through editing a sit-down interview: assembling the full cut, choosing short excerpts, and preparing clean files for the guest or event organiser.
Elena Ruiz
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Preparation
Before you write a single question, run through this checklist. It helps you judge whether your draft is ready for a subject specialist, and what still needs work.
Marcus Bellamy
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Filming
Most problems in a two-camera sit-down interview start before recording begins. Marcus walks through the common errors in camera, sound, lighting and guest direction, and how to avoid each one.
Marcus Bellamy
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Course Costs
A plain look at what goes into the cost of learning to plan an interview's opening, main thread and close, and which choices make the course lighter or heavier to take on.
Marcus Bellamy
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Guest Briefing
A short story from the Guest Briefing module: how Priya, a nutrition writer, stopped a rambling first session by sending her guest a clear brief before the camera ever came out.
Elena Ruiz
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Seasonal advice
Practical advice from the editing desk on shaping excerpts and packing files for guests and organisers in the weeks ahead, when event calendars fill and deadlines tighten.
Elena Ruiz
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Question Craft
A plain-words look at the open question: what separates it from a closed one, how it shapes a guest's answer, and how to turn a draft list into usable interview material.
Daniel Okafor
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Filming
A plain comparison of single-camera and two-camera filming for calm sit-down interviews, with a clear recommendation for creators and subject specialists running their own sessions.
Elena Ruiz
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Interview Structure
A look at how the opening, main thread and close of a session are drafted, tested on paper and adjusted, so the conversation stays focused once the camera is running.
Marcus Bellamy
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Guest Briefing
The question we hear most is what a guest brief actually contains. This answer lists the parts of a useful brief and explains why each one saves time on the day of filming.
Marcus Bellamy
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Course news
A look at how Module 5 is organised in these weeks: cutting a full recording, choosing short excerpts and preparing the files that go back to the guest or event organiser.
Daniel Okafor
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Question Methods
A look at the simple materials and methods used in Module 2 to draft open questions, arrange them into an arc and prepare follow-ups for subject specialists.
Elena Ruiz
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Filming
A practical walk through placing two cameras, taming room sound, lighting a face evenly and directing a guest gently while the recording runs, written for first-time interview producers.
Elena Ruiz
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Interview Structure
Before the cameras roll, run your plan through these checks on the opening, the main thread and the close, so you know the session will hold together.
Daniel Okafor
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Guest Briefing
Most interviews that go wrong were already in trouble before the camera started. These are the briefing errors I see most often, and the small habits that prevent them.
Marcus Bellamy
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Editing Costs
A plain look at what drives the cost of cutting a full interview, selecting excerpts and preparing files, written from the editing chair for creators and event organisers.
Daniel Okafor
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Question Preparation
A short case from the course: how a subject specialist named Priya turned a page of closed questions into an open sequence with follow-ups, and what changed on the day she recorded.
Marcus Bellamy
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Filming Advice
As daylight shortens, a sit-down interview needs a steadier plan for cameras, sound and light. Here is how to prepare a calm filming session and direct your guest through it.
Marcus Bellamy
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Interview Structure
A plain-words explanation of the interview arc: the opening, the main thread and the close, and why naming them before you record keeps a conversation focused and easy to edit.
Marcus Bellamy
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Guest Briefing
Comparing a written guest brief with a short preparatory call, what each one settles, where each falls short, and which to choose for most interviews.
Elena Ruiz
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Editing
A look behind the scenes at how a full interview recording becomes a clean edit, a handful of short excerpts and a set of files the guest or organiser can use straight away.
Elena Ruiz
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Question Preparation
The questions we hear most about preparing interview questions: how many to write, whether to share them, when to improvise, and how to plan follow-ups for subject specialists.
Elena Ruiz
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