Checklist

My checklist for filming an interview on a phone

The steps from my guide to filming an interview on your phone, on one page. Print it, or use your browser's Print > Save as PDF, and keep it in your kit bag.

Before the day

  • Ask the client where the video will be posted. That decides landscape or portrait, and how the phone goes in its cage.
  • Charge the phone, the mic and the lights. Pack a power bank and a charger.
  • Check free space on the phone. 4K takes far more than 1080p.
  • Decide how the footage is getting off the phone.
  • Consent. Get a signed release from everyone on camera.

When you arrive

  • Pick the spot for its background. No bright window behind the person.
  • Listen to the room. If it's noisy, tell the client now what the sound will be like.

The phone

  • 4K at 25 fps (on iPhone, Settings > Camera > Record Video > Show PAL Formats).
  • Camera app with a histogram, such as Blackmagic Camera.
  • Phone in its cage, on a tripod.
  • Phone on Do Not Disturb (or aeroplane mode).
  • Frame a little wider than you need, on the rule of thirds, so you can crop in later.

Sound and light

  • Mic on the chest, a hand-span (thumb to index finger) below the chin.
  • Cable hidden under the shirt or down a jacket side. Long hair? Clip near the neck and run the cable down the back.
  • A small loop of cable under the clip, to stop rustle.
  • On-board backup recording switched on.
  • Clap once on camera at the start, so the mic's backup recording syncs easily.
  • Two lights minimum, one on the face with some contrast, one backlight on the hair.
  • Lights matched to the room's colour, or a mood chosen if you can switch the room lights off.

Test clip

  • Record a short clip with a stand-in, before your guest sits down. Just chat while you watch the meters.
  • Play it back. Does the audio sound clean? Is the face exposed properly on the histogram?

Record

  • Guest settled. Tell them it doesn't have to be perfect, and say how long it will take.
  • A set number of questions ready. Never feed them lines.
  • Wardrobe checked.
  • Press record.

Afterwards

  • Noisy room? Clean the audio with Adobe Podcast's Enhance Speech. It only works if the mic was close to begin with.

Checked 26 October 2026.

Read the full guide · Practise it with me in a workshop ·

From Nigel Camp, The Video Effect. The full guide is at www.thevideoeffect.tv/articles/how-to-film-an-interview-on-iphone