I was talking to a photographer yesterday who was explaining that teaching photography was now the best way to make a living because there were 'so many amateurs with a digital camera' flooding the market.
I suppose the question of when one moves from being amateur to professional is up for debate but this is certainly a sentiment shared by many of my friends in the creative industry.
Technology has given us all the confidence to point, click, edit, record and publish. And why shouldn't we?
However I have started to see where the good intentioned 'amateur' doesn't quite deliver what years of experience can offer.
Interviewing senior managers for a presentation, the intranet or a training programme has become a staple form of communication for many businesses. However, not all interviewees feel comfortable in front of a camera and not everyone producing a video knows how to turn 15 minutes of answers into an effective communication tool.
As someone who interviews senior managers I know how nervous people can be. I've also been in an editing suite and watched how footage is cut down so I've seen how difficult it is for the editor to find the perfect 'sound bite'.
Interviewing people is not about technical competence or a list of questions. The best interviews are a conversation which requires listening, reacting and trust between the two people talking. Interviewees themselves know when someone gets the best out of them, they enjoy it, they feel relaxed and forget that they are on video.
The power of a good interview lasts. One client has a piece of footage of their founder on video, it is only short but what he says is still relevant today and that clip is used again and again because it can't be faulted.
I wonder what CEO interviews of today will still be shown in ten years time?
For more information about video interviews click here to download a PDF
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