Remote interviews as in job interviews, news interviews, event interviews, political interviews, etc.

The introduction of multiple camera views significantly improves the sense of shared space between participants.  This enables interviewers to make better observations of a candidate.  Such observations can give interviewers a sense of control over the entire environment and they can sometimes be critical to interviewers’ selection decision. Meanwhile, being able to see all those who are listening provides a greater sense of security.  Video is a very powerful medium and an excellent storyteller. Often in a face-to-face interview, an interviewee is presented with a scenario, and is asked what he/she should/would do if such a situation arises. Modern practice in human resource management requires an interviewer to present a scenario to each candidate in a consistent manner in order to prevent discrepancy in the presentation that may leads to any misunderstanding and unfairness.

Conducting Remote Interviews

In a remote interview the interviewer/s is/are geographically separated from the guest. Transmission equipment enables the interview to take place in real time, either for live broadcast or recording. Remote interviews can occur between two sites, between a site and temporary field location, or between two field locations.

Remote interviews can be conducted with one or multiple remote sites: the interviewee, the principle interviewer, and other participants in the interview process.  Each will have his/her own screen showing other participants as if they were all in the same room.

As you can imagine, the remote interview has numerous technical and logistical complications. Before the interview begins the following preparations must be made (in addition to normal preparations):

Preparing the Guest

How you prepare the guest will depend on the their level of experience. If they are new to this type of interview they will need to be well briefed. It is a difficult and unnatural situation and not everyone will cope.

The guest will need to be rigged with a microphone and earpiece. While this is happening, explain briefly how things work and what to expect. If a hand-held microphone is being used, make sure the guest knows how to use it. If possible, let the interviewer and guest have a short preparatory conversation before the actual interview begins. This ensures they are both comfortable with each other's audio level and quality, and helps relax the guest.

Useful advice for the guest includes:

News or Events Interview Sequence

The interview sequence will typically begin like this:

1. Full-screen shot of the interviewer with their preamble.

2. As the interviewer begins introducing the guest (e.g. "I'm joined from Auckland by..."), a split screen is shown between interviewer and guest. Titles below each person identify the respective locations.

3. Shortly after the guest begins answering the first question, their shot is shown full screen.

4. The guest's name/title key is shown.

The interview can then comfortably cut between the two full-screen shots, just as if the two people were sitting next to each other in the same studio. Occasionally the split screen is cut in to remind viewers of the situation and to allow the interviewer and guest to interact together on screen.

Telephone and Audio-Only Interviews

A simpler version of the remote interview can be conducted by telephone.

A graphic is prepared like the one on the right, which includes a picture of a telephone or some other icon which makes it obvious what's happening. If possible, use a photo of the guest. The graphic is then used when the guest is speaking (i.e. in place of video shots).

This technique can also be used with normal transmission equipment if for any reason video is not available.

New Technologies

These days remote interviews can also be conducted via mobile video phones. This is desirable in situations where equipment and personnel must be kept to the bare minimum, or when resources are spread very thinly. The most well-known examples are during wartime operations when reports are filed from many journalists in difficult locations.

Expect this type of remote interview to become very common as the technology improves.