One of the things that’s in danger of being lost in the explosion of amateur internet video — and even the proliferation of young professional videographers — is the fine art of making interviewees look and sound good on camera.  Take a look at the videos making the rounds on the web and bad video is everywhere you look.  And more often than not, the use of ambient light and on-camera microphones gets in the way of the message.  In striving for authenticity, many web videos come off as just plain amateurish.

Senator Edward Kennedy, from a Bill Charette production for the Museum of Science in BostonThat’s why it’s such a pleasure to see a professional like Bill Charette at work.  Bill, who is Director of Photography at DigiNovations, gave a talk last night at the National Professional Videographers Association of New England, and focused on the lost art of interview lighting.  Interviews are at the heart of video storytelling…and making interview subjects look and sound their best is essential to getting the story told well and memorably.

Here is a gallery of still frame images showing Bill Charette’s lighting artistry, pulled from some of DigiNovations’ recent productions.

Still frame from a production for Syracuse University Law SchoolI’ll save some of the specific techniques for a later post, but suffice to say that when I work with Bill Charette, I know I’m in the presence of a professional who’s deeply dedicated to every detail of his craft.  Many videographers look at the interview as a necessary evil and focus their energy on the “eye candy” and “money shots”.  Bill understands that great video starts with the basic interview — and taking the time to light and compose a film’s storytellers properly can make all the difference in the world.