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I often get asked when applying for shooting gigs if I can shoot and light interviews, so I decided to put together a demo reel for this purpose. I have filmed literally hundreds of interviews, and it is an important skill for most shooters.  All the samples here were shot with an EX-1 and about a quarter of them had the Letus Extreme adapter.  I use anywhere from 0 to 5 lights, and my kit includes Arri, Kino, Zylight, and Lowel lights.

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I think the samples in this video show a range of looks and lighting techniques.  In some cases I try to work with existing lighting (natural or artificial) and either supplement with my own lights or reflectors, or just use ONLY existing light.  Other times I will only use my lights, blocking windows or shutting off existing lights, so that I have the most amount of control over the look.  The shots in my demo range from using no lights up to five lights.  My lighting kit includes an Arri Softbank kit, a Kino Flo Diva (which I think is an ESSENTIAL piece of gear), a Zylight LED light (a new piece I got that I also think is stellar) and a couple Lowel lights.

All of the shots here were with the Sony EX-1 and about a quarter of them had a Letus 35mm lens adapter.  This allows me to create a shallower depth of field, which helps to separate the subject from the background visually.  While the adapter is a worthwhile tool, I have found that, unless I am in a very tiny space, I can obtain a nice shallow depth of field with just the EX-1 alone, and I actually prefer the quality of the image in those cases (and the ease of use without an extra piece of equipment).

There are great articles and forums online that discuss interview lighting, and I also certainly learned a ton by going on shoots with other DPs.  And while there are some general rules of thumb, there is no ONE way to shoot interviews and different projects certainly call for completely different looks.  The most important thing to remember, though, is that an interview is all about what the person is saying, so GET GREAT SOUND!