PRACTICAL GUIDE · BARCELONA
How to prepare a corporate video interview in Barcelona
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“We want a video about our company” sounds like a brief, but leaves most production decisions unanswered. Who is it for? What question will it resolve? What evidence or example can the interviewee offer? If you are planning a shoot in Barcelona, you can arrive at the first conversation with a clear purpose, three useful questions and a short list of outputs. This guide gives you examples to prepare that material while allowing the speaker to sound like a person rather than a script. The examples are illustrative, not Studio Red projects.
Start with the business question
Decide why the video exists before discussing cameras. You may need a potential customer to understand a service, a candidate to meet the team or an executive to explain a decision. Give the film one primary purpose and describe what the viewer should be able to do or understand afterwards. A single interview rarely serves every communication need equally well. If several audiences matter, decide which version addresses each one.
Now express the message in ordinary language. What specific doubt does the video resolve? What can the interviewee describe from experience that a written company description cannot? This makes it easier to choose a speaker and to identify a real story, rather than a sequence of promotional statements.
Choose a speaker who can explain the work
The most senior person is not always the clearest voice for a subject. Look for someone with direct experience, concrete examples and enough time to prepare. It might be a founder, project lead, specialist or customer who agrees to take part. Tell them who the audience is, where the material will appear and how much time the session will require. An informed speaker can focus on the conversation instead of trying to discover its purpose on set.
Avoid asking them to memorise full answers. Share key ideas and examples they can describe in their own words. Check sensitive numbers, customer names and technical claims with the person authorised to approve them. Filming is easier when factual review has happened beforehand.
Write questions that lead to usable answers
A useful question invites the speaker to describe a situation, a choice and what happened next. “What problem were you trying to solve?” gives more room for a truthful answer than a leading question about success. Ask for observable examples: a change in a process, a difficult decision or a lesson the team learned. Short questions generally work better than questions that carry half the brand message within them.
Group questions into themes instead of treating the list as a script that must be followed in order. Begin with familiar ground, move to the central point and leave time for follow-ups. When an answer is abstract, ask for an example. When a phrase is especially clear, invite the speaker to expand it in another way so the edit has options without changing the meaning.
Plan the pictures, sound and schedule
Decide whether the interview is the whole film or the backbone of a piece that includes supporting footage. If you need other images, identify the work, place or detail that helps viewers understand the spoken point. Supporting footage should add context, not merely look attractive. Tell the production team who will be present, which space can be used and what interruptions or background noise are likely.
Allow time for arrival, framing and an audio check. Many people need a few minutes to get used to speaking on camera. Pauses and repeated answers are normal parts of obtaining a clear account. If company representatives want to review messaging during the session, appoint one person to consolidate feedback. Multiple conflicting instructions can make a speaker less natural and delay the shoot.
Agree permissions and outputs in advance
Make sure the people and spaces shown can be used for the intended purpose. If customers, employees or third-party material will appear, clarify who obtains approvals and where those records are kept. Share brand and confidentiality constraints before filming; discovering them at the editing stage can make strong footage unusable.
Specify outputs as carefully as the goal: a main video, short excerpts, captions, versions for different channels, thumbnails or raw files if required. Confirm formats, languages, review owner and the agreed revision process. One filming session does not automatically include every adaptation. Knowing the destination of each piece helps the team plan both the conversation and the supporting material.
A better goal than “introduce our company”
Illustrative example: a team wants to attract candidates for a technical role. “Show our culture” is hard to turn into questions or images. A more useful goal is: “Help a candidate understand how the team works on a real project and what they would learn in their first months.” The interview can then explore a decision, a challenge and a concrete collaboration. It also becomes clearer which supporting images would add meaning.
Four questions to start the interview
“What problem were you trying to solve when the project began?”
“Which option did you reject, and why?”
“What changed in the daily work after that decision?”
“What example would help someone outside the team understand it?”
Adapt the questions to your subject. Review any names, figures or sensitive claims with the person authorised to approve them before the edit.
A one-page brief is enough to begin
Your first brief can fit on a page: purpose, audience, central message, speaker, three possible examples, publishing channels, desired outputs, timing and the person who will approve the result. Add visual references only when they communicate a specific requirement. This gives a production conversation something concrete to work with, while leaving room for a better creative approach.
Studio Red describes its interview and brand video service in Barcelona at https://studiored.es/brand-video . If you are preparing a corporate interview, share the business goal and where the final video will be used so the format and scope can be agreed before booking. A useful film starts with a clear discussion between the people who own the message and the people producing it.
“We want a video about our company” sounds like a brief, but leaves most production decisions unanswered. Who is it for? What question will it resolve? What evidence or example can the interviewee offer? If you are planning a shoot in Barcelona, you can arrive at the first conversation with a clear purpose, three useful questions and a short list of outputs. This guide gives you examples to prepare that material while allowing the speaker to sound like a person rather than a script. The examples are illustrative, not Studio Red projects.
Start with the business question
Decide why the video exists before discussing cameras. You may need a potential customer to understand a service, a candidate to meet the team or an executive to explain a decision. Give the film one primary purpose and describe what the viewer should be able to do or understand afterwards. A single interview rarely serves every communication need equally well. If several audiences matter, decide which version addresses each one.
Now express the message in ordinary language. What specific doubt does the video resolve? What can the interviewee describe from experience that a written company description cannot? This makes it easier to choose a speaker and to identify a real story, rather than a sequence of promotional statements.
Choose a speaker who can explain the work
The most senior person is not always the clearest voice for a subject. Look for someone with direct experience, concrete examples and enough time to prepare. It might be a founder, project lead, specialist or customer who agrees to take part. Tell them who the audience is, where the material will appear and how much time the session will require. An informed speaker can focus on the conversation instead of trying to discover its purpose on set.
Avoid asking them to memorise full answers. Share key ideas and examples they can describe in their own words. Check sensitive numbers, customer names and technical claims with the person authorised to approve them. Filming is easier when factual review has happened beforehand.
Write questions that lead to usable answers
A useful question invites the speaker to describe a situation, a choice and what happened next. “What problem were you trying to solve?” gives more room for a truthful answer than a leading question about success. Ask for observable examples: a change in a process, a difficult decision or a lesson the team learned. Short questions generally work better than questions that carry half the brand message within them.
Group questions into themes instead of treating the list as a script that must be followed in order. Begin with familiar ground, move to the central point and leave time for follow-ups. When an answer is abstract, ask for an example. When a phrase is especially clear, invite the speaker to expand it in another way so the edit has options without changing the meaning.
Plan the pictures, sound and schedule
Decide whether the interview is the whole film or the backbone of a piece that includes supporting footage. If you need other images, identify the work, place or detail that helps viewers understand the spoken point. Supporting footage should add context, not merely look attractive. Tell the production team who will be present, which space can be used and what interruptions or background noise are likely.
Allow time for arrival, framing and an audio check. Many people need a few minutes to get used to speaking on camera. Pauses and repeated answers are normal parts of obtaining a clear account. If company representatives want to review messaging during the session, appoint one person to consolidate feedback. Multiple conflicting instructions can make a speaker less natural and delay the shoot.
Agree permissions and outputs in advance
Make sure the people and spaces shown can be used for the intended purpose. If customers, employees or third-party material will appear, clarify who obtains approvals and where those records are kept. Share brand and confidentiality constraints before filming; discovering them at the editing stage can make strong footage unusable.
Specify outputs as carefully as the goal: a main video, short excerpts, captions, versions for different channels, thumbnails or raw files if required. Confirm formats, languages, review owner and the agreed revision process. One filming session does not automatically include every adaptation. Knowing the destination of each piece helps the team plan both the conversation and the supporting material.
A better goal than “introduce our company”
Illustrative example: a team wants to attract candidates for a technical role. “Show our culture” is hard to turn into questions or images. A more useful goal is: “Help a candidate understand how the team works on a real project and what they would learn in their first months.” The interview can then explore a decision, a challenge and a concrete collaboration. It also becomes clearer which supporting images would add meaning.
Four questions to start the interview
“What problem were you trying to solve when the project began?”
“Which option did you reject, and why?”
“What changed in the daily work after that decision?”
“What example would help someone outside the team understand it?”
Adapt the questions to your subject. Review any names, figures or sensitive claims with the person authorised to approve them before the edit.
A one-page brief is enough to begin
Your first brief can fit on a page: purpose, audience, central message, speaker, three possible examples, publishing channels, desired outputs, timing and the person who will approve the result. Add visual references only when they communicate a specific requirement. This gives a production conversation something concrete to work with, while leaving room for a better creative approach.
Studio Red describes its interview and brand video service in Barcelona at https://studiored.es/brand-video . If you are preparing a corporate interview, share the business goal and where the final video will be used so the format and scope can be agreed before booking. A useful film starts with a clear discussion between the people who own the message and the people producing it.