Remote video interview

An engaging remote video interview that feels like a seamless live TV broadcast.

Background

LEO Pharma, a global pharmaceutical company operating in 100 countries, regularly exhibits at congresses and exhibitions taking place all over the world as part of their sales and marketing strategy.

After the annual EADV (European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology) congress was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, organisers held a virtual event instead.

Challenge

Soon after the event, LEO Pharma wanted to share on their website a remote video interview with highlights from the event, which would include contributions from two KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders).

Our brief was to produce a remote video interview that would go beyond a straight piece to camera – it needed to really excite and engage audiences. With strict governance around the subject content and with only a 1-hour slot with each KOL to record their session, detailed and rigorous planning was essential.

Solution

We produced a TV-style interview format with a host linking “live” to each KOL in two different locations (one in Rome and one in Germany). To ensure the interviews and resulting highlights video were a success for all involved, we took care of every detail and focused on delivering high production values:

• Our medical writing team attended the virtual event and took detailed notes, which were then adapted into a Q&A style by our scriptwriter, and shared with the KOLs in advance of the interview being recorded.
• We sent tripods, lights and microphone kits to the two professors to attach to their smartphones, and filmed them both remotely, directed live over a Microsoft Teams call.

• We also sent them a comprehensive guide with phone set-up instructions, best type of room to use for the remote video interview, and details on how to transfer the large video files from their smartphones to us.
• Instead of booking an actor, we procured the help of a professional TV host to conduct the interview, giving it the required natural yet professional tone. Recording in our studio, the host read her script from autocue, capturing it in one take as our producer played the professors’ pre-recorded answers off-air in the background. This enabled the host to provide reactions to their answers which we then cut back to in the video edit, making it feel like KOL and interviewer were interacting with each other in real time.

• To ensure it didn’t feel like just another Zoom call, we brought all segments together by creating a leading animated sting with soundtrack and accompanying graphics throughout the piece.

In total, we produced 3 remote video interview videos, 6-7 minutes each, with and without subtitles or legal statement in case legalities changed depending on the country where the video interview was viewed.

(*) – Here we show an edited version of the video, for illustrative purposes.