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Live, as-live, pre-recorded, down the line. Know the interview format and half the nerves go. Live means it goes out as it happens, and the clock is absolute. As-live is recorded in one take and broadcast without editing, so treat it exactly like live. Pre-recorded is edited, sometimes heavily, so say the line you want quoted early and more than once. Down the line is the one that undoes well-prepared people. You're in one studio, the presenter's in another. You look at a lens, not a person, and you hear them through an earpiece. Rehearse it: eye line on the lens, listen through the earpiece, and wait out the delay before you answer. A training day here runs you through the formats you'll actually meet, on camera, with playback after each. Granary Digital. A working studio since 2005.
Live, in the studio
You are in the room with the presenter, the programme is going out as it happens, and nothing can be taken back. You have the advantage of seeing the person asking. The clock is absolute: a producer will end the item on the second whether you have finished or not. Rehearse: short answers, a first sentence you can deliver on autopilot, and stopping when you are done.
As-live
Recorded, but recorded as if live: one take, no stopping, broadcast later without editing. It feels like live because it is treated like live. Most pre-records for news programmes are as-live. Rehearse exactly as for live.
Pre-recorded
Recorded and then edited, sometimes heavily. You can restart an answer. The risk is the opposite of live: a long interview cut to one clip, so the one clip has to be the one you want. Rehearse: saying the thing you want quoted, in one clean sentence, early and more than once.
Down the line
You in one studio, the presenter in another, the two of you connected by a link. You look at a camera, not a person, and you hear the presenter through an earpiece. This is the format that undoes well-prepared people and it is the one we built the training day around: hearing the producer in your ear. Rehearse: eye line on the lens, listening through the IFB, and waiting out the delay before answering.
Remote from your own office
A video call, broadcast or published. Your framing, your lighting and your sound are your problem. Rehearse: camera at eye level, light in front of you not behind, a proper microphone, and a plan for the moment the connection drops. Or do it from a studio built for it: the remote interview studio.
Panel
Several guests, one presenter, and the hard part is getting in. Rehearse: a short bridging phrase you can use to enter without interrupting, and staying visibly engaged when others speak, because the wide shot is always on.
Doorstep
Unplanned, outdoors, a microphone under your chin. There is one sentence to deliver and a way to keep walking. Rehearse: the sentence.
How a training day covers them
A day at the studio runs the trainee through the formats they will actually meet, on camera, with playback after each. Live and as-live in the room with the trainer; down the line with the trainer in the other room on the IFB; remote from a laptop in the green room if that is how it will happen for real. What happens in a media training day sets out the hour by hour.
Related guides
- Media training at the studio
- Hearing the producer in your ear
- How much does media training cost?
- What happens in a media training day
Ready when you are
Availability and a firm quote, usually same day. No pressure, no hard sell.
Questions we get asked
What does as-live mean?
Recorded in one take as if it were live, and broadcast later without editing. Treat it exactly as a live interview.
What is a down-the-line interview?
You are in one studio and the presenter is in another, connected by a link. You look at a camera and hear the presenter in an earpiece.
Which format is hardest?
Down the line, for almost everyone: no face to talk to, an earpiece, and a delay. It is the format our media training day is built around.
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