One of the things none of us who pontificate on video ever talk about is how to get a good quote.

As any experienced reporter knows, getting a good quote usually requires asking a good question.  Good questions come when a reporter is both a good conversationalist and well prepared (either by dint of preparing for the specific interview, or knowing his or beat really, really well).

As an advocate for short, quick-production videos, I also believe that what works best for online video, as for most good journalism, is people, people, people — get tight shots of people talking about something of interest and you have engaging video … if you ask good questions.

I’m infamous for saying most newspaper video should take no more than an hour to shoot and produce, but here’s where I think some ROI can be achieved by stretching that time — in preparation.

If you prepare, not only will the couple of minutes of video you shoot have a better chance of being engaging, you will also need to spend less time editing.

Prepare like Charlie Rose. Prepare like James Lipton.

Watch this video:

(via Peter Zollman)