Why We Shoot All Interviews With Two Sony FX6 Cameras
From the outside, two cameras can seem like overkill. After all, the person is sitting in one chair, answering questions, and not moving around very much. Why not just point one camera at them and call it a day?
The answer has very little to do with showing off gear and everything to do with creating a better final video with our Boston Based Video Production Company.
At Bunker Hill Media, most of the work we do revolves around interviews. Whether we're producing a customer testimonial, a nonprofit fundraising video, an executive interview, a recruitment video, or a brand story, the interview is usually the foundation of the entire piece. It's where the story comes from. It's where the emotion comes from. It's where the audience decides whether they trust the person on screen.
Because interviews are so important to the work we do, we're constantly looking for ways to make them stronger. One of the simplest ways we've found to do that is filming with two cameras.
Here is a great example of our two camera set up for CVS
Better Edits Start On The Shoot Day
One of the biggest misconceptions about video production is that editing starts after the shoot.
It doesn't.
For us, the edit starts the second we begin filming.
When we're sitting in an interview, we're already thinking about pacing, structure, transitions, and how different answers might fit together later. We're listening for great sound bites. We're paying attention to emotional moments. We're thinking about how one answer might connect to the next.
Having two cameras gives us significantly more flexibility in the edit.
Let's say someone gives an incredible answer but stumbles over a word halfway through. Or maybe they pause for a second while collecting their thoughts. Or maybe we want to remove an "um" or a repetitive phrase that doesn't add anything to the story.
With a single camera, those edits can become obvious very quickly.
With two cameras, we can seamlessly move between angles and keep the conversation feeling natural.
The audience never notices the edit.
They simply experience a smoother story.
This is probably the biggest reason we use two cameras. Not because it looks more professional, but because it helps us create a more polished final product.
It Creates A More Natural Conversation
One thing we've learned over the years is that people are often much better at talking than they are at performing.
The second someone feels like they're delivering a perfect answer, things can start to feel stiff.
That's why we approach most interviews as conversations rather than performances. We'll ask follow-up questions. We'll let people restart thoughts. We'll encourage them to elaborate when something interesting comes up. The reality is that interviews rarely unfold in a perfectly linear way. People pause. They rethink things. They circle back to ideas. They laugh. They get emotional.
That's normal! And encouraged!
Having two cameras allows us to embrace those moments without worrying about how we're going to cut everything together later.
Instead of forcing someone to repeat an answer five times because we're worried about an edit point, we can focus on keeping the conversation flowing naturally.
In our experience, the more natural the conversation feels, the better the interview becomes.
The Tight Shot And The Wide Shot Serve Different Purposes
When we're filming interviews, each camera has a job.
For most projects, our A Camera is a wider shot. This is usually the angle that establishes the environment and gives the audience context. It helps viewers understand where the person is and creates a sense of space around them.
Our B Camera is typically much tighter. We'll often use a 50mm or an 85mm lens depending on the location and the story we're trying to tell.
When someone is talking about their company, explaining a process, or answering more informational questions, we'll often stay on the wider shot. But when the conversation becomes more personal, more reflective, or more emotional, that's often when we'll cut to the tighter angle.
Maybe they're talking about why they started the business.
Maybe they're describing a challenge they faced.
Maybe they're sharing a story about a customer whose life was changed by their work.
Maybe they're reflecting on a difficult moment or an important decision.
Those moments feel different, and we want the visuals to support that feeling.
The tighter shot allows the audience to feel closer to the person. You notice subtle facial expressions. You pay more attention to their eyes. You feel more connected to what they're saying.
It's a small storytelling choice, but it can completely change how an interview feels.
One of the reasons we love shooting interviews with two Sony FX6 cameras is because it gives us those options in the edit. We're not just creating visual variety. We're creating opportunities to emphasize different emotional moments within the story.
Interviews Rarely Go Exactly As Planned
Even with great pre-production, interviews have a way of surprising you.
That's actually one of the things I love most about them.
You can spend weeks planning a project, building a creative document, writing interview questions, and mapping out a structure. Then someone sits down and says something you never expected.
Sometimes it's a story.
Sometimes it's a perspective.
Sometimes it's a single sentence that completely changes the direction of the edit.
Those are often the best moments.
The challenge is that you don't know when they're coming.
Having two cameras gives us flexibility when those moments happen. We don't have to choose between a wide shot or a close-up. We have both.
That allows us to react to the conversation instead of trying to control it.
And in our experience, the most memorable interviews are usually the ones where people stop trying to give perfect answers and start speaking honestly.
Why We Own Two Sony FX6 Cameras
If you've read some of our other blogs, you've probably seen us talk about the Sony FX6 before.
At Bunker Hill Media, we own two FX6s and a Sony FX3, and for most interview-based productions we're using the two FX6s together.
There are a lot of practical reasons for that.
The cameras match perfectly. The colors match. The image characteristics match. The workflow becomes incredibly simple during editing because both cameras are producing the same type of image.
It also gives us redundancy.
Clients rarely ask about redundancy, but production companies think about it constantly.
If we're filming a founder who only has thirty minutes available, an executive who flew across the country, or a donor whose interview took months to schedule, there isn't always an opportunity for a reshoot.
Having two professional camera bodies gives us confidence and gives our clients confidence.
Professional video production is often about eliminating risk before it becomes a problem.
It's Not About Looking More Professional
I think this is an important point to make.
We don't use two cameras because it makes us look more professional.
We don't use two cameras because we want clients to think we're bringing more gear.
We use two cameras because it genuinely improves the final video.
That's it.
Every decision we make on set comes back to one question:
Does this help us tell the story better?
Sometimes the answer is yes.
Sometimes the answer is no.
In the case of interviews, we've found that two cameras consistently create stronger edits, smoother pacing, and more engaging stories.
That's why we continue to use them.
When One Camera Is Enough
That being said, not every project needs two cameras.
If we're capturing b-roll, filming an event, shooting social content, or documenting something that doesn't involve a long-form interview, one camera may be perfectly fine.
We're not interested in adding complexity where it isn't needed.
Like most things in professional video production, it comes down to the goals of the project.
The camera setup should support the story, not the other way around.
Final Thoughts From Bunker Hill Media
At the end of the day, the reason we shoot most interviews with two cameras is pretty simple.
It gives us more flexibility.
It gives us more storytelling options.
It helps us create smoother edits.
It allows us to emphasize emotional moments when they matter most.
Most importantly, it helps us create stronger videos for our clients.
The goal has never been to use more cameras.
The goal has always been to tell better stories.
For us, two cameras just happen to be one of the tools that helps us do that.
