The Interview Box: Notes on a Prototype System for Video-Recording Remote Interviews

Video-recording remote interviews can sometimes be necessary or desirable, such as in news broadcasting or documentary-making. However, remote interviews are not currently well-supported by digital tools. Unresolved questions about best practices and the kinds of support needed to facilitate remote interviews have become increasingly relevant since the Covid-19 pandemic. To refect on these questions and explore the design space for systems to support high quality, remote video-recorded interviews, we conducted an exploratory Research through Design study, drawing on professional media-making techniques, novel interviewing methods and a bespoke intervention: The Interview Box. We provide a detailed summary of our design process and, refecting on both the successes and failures of our interventions, construct two contributions: technical insights relating to the practical challenges of designing and implementing a remote video interview system, and general insights into the broader interaction design challenges of designing for remote video-recorded interviews.