Moonfare: a video podcast series
Long-form conversations with finance and business figures, filmed to a standard that lets a forty minute interview hold attention.
From the series
Moonfare video podcast with David Rubenstein
Conversation with David Rubenstein, co-founder of The Carlyle Group.
The brief
Moonfare books guests most finance media cannot get in a room. The series has featured David Rubenstein and Kim Kardashian among others, which means the production has one job: do not be the reason the conversation is not watched.
A forty minute interview is a hard format. There is no cutaway to a product, no B roll to hide behind, and no second chance with a guest who has an hour. It survives or fails on camera coverage, sound and lighting that flatter two people for forty minutes without anyone thinking about it.
We shoot these multi-camera so the edit always has somewhere to go, with lavalier and boom on both subjects so a cough or a chair scrape never costs a good answer. The room is lit to look like a room rather than a studio, because the point of the format is that it feels like a conversation you happen to be sitting in on.
Every episode is delivered as the full conversation plus a set of short clips pulled from the strongest moments, which is where most of the reach actually comes from.
How this work gets made
Multi-camera, always
Two or more angles on every episode so the edit can cut a pause, a stumble or a question that landed badly without the join showing.
Redundant sound
Lav and boom on each subject, recorded separately. Long-form interviews are lost to audio far more often than to picture.
One hour of guest time
Set-up is done before the guest arrives. They sit down, we go, and they leave on schedule.
Clips come with the episode
The full conversation plus short cuts built for feeds, from the same session.
Questions about this work
Can you film a podcast on location rather than in a studio?
Yes. Most of this series is filmed wherever the guest is, which is usually an office or a private space rather than a studio.
How many episodes can you shoot in a day?
Two to three long-form episodes in a day is comfortable when the guests come to one location. Travelling between guests changes that.
Do you handle the clips as well?
Yes. Short cuts for social are part of the delivery rather than a separate job.
What does a video podcast cost?
It depends on episode count and whether we travel. There is a breakdown on the video podcast cost page.
Tell us what you are trying to make
Send the goal, the audience and roughly when you need it. You get a plan, a range and a date back.
