Event interview schedule builder

This builder places interviews into your event day and shows which ones clash with stage times, crew duties or each other. It also keeps the access tasks that are still open in plain view.

What is it for?

Interviews are easy to promise and hard to fit. The speaker you most want to film is on stage when you plan the interview, the crew is busy with the main ceremony, and nobody has asked whether the guest is happy to be recorded. This tool puts those checks on one page.

For the thinking behind it, read planning interviews without disrupting the programme and our guide to guest interviews and publication consent. The event interview filming service describes what we do on the day.

How do I use it?

1. Enter the date, the interview corner, the time window and any changeover between interviews.
2. Add each person by role or first name with their priority, conversation length, availability, audio setup and permission status.
3. Pick a start time for a slot, or leave it blank and use the suggested time.
4. Add commitments to avoid: a speaker’s stage time, a session they chair, or a crew duty.

How do I read the result?

Each person appears in time order with a status: no clash found, clash, or no slot yet. Clashes say why: outside the window, outside availability, overlapping their own commitment, overlapping a crew duty, or overlapping another interview in the same location.

Below that is the list of open access tasks, such as confirming permission or asking when someone is free, followed by question prompts you can adapt.

What are the assumptions and limits?

• A slot is the length you enter plus the changeover you enter. Nothing else is assumed about how long an interview takes.
• Clashes are found only against the commitments and availability you enter. If you enter no commitments, the tool says so, because it cannot see the rest of the programme.
• Permission stays unknown until you set it. The tool never treats silence as consent.
• It is a planning aid, not a booking.
• Sound at a busy event is a separate problem. See recording an interview beside a busy event and the audio brief builder.

A worked example

This is an illustrative example. The interview window runs 10:00 to 13:00 with a 5 minute changeover. A speaker, Aisha, has a stage presentation from 11:00 to 11:30, and you put her interview at 11:10 for 15 minutes.

The builder marks the slot as a clash with her own stage presentation. With the start left blank and a 30 minute conversation, it suggests 11:30, the first time she is free. A second person with permission still marked “Not asked yet” appears in the open tasks until you update it.

When should I message us?

When your window is tight, the corner is busy, or you want help deciding which conversations matter most. Send the people, the window and what you have so far. We will say what we need to confirm about audio, permission and access, including whether a quiet spot is available at the venue.