Your guide to appearing on camera.
When producing video marketing or promotional video for your company there will be strong chance that you personally, or one of your colleagues may be stepping in front of the camera for the first time. You may be delivering some lines to camera or demonstrating your product and service, or you may appear as a talking head in an interview format. We understand that you won’t want to appear vain however we also understand that you will want to ook your best as you’ll be representing your company. So here’s some useful video production advice for looking your best in front of the camera.
What to wear?
It’s important that you wear something that makes you feel comfy in front of camera. They’ll be other factors you may find a little daunting about appearing on film so if you can start by being comfortable in your outfit then its one less thing to worry about.
From a technical aspect there are a few things that you’ll also want to consider. Don’t wear anything that’s too busy, striped or patterned. This can cause a technical issue which will result in the footage looking flickery. Also be aware of the background you are being filmed against. For example if you’re being shot against a black backdrop don’t wear a black shirt/dress as you could end up looking like a floating head!
Avoid anything that’s very loose fitting or baggy as it can sometimes make odd and unflattering shapes when on film.
Dark clothes on a dark background can look strange, whereas lighter clothes will make you stand out.
Hair
Being able to see your face and eyes is important so if you have long hair try to avoid having it falling down over your face. You may want to use some product to keep your hair in place but be careful about using too much as it can pick up a lot of bounce from lights and make your hair look un-naturally greasy.
Makeup
If you’re doing your own makeup then a golden rule of thumb is to apply a bit more than you usually would. You also want to minimize shadows around the eyes so we suggest a lighter shade of concealer and avoid harsh lines around the eyes. Lips can always benefit from a bit of extra definition to help them pop out so go for a darker shade than you normally would. Finally use translucent powder to help reduce shine.
Camera Angle
Don’t be afraid to ask the camera operator to show you a preview of the shot and if you’re not happy say so. If you are shooting with a professional crew they will understand and expect that you will want to look your best so working with them to perfect the shot is by no means unusual. Check that the camera angle is not too low, shooting most people from an angle below their eyes usually results in a less than flattering shot so if you’re not happy with the preview shot you’ve been shown ask for the camera to be raised slightly.
Make up touching up for promotional video shoot
Lights
One of the most important pieces of video production advice we can give is to get involved in the lighting. If the preview shot shown to you doesn’t feel right there may be a chance that the lighting is too harsh. This causes faces to become too angular and casts hard shadows. Ideally for most people to look their best on camera a big soft source of lighting will be the best approach. So again, don’t be afraid to ask the crew to soften the lights a little if you feel they are not showing you at your best.
Above all you want to be proud of your video marketing output so taking that little bit of extra time to get the look right will give you a final product that you’ll be eager to show off.
We hope that this video production advice is useful but by all means drop us a line on the link below if yo;d like to know more.
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