HOW TO DRESS AND ACT ON CAMERA

Whether giving a speech or acting in a film, there are several things to keep in mind in terms of the camera. For those with minimum experience working in front of the camera, here are helpful tips.

Eye contact: When delivering a speech that is direct-to-camera – without an audience present or shown on camera – treat the camera as if it were an audience member. Speak to camera as if talking to a person. In essence, you are; you’re speaking to the video viewer. If you do not make natural eye contact with the camera, you will not “make contact” with the video viewer.

Conversely, when presenting and a live audience is within camera view (or is perceived by viewers as being present), maintain natural eye contact with audience members. In this instance, don’t look directly into the camera. Turning attention away from your audience to make eye contact with the camera is seen by the video viewer as “ignoring” your attending audience; the video viewer will empathize with this and will actually be “affronted” or uncomfortable noting this shift in your attention/eye contact.

Of course, it’s different again when acting for the camera. Actors rarely look directly into the camera; it’s quite intentional if they do. Actors maintain eye contact with other actors, focusing on the scene being played and the individuals they are interacting with.
As a professional speaker, you know the importance of maintaining proper eye contact. Just think of the camera as an on-looking audience member to establish contact with. Address the camera directly only when you want to speak one-on-one with the video viewer.

Wardrobe is very important. If you do not have a wardrobe consultant, follow these tips:

Consider clothing colors that compliment you and contrast well with the wall, curtain or staging that will be behind you. I see videos of professional speakers where the outfit of choice is black (because everyone looks good – and thin! – in black), but the setting background is also black. In this scenario, there is no depth in the footage. The speaker blends in too much, no matter how expert the lighting is.

Stay away from small tight prints/patterns. These styles cause the video camera to distort those images, which is very distracting to the viewer and could potentially ruin the footage. Also, do not wear red. Red is a “video-unfriendly” color. Often times, red is washed out on the video replay and can be too hard to manage from TV monitor to TV monitor. Red never looks the same in all applications.

As a rule, you should wear the outfit that looks great on you, yields the most compliments and looks good on camera. You should always look your best when performing for a video taping session. Also, looking your best lets you feel your best, too.

If doing multiple taping sessions, do not wear the same outfit for two consecutive shoots unless, of course, the shooting is a planned “continuation” (i.e., a two-day shoot where the footage is supposed to represent the same day).

If you are trying to get a “two separate programs” look from a single shoot, ladies can change outfits or accessories and men can change ties, sport jackets and suits. Of course, you can go all out and completely change outfits for any non-continuity videotaping. But same-same wardrobe, accessories and hair styling are imperative when photographic continuity is dictated.

As part of your wardrobe and appearance considerations, use makeup sparingly for video speaking engagements. Consider that, on video, you do not want the camera to “wash out” your features, so some minor pancake makeup may help; but also consider your live audience. Use caution with makeup as you do not want your audience thinking you’d look better with your face “washed!”

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