Presenting on camera

Lights, Camera… wait. Make up!

· Blog, Presenting on camera, Tips & Tricks · , , , , , , , ,

At Hunting With Pixels we often get asked about what to wear to shoots. Clothing isn’t as ‘make or break’ as it used to be because cameras have become much more forgiving, and so has our audience. There are a few things to keep an eye on that are easy to miss.

Clothing – the golden rule

Wear something that is congruent with your message, that is comfortable and won’t make you hot. Do that and you’re 90% there.

Congruent with your message

Consider what first impression your clothing gives if people see you ‘out of context’.

The video will be watched by total strangers, so they don’t necessarily understand the connection between your personality and your wardrobe.

Having said that, your personal style is your own. If you’ve got the killer content, what you looks like is secondary. Authenticity is key, so don’t ‘dress up’ to the point where you’re not ‘you’ .

ascot

Ascot: risky but good. Snowman hanging off tie? No.

Jewelry

Wear anything you like, as long as it’s not noisy when you move.

Big earrings look great, but will create weird clicking noises in they very sensitive microphones we use to capture dialogue.

Colours and patterns – ‘don’ts’

With today’s super sensitive cameras, most clothing is unproblematic. Here are few exceptions:

Very thin stripes or fine patterns. This can create weird light effects on video because of pixellation. –

Very strong contrasts. If you’re pale skinned, avoid very dark clothing and vice versa. This has to do with the light sensitivity of cameras; our eyes have a much wider dynamic range in terms of what it can see in shaded of light and dark. A camera would struggle with that level of contrast.

Tones that blend into the background. Pastel colours can look a bit bland if the background has a similar colour. Even if you prefer colours are not too strong, pick on that contrasts with the background.

Light orange can appear to glow in some cases. It’s more pertinent in broadcast situations.

Shape and Fit

Video can be a bit unforgiving when you wear baggy and shapeless clothing. Go from something that has a nice shape that will give you a taller and more fitted look.

The reason for this is that close up shots don’t give us a context of your surroundings, which can make you look bigger than you are. This is why we’re often surprise about how short TV personalities are when we meet them in person.

A few fashion tips

Here are a few things that will make you look your best.

Feel free to totally ignore this though; authenticity is more important than being polished. woman with frame sign

Men’s clothing

Collared shirts tend to look better than T shirts in close up.

There’s more texture and visual interest. Jackets also look good, especially if they’re nicely tailored around the waist. Never, ever wear a too big suit on a video shoot.

Unless you’re David Byrne. He kinda got away with it.burn

Light coloured shirts generally looks better than pure white.

Pure white tends to blow out and look a bit flat once you add video lighting. Ties work if you’d normally wear them too.

Try to go easy on novelty ties or large patterns, unless it’s very ‘you’ of course!

Women’s clothing

Power suits. We love the 80’s just like the next girl, but they look huge on video.

Avoid earth tones if you’re interviewed inside; you’ll blend in to the background too much.

Consider the surroundings and find a colour that both suits your skin tone and has a nice contrast with the background. Wear clothing that emphasises shape without being tight. Wear shoes that give you good posture, but make sure they’re comfortable: they’re unlikely to be in the shot.

Being comfortable will make you look and feel more relaxed and confident.

Make up

Video lights can make your face look shiny, which is not always a good look. We’ll bring blotting paper and translucent powder to fix that, but overall avoid clothing that’ll is too hot, make up that makes your skin shiny or exercise before you shoot.

Men: Use a bit of powder a shade darker than normal skin color, to even out skin tone and reduce the shine on cheeks, forehead and nose. We’ll have some on set.

Women: any make up is fine, maybe avoid dark reds/maroon for lip gloss and cheeks because the extra contrast of video may emphasise the make up too much.

Also avoid a lot under the eyes (none is best). We provide translucent powder in case of shine, but you may want to bring your own just in case.

Facial hair

Get a good shave before the shoot to avoid the five o’clock shadow.

Neatly trim facial hair if it matters to you, and if you bother wearing facial hair it probably should. hip

…and Action!

All of these suggestions are just that: if a snowman tie combined with an unkempt beard and too much make up is your style, go for it. Rules are there to be broken.

At Hunting With Pixels we work hard to make doing a video an enjoyable and relaxed experience, so contact us any time if you have any questions. We’re here to make you look and feel great!

Not sure about social media? Get a free strategic consultation

· Blog, Case Studies, Client Videos, Presenting on camera, Tips & Tricks

How do you cut through the social media noise?

Isn’t it tricky to get your message across these days? There are so many choices to make, and they all have so many ramifications for your business. Should you spend more time on Twitter? Do you need a Facebook page? Is video the answer? How do you expand your network of clients in a way that is efficient so you don’t burn through your marketing budget with one ill advised Adwords campaign?   And how do you make sure you attract the right clients instead of an endless array of tyre kickers? At Hunting With Pixels, we can appreciate you don’t just want to dive into the deep end, especially when it comes to online video and social media, so why not get the right information so you can make an informed decision?   Here’s what the free consultations entails:

A free half hour content strategy consultation.

We look at how your brand is currently communicating to your target audience. Based on that research we make recommendations on how to get better results.

A free presenting to camera workshop

Have you been thinking about doing a video for your website, but not sure if you’ll be any good on camera? Try it out for free and get some great tips on how to present.

A free 360 degree view of your brand’s communication

We’ll look at everything. Your website, your written content, your newsletter, the way you speak and look; all these things combined build your brand communication.   So why not get started and book your free consultation today! We don’t bite. We do wear silly hats and phone shaped masks, but that wouldn’t put you off, would it? 1300 505 262 or hit us in cyperspace.  

Showreels for speakers; a great way to use online business video.

· Blog, Presenting on camera

How does presenting live translate to video?

As a professional speaker, what you sell is the fact that you can really engage your audience. Great speakers have this amazing ability to create a spark and inspire people to challenge their own ideas. The problem is that it’s really difficult that translate that to online video. When you do a presentation people in the audience have this great experience, but when you watch it back on a small video, it just doesn’t come across.

Live vs Studio

The reason for this is that the environment in which you present is conducive to live performance. The lighting, the audio and the background just aren’t right for video. You could do your presentation in a studio of course, but then you miss that interaction with the audience that really gets your presentation to that next level.

Why not combine?

So when we recently talked to our friend Nigel Collin, who’s an awesome ‘on camera presenting’ coach, we thought it would be great if we could combine a live presentation for an audience with the controlled environment of a studio. Have a look at the video;

So what are we offering?

For $ 1495,- you get:

If you want, you can recoup some of the cost by selling tickets for the event! So get in touch now!