Getting in front of the camera for the first time can certainly be nerve-wracking. No doubt you’re fully prepared with what you might say or do but have you thought about what you might wear or how you might look? Here’s our top five tips to think about when preparing for a shoot.
1 – Clothing – Avoid patterns and bring alternatives
We want you to look your best on camera and keep the viewers attention, so that means making sure there is nothing distracting about your appearance. There is nothing worse than watching a video and finding yourself not listening because something on screen has distracted you.
One of the worst culprits for this is a checked or close patterned shirt! That’s because overly patterned clothes have a tendency to have a life of their own on camera. Why? Because tight and small repeating patterns or stripes can cause an effect called Moiré. The reality of this is that it creates movement in the pattern on screen that looks glitchy. So prepare and take along a couple or three outfits so you have back up options.
For those wanting the more technical explanation – it happens because the detail in the pattern exceeds the resolution of the camera sensor. And that’s about as techie or jargon as you’ll ever hear us here at Chuffed Productions.
2 – Colours – Know your surroundings
Your video production partner will let you know what background you’re being filmed against and you might find out you’ll be working with a virtual background (like Green screen or Blue screen). This basically means that your single colour background will be replaced with the background of your choosing after you have been filmed (from cityscapes, to jungles, to outer space – the possibilities are endless).
If you’re being filmed in this way make sure you won’t be wearing any clothing the same colour as your background so that clothing doesn’t end up with your virtual background projected on it too.
If you’re not going to be using a virtual background then you can go wild with your colour choices but be warned, really vibrant colours will be distracting and might detract attention from your messaging.
3 – Accessories – Keep it simple
The last thing you want is to have to film multiple takes because you can hear a jingly necklace hitting the microphone or the jangle of bracelets every time you move. Avoid wearing anything noisy or distracting and, with that in mind, avoid wearing anything too shiny that might create glare from the lighting on set.
4 – Logos – Not unless they’re your own
Don’t wear branded clothing (unless of course it’s your own company logo). Seeing the logos of the clothing brands you are wearing is distracting and as a rule you don’t want to be advertising someone else’s brand!
5 – You – Ensure you’re feeling fresh
The best way to achieve a natural and successful performance is to be well-rested and therefore energised. Up all night finalising your script? Or perhaps had a few too many lemonades the night before? More often than not it will show on camera and mainly because you aren’t feeling top-notch. Do yourself a favour and give yourself the best opportunity to achieve a natural and engaging performance by getting good night’s rest ahead of your shoot day.
