Transcripts
1. Confident on Camera Trailer: Yes.
2. Why you should be on Camera: All right. So why do you want to bother being on camera? I mean, it's a lot more work. It require special equipment and it can sometimes be a real pain in the But let's talk about it. Ok, so the first reason, and I think probably one of the more obvious ones is that it opens you up to more brand and sponsorship opportunities. Brands they like faces, they like engaging bases and personable faces. And if you can also throw that into the mix, it will kind of set you ahead of the pack. It's a great additional tool to have in your video maker film kit. Basically, it's a way of you being able to engage with your audience. And actually ultimately, that is the second reason why I think you should do it. Because you'll be able to engage more with your readership. Your readership, they want to hear what you sound like. They've kinda want to get an idea of your personality and this is a great way to engage with them. So there's another reason. Also, you know what, it's pretty hard to dispute who owns the video if for faces on it. That's right. It's a great way of preventing piracy. Or if there is a problem with piracy, you can say, There's my face, it is obviously my video. And finally, I think it is great for everyone to get in front of camera because it normalizes the standard of beauty. There was a ridiculous standard of beauty these days. And I'll be honest, this is my deep, deep thought. But I think if more normal people with normal jobs and more normal lives get in front of the camera. It'll help counterbalanced what I think has gone to an extreme. So I think it's important that everyone, no matter who you are or what your background is, gets in front of the camera to standardize what people actually look like. This isn't about being a beauty queen. This is about powertrain, who you are and showing your beautiful character in front of the camera.
3. The Big Secret You Need to Know: Alright, so what is the ultimate secret in being in front of the camera? What is the theme that can set you apart? What is the thing that can make you get over your insecurities and get passive. All the issues that you might have been in front of the camera. I don't think you're going to like the answer, but it's going to be the truth. So I'm going to be honest. One, I can't hear you insecurity as you have with your looks in a small course like this. That's gonna take some counseling and time on a couch with a paid professional. Ok. And I'll be honest, I have my own issues with my appearance. I of course have things that I don't like about it. But here's the ultimate secret when it comes to being on camera. I do it anyway. We need to address the elephant in the room because people, especially women, we tend to happen securities with how we look. There are things that we want to tweak or fix or we like to put things off. Like, Oh, I'll wait till I lose five more pounds to do this. I don't want you to. Honestly, the biggest secret to being beautiful in front of the camera is just being confident and owning it. And this actually doesn't just extend to the camera, it extends to the life in general. I've actually done some reading on women in history on one of them was Cleopatra, and who was known as, as great grand seductress. But she wasn't necessarily the most beautiful woman in Egypt. She was the most confident. I've actually heard this multiple times that women, when they walk into a room and they own the room. Typically it's not because they're the most beautiful, they are the most confident. So how do you get competence in front of the camera? Well, there are certainly physical tips and tricks that I will give you to make you feel more comfortable in front of the camera. But ultimately it's one of those. You just have to fake it till you make it. And I know this isn't the answer that you want to hear. You want to know what the big grand secret is to being competent. You have fake it till you make it. So I don't want you to wait until your hair is done. I don't want you to wait until you've lost whatever that magic number is in your head, you just need to do it. I've been in front of the camera where I've been, you know, eight months pregnant or post baby, which believe me, is not a good look. It takes me a couple years to get normal looking after having a child. I've had roots down to here. Just anything you can nitpick at. I still do it and I still did it no matter how I looked. Because ultimately, I wanted to make sure that I was producing videos that were fun and friendly. And part of that is having a human face on it. So that's the grand secret. Don't wait til something is tweaked or fixed. Just get your cute little booty in front of the camera and smile. Because honestly, that is half of it. And the rest of the stuff is stuff I'm gonna teach you. But ultimately, it's just getting in front of the camera and owning it. And I believe you can do it.
4. Lab: How do I do this?: All right, so it's all well and good for me to say, Just do it. But what if you are truly terrified to be in front of the camera? Well, I'm gonna teach you a technique that has worked for decades for athletes and actors and speakers. And I'm sure it'll work for you. Before you even get in front of the camera. I need you to sit down and in your mind's eye, visualize you getting in front of the camera and looking good, feeling competent, feeling comfortable. You need to think through it and visualize it perhaps a few times, and then go and do it. This technique has been proven to make you be able to perform better once you actually physically perform the act. So it's okay. Sit down and I want you just to close your eyes and focus and nice quiet place, which is kind of hard if you're a mom. I want you to focus and I want you to see yourself going through your lines, see yourself getting everything set up, see yourself in front of the camera, and being comfortable, not feeling any anxiety, feeling like you own it, you got it. You can do this. So this is your homework. If this is something that you really feel anxious about, I want you to sit down and visualize this a few times and then go and try it. You can do it.
5. Pre Production Prep for Talent: Yeah, just sec pre-production. It's important. Alright, so when it comes to filling yourself or whether you're going on camera, you do actually need to do some pre-production, whether you're the crew or not. Now if you are the cruel course, you're naturally going to be doing pre-production. But if you are the talent meaning of the thing, the person in front of the camera, you need to understand what you'll be seeing. Now, it's honestly depends on what kind of style that you like. Do you like to just go off of an outline? And that's what I like to do here. I have my outline, it kinda has bullet points and that's how I like to talk. Or do you need it scripted out and you just need to kinda go over lines. It's a personal preference. It's completely up to you. But I have to tell you as someone who has been in front of the camera and behind the camera. Everyone appreciates that when the talent knows what they're talking about and has purposefully practice before they even get in front of the camera because it saves oodles and oodles of time. So know what you're gonna say even before you get in front of the camera and practice it. And we're going to talk a little bit more about how you can practice it. But know what you're talking about. Act it out and you're cruel. Thank-you. Even if that crew is just you hit on my bulletpoints. Net's what's coming up next. Rehearsal. Should be good.
6. How to Rehearse for the Lens: So we touched on this a little bit in the last video, but I'm going to kind of expand on it in this one, which is practicing before you ever step in front of the camera, what can you do to kind of get comfortable and kind of get used to how you're supposed to look and that sort of thing. The first thing is talk to yourself in the mirror. Yes, you will seem like a crazy person and yes, your kids will think you're weird, but you know what? It works. So take some time and go over it and talk to yourself in the mirror so you can see your expressions and get used to actually talking to an inanimate object, which is basically what a lenses on a camera. So you know what? Not so crazy is it? Another thing that you can do is just pull out your cell phone. It doesn't have to be a fancy setup with perfect lighting, blah, blah, blah. And just record yourself on your smart phone, phone a few times and get used to feeling that. It also helps with a few things like you get used to the sound of your voice because I know some people really don't like other voice sounds. The more you hear it, the more you'll get used to it and it won't bother you as much as funny as that seems. So practice in the mirror. Practice on your smart phone. The other thing I need to address, and I really hate this term, but I know when I say it, you'll know what I'm talking about. Which is I actually had this problem which is resting bitch face. Yeah, I hate that term. But it is a problem that I have because when I my face is relaxed, it I kinda have a frown or an upset look. And so when I'm on camera and I'm not speaking, I have to make a concentrated effort to have to smile or have a pleasant look on my face. And this is something else you need to practice if you have that problem like I do, is just practice having a pleasant smile while you aren't speaking. I know it'll just, it'll avoid you looking a little upset on camera. So practice on your smartphone, practice in the mirror, and practice smiling pleasantly when you aren't actively speaking. Those are great ways to make sure that when you get in front of the camera, you are ready. Now, if you are going to be unlike a live television show where there's another person there. Yeah, I actually recommend walking through what your segment will be. Acting to air, just talking to the invisible person. So you're used to it. And when you get on to the set for television, you'll be comfortable and you'll have kind of mentally watched through it a few times. Trust me, it will do wonders for you on live TV.
7. Lab: Bullet Points or Lines?: All right, so your homework is to figure out how your script works for you. What works for you? Is it bullet points or is it lines? And you need to decide this early on because this will kind of help streamline your process down the line. Being talent. So are you bulletpoints person or you aligns person, try both and see how it works for you, and try it in front of the camera. Do bullet points work? Or does basically memorizing lines work for you? You need to try it out now, don't worry about setting up lights or having a mic or that sort of thing. Just, you know, stick your camera and a little tripod and try doing it both ways to the camera. So that's your homework. I want you to figure out what works best for you. Bullet points or lines, because that'll make things a lot easier down the line that you, when you know what your production processes as the talent.
8. Looking Good on Camera: I wanted to preface this next segment that it is advice that you do not have to follow any of this. But these are little tips and tricks that I found to help on look a little better on camera. Now, I need to emphasize that this is all superficial stuff. But I found for me, part of me being competent on camera is as appearing as my best self, as best as I can. And so all these little tips and tricks I'm showing you are a great way to help improve how you physically look on camera. Do you have to follow them? Absolutely not. And at the end of the day, I really want to emphasize that you need to look like you, not a version of angel that be kinda weird and a little creepy. So take this advice as a grain of salt. You're welcome to use it or not. But ultimately, I want you to be comfortable on camera. And part of that for me is knowing how to do my makeup and how to address to make myself look as nice as possible.
9. Color Matters: We're gonna start on wardrobe. But then the first thing we're going to start as kinda Georgia 101, which is colored. Now, it's interesting to me that people sometimes don't pay attention to this and this actually makes a big difference with just basically your skin tone and whether you look sicker, not on camera, which is the color that you're wearing. And odds are that the color that you look good in, you have a lot of in your closet. And so I'm gonna kinda show you a basic, I guess, test when it comes to, does this color look good on me or not? So I have this shirt here. It's kind of an army green. Not my best color. It doesn't really do a lot for my hair or my skin tone and kinda actually makes me look a little yellow. Like doesn't look so bad. Well, yeah, I'm wearing a ton of makeup which helps. But let me show you a color that I know looks really good on me and you'll see the difference. Eyes pop a little bit more. My hair looks nicer. It's interesting how just changing out the color can actually make you look better. And this is really important, especially if you don't like to wear a lot of makeup. It's key that you wear a color that looks good on you. Because even if you're not wearing a ton of makeup, a colour can actually make you look better or it can actually make you look worse. So pay attention to colors. Now let's say I really, really wanted to wear this shirt. And easy fix would be to put a black cardigan over it and it would kind of help with the skin tone issue or just go with the Chabad. Now, something else I need you to be aware of is that if you do something like change your hair color, which I've been known to do. Colors will change that look good on you. So pay attention, especially if you do a dramatic change like that. Colors, they make a difference.
10. Wardrobe Concepts: We're going to start off talking about a few things now, the first thing I'm going to talk about is Wardrobe. And worship is important because it has to do with the whole look of how you present yourself, right? So my recommendation with poor job is that you do actually dress up a little bit for your audience. And I have a couple of reasons for this. Vs is that it shows your audience that you're going to dress up for them, okay, so, so consciously it kinda shows more respect. So that makes sense. Also, it helps you out psychologically as well. I read a long time ago that there were people working from home and this one particular company. And one of the rules that they add is that people had to get fully dressed for work, including putting on their shoes while they were working from home. And the reason for this is that they found that it actually increased productivity. I think it's actually increases productivity for you on camera because it helps you keep your energy up because you have actually physically prepared yourself to be on camera. So first off, let's talk a little bit about wardrobe. Now your job is an interesting thing because it is a reflection of our personality. But there are a few things I think you need to be aware of when you're on camera. First of all, you don't want your wardrobe to distract from your face, okay? When you're on-camera, The most important part of course, is this. This is the Moneymaker, right? And so you don't want something in your wardrobe to be distracting away from this. So it's actually better to kinda keep things a little more simple. The other piece of advice I'm going to give you when it comes to your word joke is that use colors that look good on you and stay away from really light colors. For example, whites and creams, that sort of thing because they can mess with the camera. And very often if you're going to be on a television show, they will ask you not to wear that color specifically because it has to do with fixing the exposure on the camera. So darker colors tend to do better. Also watch out for patterns. If a pattern is too tight, too small, or too busy, it'll cause something that we call them worry pattern on at which you're gonna get that kind of weird pattern. Kind of I don't know how to put it holographic looking echo on that you can get. Now while modern-day cameras are a little bit better with it, it's still can actually happen, so it's best to avoid really, really tiny, tiny patterns. The other piece of advice, many pieces of advices here. Some additional advice that I'm going to give you is that you need to stay away from jewelry that can mess with the mike. I know big necklaces can be very popular and they can actually look very nice, imprinted, afraid, and frame the face. They can also really mess with the mike. I once actually was speaking at a place and I had a big Nicholson and it kept banging the mighty, drove people crazy including myself. So stay away from big Nicholas's, especially they're going to mess with your love. Now, what I like to do is instead of having a big necklace, is I like to find shirts. They have an interesting neckline. So like this one has an asymmetrical neckline because it looks really nice. It frames the face, but it's not too busy. So I'm gonna show you a couple of pieces of clothing that kind of echo what I'm talking about. Okay, so I'm gonna show you some examples here and you've actually probably see me in these. But this has a nice tie at the neckline. Simple looks good. Cowl neck lines look good on everybody. So strongly recommend capitals if you can find one. Again, this is sweater would just kind of a different neckline. Now this shirt actually has a very, very straight, simple neckline and this would look good for it's a nice piece of jewelry just as long as it's not banging your mic. Again, something with a bow and then a nice B with gathers, just to give you an idea of what to look for. Now, I understand you. I can I don't have money for newer Joe fold and that's okay. But you have friends you can borrow stuff from, right? Of course you do. That's what we can do, right? The other thing is, is that it's okay. Well, these are recommendations. If this is not how you dress the dress that way, you like. I am a T-shirt girl. That is totally acceptable. But T-shirt needs speaking. T-shirt needs not to affect your camera badly. Okay. Don't shouldn't like master the exposure or or be blown out. Does that make sense? So it needs to be the right color. Nice B, a right cut. This is, this is a personal pet peeve of mine as a soloist. So many people do not know how to dress themselves today. They don't know how to adjust for their body type. And if you wear something that is big and boxy, it's going to make you look heavier. Ok, it's gonna make you look heavier in real life. And it's gonna make you look heavier on camera. Something that is nicely fitted, that drapes nicely on the body will always make you look slimmer. Every single time.
11. The Makeup Difference: So is it really important to do your makeup for camera? Well, it's kind of up to you. So I am standing here in front of camera without any makeup on. I'm not even wearing powder, which is something that I never do. But I wanted to show you the vast difference that make up makes when you're on-camera, especially in a lighting setup like this one where it's a full lighting setup. And the reason that it's important to wear makeup is that one you don't look completely washed out. It adds a lot more structure to your base and helps bring forward your eyes especially. And eyes are really important on camera and we'll talk about that in another section. Yes, makeup makes a big difference when you're on-camera, especially under lights. So how should you do your makeup on camera? Well, honestly, it's a lot of it is a personal preference. I'm going to give you some advice on this one, but you kinda have to go from there. But first, before we get into the advice, I need you to answer a question in your mind. Let's say you have gotten invited to a national show like the rachel ratio. Or you're gonna do a segment on The Today Show in the morning. Awesome, right? How would you expect to present yourself? Would you wear makeup? If the answer is well, yes, of course I would. Then why would you treat your videos with any less value? And this is something I really want you to get around your head, is that part of you standing out from the crowd is reaching that professional level of video. And part of the professional standard that is set is that people on camera where makeup. All right. Before we don't I don't need to get into them in MSM and stuff like that because you know what? Men, they also wear makeup on camera. It's true. So this isn't about a gender thing. This is about how do not look like you are pale on camera thing. There are some tricks that you can use. The first is where a base that doesn't have an SPF in it. I like to use HD makeup from so far. That's my personal preference. The reason you don't want a base with an SPF in it is because the SPF will purposely reflect the light away from your skin and you don't want to look shiny on camera. So something without an SPF, You also want, of course, blush because you want to look like you have some colored and helps to find the cheeks and neutral tones for your eye shadow tend to do best. Now, maybe you don't like neutral tones, maybe you like to do make it that's little more outlandish or a little more fashionable or cutting edge than I do. That's totally okay. Just make sure that you define your eyes well and wear mascara, eyelash extensions, or false eyelashes. Because that is key for looking good on camera is bringing attention to the eyes. The eyes are so important on camera and you'll learn more about that in another segment. But eyelashes with some color on them. Really important to bring your face to life on camera. Now, let's say you're like, you're not a big eye shadow person or you're not a big makeup person? Well, powder blush and mascara. Okay. At a minimum. And actually if you're under the age of 18, I'm going to recommend that that just be at as well. Because you still want to look young on camera and adding too much makeup will make you look older. Which kind of takes away from you looking young on camera, which is one of your advantages I would say is it speaks to your age group and you need to look like you belong to that age group. And piling on the make-up. Not necessarily a good idea. Alright, so if makeup is the professional standard, you want to make a professional video that will stand out. Keep to the professional standard. Have a base that doesn't have an SPF in it. Use neutral Matt colors that look good on you. Powder, blush and mascara or false eyelashes, their eyelash extensions. And that's really it for looking good on camera. Now are their fancy tricks and contouring and things you can do like that. Yes. But let's not over complicate things. Stick to a good, clean look. And there are lots of tutorials on YouTube when it comes to beauty. Decide what looks best on you and stick with it. But make sure you have some color on your face. Because especially when you're in a lighting setup like this, you're going to need it. Now, let's say you're not going to be in a lighting setup like this. You're going to be outside. The makeup isn't going to be as intense because you don't have light shining directly on you. It'll look better actually, if it's a little more natural if you are filming outside of her inside. Yeah. You kinda need it on and it needs to be on a little darker than you're comfortable with. Typically. That's usually what I end up telling my clients when they come in for me to film them as that vascular makeup looks and I'd usually say you look great. It just needs to be at touch darker. Now, one little trick that I will tell you as something that beauty bloggers called strobe beam. But you know what? It's actually an old theater trick, which is you put a slightly lighter color base here along with sheiks along the nose and outlining the nose. And what this does is it brings what I call the mask forward. And like I said, eyes are very important. That's just one way to accentuate them and to bring them forward.
12. Lab: Screen Test: Okay, so your homework for this section is to kind of figure out how you're going to look in front of the camera. And I want you to run a screen test. Now in the old days. And actually they still do this for big productions is that they will run something called a screen test for hair and makeup. Where they have the main character, whoever's doing it, they get all dressed up and they do their hair and makeup. And then they actually fill them to see how it looks on camera. And they'll even tweak the look a little bit from there. So if you're feeling unsure about how you look, or about a shirt or about makeup, that sort of thing. Do a screen test. Do your hair and makeup. Just turn on your iPhone and see how you feel like you look. Really, really simple. And this will give you an idea of what you might want to tweak or do differently. You like, Oh, I don't really like how my hair looks there or I could do my I shot a little darker, things like that. So you kind of get an idea of what you look like on-camera when you have your hair and makeup done, especially if it's something that you're not used to doing. So your homework is do a screen test and see how you look.
13. Getting in Front of the Camera: Eyes: Okay. Yes, I'm a little closer than I usually am, but we're gonna talk about the most important thing when it comes to being on camera. So in college, I took actually several film acting classes. And the reason I did this is because I felt that if I wanted to direct movies, I should also know what it's like to be on the other side of the camera. And I'm really glad I did. One of the most important things that I learned in my film acting classes is that when it comes to film, it's very contained. Meaning when you, when you have to do to its very broad big strokes, right? Because you want people to be able to see you in the cheap seats. When it comes to movies, It's all about the face, particularly the eyes. The eyes are one of the most important assets you have when you are on camera. Now, what does that mean? It means a couple of things. First of all, it's important to where I make up. Its important to wear mascara at a minimum. If you want to take it up a notch. Yeah, false lashes are extensions. It's a good idea. Make sure that your eye makeup is helping open up your eye and bring attention to it and not blend it back in as I'm extent. So make up is actually important, an eyeliner. The other thing that is important, and you've probably seen me, probably caught me already doing this is I've checked my monitor which is just to the side of the camera, is where your Eileen is. You need to make sure that you're talking to the lens. Because the minute I'm not talking to the lens and I'm talking to my monitor. You can tell even though it's just a few inches to the side, you can tell. So it's really important to talk to that lens. And I know can be a little intimidating because it's just this piece of glass that's colon blinking piece of glass. You're supposed to talk to you. Like it's a person. And it's true. But there are a few things that you can do to make it more personable. First of all, talk to yourself in the mirror. That way you'll actually get used to talking to glass has been, is that sounds when you talk to yourself in the mirror, it gives you that opportunity to kind of get used to one feeling a little silly and to talking to something that is inanimate. Okay, so talking to yourself in a mirror. Very good idea. The other thing is, is that, you know, maybe put a person's face just to the side or below or around the camera. So you actually remind yourself that you're talking to a person. This is the really cool thing about film and it actually involves time travel when you think about it. I'm here in time and space travel. We think about it. I'm here in Utah and I'm filming this on this morning. And you'll be able to watch this in the future at some future date and see what I'm saying. Because I'll go through editing and then I'll put it up and it'll be in the future. You need to kind of wrap your head around what you're doing and who you're talking to. And this will help you speak to the camera like their person. So you need to start getting used to it. Now, couple of other things you can do. Want to talk to yourself in the mirror, like I already mentioned. You know, just pull out your iPhone or your smartphone and just practice looking at the lens, the little tiny dot that lens right there and speaking to it and not speaking to the monitor part of it. Okay. You know what I'm talking about? And just start practicing looking right there because it'll help you focus on where you're supposed to look. It's a lot more piercing when you look at someone directly through the lens than it is to decide on the monitor. Alright? So the eyes get used to where your lines, a sidebar makes sure that you actually have some makeup on them because it will actually help them pronounce more and get used to using them for expression when you're on camera.
14. Personality on Camera: Personality on camera? Yeah, I'm trying to harden. It shows yeah. Let's talk about certain personality. Showing you personality on camera when you're building yourself is really hard because I'm worried about the lights, I'm worried about the audio, I'm worried about what are the lines I'm supposed to say. And then on top of that, you want me to actually have a personality? It's really hard. I mean, it's hard enough to get all that setup and then to say your lines, right? But how do you say your lines without sounding like a robot or a total cardboard person? Well, you'll let yourself mess up a bit. Show I'm personality on camera is about relaxing a little bit, letting who you are shine through as well, being a little silly and being a little imperfect. It's also about keeping your energy up because no one likes to talk to someone who's kind of slanted. That's not interesting. You're interesting. And so with practice and a little bit of silliness, your personality can show through. The other thing that can really help with allowing your personality to come through is talk to the lens, like it's your friend. This is your dear friend that you want to talk and communicate with. How would you do it? How would you appear? How would you sound? Would you sound perfect and say all your lines perfectly? No, you wouldn't. Your speech would be a little more relaxed. You wouldn't be worried if you mess up on something that you said you just keep going. That's what it is when it comes to showing your personality. Be silly, be little imperfect. It's okay. And talk to your friend. The lens. You do that. You're amazing and beautiful personality will shine through.
15. Body Language on Set: We're going to talk body language. My matters when you're on camera. It's a little awkward. When you're on camera. How you stand and how you act actually sends messages to your audience. And just like if you were a speaker in a public form, it's also matters how your body language is when you're on camera. And one of the most important things to tell you is that you need to keep your body language open. And what is open body language? Well, I'm not blocking you with my arms and do this. I just it screams, go away. Another thing is, are constantly like fiddling with your hair can be really annoying to audiences. So we're gonna go over a couple of things. Now. The first one I just mentioned was keep your body language opening, which means don't cross your arms. Don't slouch. You need a stand up straight and you need to use your diaphragm to hold yourself up. Ok, this will make your audience scene that you're engaged. And if you're engaged, there'll be engaged. You don't want to block them with folding your arms because this says go away. But what do you do with your hands? Because I know that can be a little awkward. Now. I don't have a problem gesturing with my hands. But sometimes it's like, what do I do? You can actually just kinda set them in front of you. Just like this. It still keeps your body open, but it's not as operatives just having your hands loose or just kind of hanging to decide. And that's another thing is try to keep your hands engaged and speak a little bit with your hands as well. Another thing is, and this drives me crazy that some speakers do this and some people on camera, They do this, a consciousness, they rock, they will just be assay. It's kind of annoying, right? Moving back and forth. It's not helpful and it's weird and it can make people be uncomfortable and honestly just not even want to watch the video. So you want to plant your back foot? I like to actually put most of my weight on my block on my back foot and then have my other foot in front of it with my knees slightly bent. Make sure you don't lock your knees. I don't want you to pass out, right? And this is a good way to stand because one, you're, you're ensuring that Wendy is bent. And it's also a lot harder to rock. That way. You can't rock back and forth. Okay. Again, your diaphragm holding yourself up, I'm actually going to recommend that you stand if you're doing what I call a talking head shot like this. Standing is good because it keeps the energy up. Ok. It's really easy when you're sitting to kinda slouch and get a little lazy. Can't do that while you're standing, you gotta keep your energy up. So especially if you're doing a shot like this, standing is the way to go. Now, what do you do if you are sitting or if you're doing kind of an interview type thing. Well, you're going to want to sit, ladies, your ankles crossed if you're in a skirt, right? And you can just set your hands in your lap. But again, you don't want to fold your arms. Folding your arms is bad. Don't do that. I'm also just like I said, Be aware of like wiping your face to other stuff like that. You should really take care of anything that could be bugging you before you even turn on the camera. Most importantly, is just try to hold still, keep your energy up and keep your body frame open. So you're open to your audience. It just sends a subconscious signals that you are open and receptive and warm.
16. Self filming: Make Editing Easier: You thought filming yourself was tough. Try editing yourself. Let's see if I can show you some tricks to make it a little easier. Now some of the tricks you can do before you even get to editing, and the first trick is actually marking where you messed up. So let's say you're talking to the camera and you messed up and you need to start over again. Well, a good way you can make it easier to edit is just to mark the spot by doing this. That's where you messed up so you know exactly where you need to edit. Now, another trick is if, let's say you mess up or you're in the middle of something and you totally mess up, but you're gonna move, which I've been known to do. Smile, and then start over again. It's important that you do this because it's very easy to kinda talk over yourself or make it very hard to edit. It's important to have that pause there because it actually makes the edit a lot cleaner down the line. So pay attention to that. And then start over again. And that'll make editing look a lot better. Now, let's say we're finally to the editing part. Be kind to yourself. I know it's hard when you edit yourself and it's very easy to make fun of yourself. And I have been known to do this, but treat yourself like you would a client, would you necessarily be totally making fun of a client while you're editing them? No, not necessarily. You'd be working hard to make them look as nice as possible. So be kind to yourself while you're editing. Try not to make fun of yourself a whole lot and also don't rush through it. I think sometimes we are more likely to take time on other people than we are for ourselves and go odds just me, I don't care. I'm just going to edit it. Be kind to yourself while you're editing. Take a little time, present yourself as best as you can and edit it nicely. Don't disregard yourself again, treat yourself like a client. And finally, my last trick and editing is a deep dark secret of mine. But yeah, I'm, I'm going to share it with you. You know, sometimes your skin doesn't always look the best on camera. And you wonder how to movie stars have that amazing perfect skin. Well they cheat, they use filters on it. And they're using a filter called Cosmo Cosmos, a program that I use because, well, for two reasons, really. One, it is great with skin tones. It can make skin tone that looks a little too right on camera look less red. And if you've ever done color correction, you know that skin tones are like the hardest thing to color, correct? And this program does it. The other thing it can do is it can smooth out the skin just a little bit to make it look really nice on camera. If it's some nice little glow, is just a nice little tweak that does add production value. Now, can you overdo it with this program? Absolutely, you can weigh overdo it and make you look kind of fuzzy and a little scary. So you need to light hand with it. But it is a nice option that you can have just to make things look a little nicer and a little more movie star quality. Ask. So there you go. There's my deep dark secret. So while you are filming, mark the spot. Take a breath, smile, and start over again. Be kind to yourself while you're editing and treat yourself as you would a client. And finally, Yaffe, you want that Movistar scan? It is possible, it's just a software program.
17. Lab: Self filming and Focus: So this lab is going to be a little different today. I'm actually going to walk you through the entire process of self-healing because it's kind of a pain. Now I've gotten all my light setup, so I'm just kinda double-checking my hair and makeup before we get started. Good enough. All right. So we're going to head over to my studio. Now. I understand that not everyone has the option of having a studio, but it's nice if you can get it. All right. And as you can see, it is not super glamorous. You know, we've got weights on the floor and stuff like that. But what I do have is my three-point lighting setup with a ring light. And I have to tell you that green light is awesome and makes you look amazing. So that's my key there. And backlight in my lovely backdrop. Okay, so the process of cell filming, it's kind of basically going over a checklist and then we're going to step over here to the camera and we're gonna kinda start going over what that checklist is. Now, the first thing is, is going to be audio. Now, I'm already wearing my law, had that on and I have it as you can see on my camera right there. And what I'm gonna do is I'm going to check my levels and I have that up right now. And I'm just making sure that my levels look good and they do look good. And you wanna peaking in the yellows, you don't want them going to the red. That's bad. Okay? And that is a good. You don't want your audio to be too soft and you don't want it to be too loud also. So there we go. That's a really good point and I will warn you, you will test your audio, you go test, test, test. You will always speak louder once you start getting on cameras. So just be aware of that. Okay. So now that I've set that up, I'm going to Let's see if I go here. I wanted, I know all my settings, I've got that set up, my exposures and manual. You need to know how to do that properly so your exposure is correct. All that good stuff. Okay? But we're not gonna cover that in this class because that's not what this class is about. It's about being on camera off. You want to learn about cameras and apps. You're gonna have to take the camera class. Alright, so now they have all of that. I also have it set up. So it will take my timer. Now, the timer is extremely important and I will show you here my timer here in just a second. If you set up over here. This timer is a lifesaver. Lifesaver, because this is what I use to focus. And the cool thing is, is that it has this one button on the back is this handy switch. And this switch makes it either take a picture out of focus and take a picture or just start recording. And I'll just start recording. It doesn't automatically focus. So you're going to want to focus it, take a picture first and then do that. Alright, so to give you an idea of my setup, I can see myself in the monitor right there. And I kinda need to adjust my camera so my Headspace is good. I'm going to do that. And it's gonna take a little tweaking back and forth. All right. There we go. Yeah. That's probably good right about there. And I can kind of go up and down to kind of adjust it. So I'm going to let you get a bird's eye view from over here. And what I'm doing is I'm going to set this, so it'll take a picture. I'm going to point it out my camera. Taking a picture. And now I'm going to flip the switch and I can start recording. Now it's really important that you understand that once you start recording, that if you move at all, it can change your focus. So make sure that your planet. Now the other thing that you need to be aware of when you're self filming is that accidents happen, issues happen. So one of the most important things that you can do, I'm gonna show you here in a second. All right. I feed it again, so I stopped recording. Now. Yes, there's lots of bringing back and forth when you do this. I need to go and I need to check it. So what I'm going to do is I'm going to hit play. Okay. Looks good. We're good. And it looks like my battery is about to renounce. So kinda switch that out. Alright, so that gives you an idea of what it takes to sell film. You need to go over your checklist. You need to make sure your audio is writing. You'd make sure lightings right. Need to double check your footage once you do it. In addition to all of that, you need to forget about it and just talk to the camera. Focusing on yourself is probably one of the hardest things you can do. Now, one thing I will tell you as far as cameras lighting SCO is that you want your f-stop to be a three and up because that way your depth of field isn't so shallow. If you sweat a little bit, you're not going to go out of focus. The other thing is the most important thing to be in focus or the eyes. Yes, eyes, super important. They need to be in focus. So make sure that even if everything else is out of focus, those aren't. And you'll be fine.
18. Lab: Lenses and Looks: Alright, so in this lab we are going to discuss lenses. And lenses actually can really affect how your face looks. Right along with lighting. Lighting is half of the equation, the lenses the other half. And so we're gonna talk about that. Now. The first thing I need to discuss with you is that if you've ever seen your face on a webcam or maybe your iPhone and con man-made piece looks kinda weird. You're not crazy. It actually does look a little different because of the lens that is on that device. Now, typically, typically these devices have a wide angle lens and wide-angle lenses will distort features a bit. Now sometimes this is to an advantage like I can tell you right now. This wide angle lens makes my eyes look really big, which is excellent. But I also don't like how long it makes my nose Look. It's not the best look for me. So given take on that one. But what is the lens that makes you most look like what you see in the mirror. Let's discuss that. I have an example of footage for you at all out. It can change your focus, so make sure that your planet. Now the other thing that you need to be aware of when you're self filming is that alright, I showed that earlier today. I haven't changed my hair, I've been changed my makeup or what I'm wearing. But you can see how we look very different. And that's lighting and the lens. Now, the lens that I shot that on is something called a 50 millimeter lens. And this lens is awesome for multiple reasons. One, this is a Landsat. It's gonna make you look most like what you see when you look in the mirror, okay? This is the one that's going to give you the most honest reflection. The other cool thing is, this is one of the most affordable lenses you can buy. Awesome, right? A $125 if you want to start at the base model. And you know, for a lens that's really, really affordable, you can also run it from a place called borrowed lenses. Are lenses.com $15 for seven days. Highly recommend renting a lens before you purchase it. Now, a 50 millimeter is a prime lens. Now, what a prime lenses, if you're not familiar with lenses, is a lens it doesn't zoom in and out. Basically you can focus it, but that point is what you get. So typically if you want to change the framing, you have to either move the camera or yourself. 50 millimeter lens, really good and very flattering. Another alternative that you might have access to using 85 millimeter lens, that will also work. However, you get anything below a 50 millimeter lens and you're gonna start getting facial distortion and you're going to be wondering, do I really look like that? No, you don't. It's the lens. So I'm gonna show you, here's a really good example. And this also is a good example to show you of what writing does as well. You can kinda see the difference in the lighting and the camera quality here. Now, couple of things that's interesting to note is that my face does look a little broader on the 50 millimeter part of that is the camera placement. Camera placements better here I was trying to move really fast today and I didn't have the camera up as high as I2, camera up higher, Little bit more flattering on the face. Now you can also see how different my nose looks, right? And this is one of the reasons why I don't like wide lenses because it broadens out my nose and my nose doesn't need any help with that. So it's interesting to see the difference that it makes not the other cool thing is that while the wide lens also broadens out my nose, it does make my eyes look a little bit bigger. You know, personally, I'm gonna go with a 50 millimeter every time just because I like the fact that I feel like my facial features look more even on that lens. But this is something that you as the person who was filming herself needs to be aware of. So you can decide what lens you look best on. Some people they look amazing under wide-angle lenses. On one of them. People they look better under a 50 every single time. Play with it, figure it out. But I am going to tell you the 50-50 is a sure bet for making you look like what you see in the mirror. Lenses. They are important. Play around with it.
19. Tricks to Going Live: Going live can be intimidating. There are so many things that can go wrong. So how do you plan for it? How can you make yourself look professional and competent when, you know, it's a little more casual format. I have some plans and some tricks for you, and I think you're gonna like go. So going life seems to be a requirement on social media these days. Facebook loves it, it gives it such an awesome reach. And there are many other ways to go live and go live on YouTube. And of course there's other platforms. So it is actually something that you need to kind of be able to do. But how can you do it and be comfortable? Well, practice those hosts that you see on TV every day and it looks like I have to be so easy. It's because they do it every day and they practice and they rehearse. So one, we're back to rehearsal again. Practice what you're gonna do before you go live. Also, you know what? Test it out on your own personal Facebook site before you go live on your page. It's a great way to have a test run with the whole life thing without having to do it in front of your fan base. And then I'm gonna give you the ultimate secret. Have a producer. All those live shows that you see, they have an earbud in their ear with a producer telling them things, giving them insight, even telling them jokes, things that they can say. You, you think those people are that Whitney on their own, they're not there. Producer is amazing and behind the scenes and doing a lot of that. So having a producer like that can be an excellent way to help you look really good live. There's a couple of ways that you can do this. You can have what I call a ringer, which is when you go live, make sure that you have your friend. They're watching you to ask you comments and two, you likes and all that sort of thing. And have them make sure that they like asking leading questions. Like, for example, if I was doing a video on Sewing, they're like, oh Angel, that's an interesting stitch. What stitches that how would I do that on my sewing machine? That would then prompt me to explain that a little farther or further I should say, and then give more details since I might have skipped a step for something like that. Excellent way of doing that. Another way you can do it is that you can actually just plug the headphones into your phone, call them up, hide it in your ear, have your hair height it, and then they can actually be talking to you over your ear bud. Now I'm going to warn you if you're not used to that, having another voice in your head can throw you off a little bit. So try it and see if you like it personally, I think having that person just commenting when you're going live is enough to kind of prompt you move you along. Another thing is, is that embraced the imperfection of it. You are not going to be perfect on camera and it is. Okay. That's kind of the fun of being live, is that it doesn't have that gloss, that sheen to it. It is what it is and you just got to roll with it. Another thing is, is that often people when they get nervous and they're on-camera, especially if they're live. The ten to start to speak really fast and it can get kind of mattered when they're talking. That's not good. You actually need to speak slower and it's something you actually kinda have to force yourself to do. It prevents a few things. First of all, if you speak slower, it tends to eliminate what I just did, which is an a or an a. And that takes a little practice and it's something that I personally work on myself is avoiding the, um, or an wanting to fill it. It's better Actually just to pause. Then they fill it with an Amarna. So speak a little slower and it tends to eliminate those. Have a plan before you go live. Don't just see, you know, like I feel like going live and doing stuff. A plan in place, have an outline happens, script. Know what you're going to talk about and present to your audience. And then I'll do a lot to preproduction makes you look professional. I keep saying it, it's true. So have a producer or a ringer there to kind of prompt and project along. I know what you're going to talk about, slowdown and take your time and embrace the imperfection. And you'll do great going live. And don't worry about looking about the lens all the time if you're clicking stuff around on your computer because there's no way to avoid it. It's okay.
20. Dealing with Trolls: So you put up your video and someone just said something kind of in the comment section. How are you going to handle it? Unfortunately, the downside of being on camera is that people will comment on you being on camera. And it's not always very nice. Sometimes they'll comment on your appearance and times. They'll comment on your speech patterns. Sometimes they'll call ma non weird random selfie like I don't get it. I've gotten Commons on my appearance, on my eyebrows, really fine, whatever. And so how do you know what is genuine criticism that you actually need to maybe listened to to improve yourself? And what does someone just being a jerk? Well, personally I feel anyone who's commenting on my appearance, they can just get kicked to the curb. Delete. I do not need your bad vibes. Okay. So if anyone has commented on your appearance, you have my permission to just delete the stupid comment. Alright? If someone is criticizing you are like saying you're onto camera too much or you didn't show enough of how to do a step, something like that. That's worth listening to and leaving there. Alright? But anything that makes you not feel good or it just rattling around your brain and keeps bothering you. Feel free to delete it. This is your space, your zone. You don't have to take any crap from anybody. Alright. Trust me. It's best that way. Now, if it's something that is genuinely good criticism by all means, listen to it and improve. But anything that's hateful or spiteful or just dumb, delete it. There is no special place for you where like, oh, she didn't delete any her comments. You get the special prize. Not that's not how it works. Just delete it, and move on. All right. Now, the other thing that I find really funny is that everyone considers himself an expert on-camera work because they watch TV. Now, if someone is criticizing you and it's really harmful and you don't even understand what it is. Odds are, they don't even have a background in film. You don't have to listen to them. What you do need to listen to is your inner compass. If it is telling you that could be improved, or if it's telling you why, then delete it. Charles will happen no matter what. Let go and move on. Because I know you're doing your best.
Angel Peterson, You Can Do This!
