Lights - Camera - Action!
Like it or not 2020 has been the year we all became video stars as video calls have replaced most of our face to face meetings, there have been winners and losers adjusting to this new channel of communication. Humans live in a 3D world and as we interact with each other we exchange hundreds of “micro” cues most of which are subconscious, so if you have ever wondered why you feel so exhausted after a day on Zoom it’s because we are struggling to fill in all those missing cues. It requires much more of our attention and concentration when talking to a person who is reduced to pixels on a 2D screen.
Other senses are compromised; we have two ears but there is usually only one microphone, so we lose our binaural hearing. Add to that the limitations of the microphone, bandwidth, plus dealing with very compressed streamed audio and the result is that sense of disconnection with the world you sometimes experience with a heavy cold.
As if that wasn’t enough to contend with the winter months mean the daylight is constantly changing so you can look fab first thing in the morning, be a complete silhouette by lunchtime and Dracula by teatime! Then there is what I call Kilroy syndrome, where the top 50% of the frame is empty and we are effectively talking to a person’s forehead while admiring the wall behind them.
I’ve watched a charming and eloquent professor talking about wellbeing giving a very passable and menacing impression of one of the Kray twins close associates because he towered over the camera. While I am not suggesting this happens all the time it does beg the question as to why when attending a face to face meeting we take care in our appearance and first impressions but on zoom calls the lighting, camera angle, sound and framing so often gets ignored.
It’s worth understanding the simple things we can do to project the image we want the world to see. This is what lead me to create a members offer “Want to look and sound your best on Zoom calls?”around a review of your on-line image and persona, lighting, framing, sound, and performance.
As a very experienced video director, lighting cameraman and photographer making people look good has always been my job.
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I have seen many examples where just using the company’s logo to replace the background really hasn’t worked because it was never designed for that application, so another thing I can offer it to create on brand backgrounds that will look far more professional. This is Josh my excellent IFA, I was quickly able to create a custom background for his new on-line consultancy service.
A good tip is to get another participant to record your Zoom call, only then can you see yourself how others do and it may look and sound a little different to how it looked on your screen. Our perception of colour is based on other nearby colours and the ambient light, our brains sort all this out, but cameras don’t have brains which can lead to some spectacular skin tones when displayed next to others on the call.
You can see more of my work here https://chicustards.wordpress.com/ Email [email protected] or give me a call on 07831832439
Happy Zooming!