You look at yourself in the mirror all the time – when you brush your teeth, put on your makeup, fix your hair – the firmest impression you have of yourself is the one you see every day. It is common for people to feel disconcerted when they see themselves in a setting they are not used to.
This has been doubly true for clients who have had to set up their own interviews at home during these socially distanced times. At Production Attic, we have been helping a lot of our client’s self-shoot. Although it looks like things are opening up, we value the lessons we learned when helping people film themselves over lockdown.
When getting ready for an on-camera interview – it best to keep these three things in mind:
- You are seeing a flipped version of yourself. When looking in the mirror, you are viewing your reflection. However, when you look at yourself on screen you are seeing yourself the way the rest of the world sees you. Although it may seem alien to you, rest assured, to everyone else you seem perfectly normal!
- Lens distortion can be fixed with the right angle. Lens distortion is common among selfie users. The wrong lens can distort certain features – often making them look larger than they are in real life. For a lot of people shooting on their phones and laptops over lockdown this produced the undesired effect. Our producers talk through the best angles to make sure lens distortion effect is minimised.
- Correct lighting is a must! This is especially tricky to achieve when working with items from home. At our end, we are able to direct our clients as to what looks best on screen. Although it might seem bright and oddly angled, we focus on what can be seen on the camera.
The most important thing to remember is that it is in the interest of the production team to make the client look their best! It has been a joy to help clients deliver their message over from remote locations and help them build their confidence in front of the camera.
