Please don't put a video of yourself on You Tube or your website if it's not high quality. A substandard piece tells potential clients or reporters that you will not pay attention to detail when you are interviewed or hired.
Here are a few easy-to-correct mistakes I'm seeing:
1. People looking around, coughing, swallowing before talking. How to fix: The camera is rolling, so start talking immediately. Or figure out how to edit the distracting material at the beginning.
2. People sitting or standing in front of bad backgrounds, such as cheap-looking paneling, cluttered desks, and a VHS-TV combo unit. If you're telling the world that you're high-tech enough to create a podcast, a VHS machine sends the opposite message. How to fix: find a one-color (not black or white) wall or book shelves that you can stand about six feet in front of for depth.
3. People sitting or standing in front of a window. This means you're "backlit" in photography terms, and we can't see your face. How to fix: Move so that the light source shines on your face, not on your back.
4. People leaning back in a chair. Aren't you engaged and passionate about the material you have to share? How to fix: Get in job interview mode for this... sitting up straight, weight slightly forward and ready for anything!
5. People looking everywhere but into the camera. This can make you look unfocused or shifty. How to fix: look straight into the camera.
Use these tips as a checklist and make sure your video passes every point before you post it.
Showing posts with label podcasting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label podcasting. Show all posts
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Tips for Better Podcasts and YouTube Videos
Newspapers may be dying, but news coverage is taking a new twist with many people broadcasting on the Internet. Here are a few tips to make your small screen debut look and sound more polished:
1. Practice before you post. Don't be in such a hurry to upload that the world sees your first-and worst-effort.
2. Pay attention to your background and attire. Some auto-focus cameras will put the flowers in the foreground in sharper focus than you are. Wear a solid color with non-distracting jewelry. Bookshelves or a backdrop are nice in the background, but you should be the main element.
3. Get as close to the microphone as you can to avoid a hollow sound. This may mean getting closer to the camera.
4. If you have to use notes, get them as close to the camera as you can. This will keep you from looking all around or being perceived as shifty-eyed.
5. Aim for vocal variety. Low energy or a monotone will bore your viewers. Let them see and hear your passion for your topic.
Last, consider hiring a coach to tell you what you are doing right and what you need to tweak. An objective third party can keep you from turning into one of those videos that's passed around for all the wrong reasons.
1. Practice before you post. Don't be in such a hurry to upload that the world sees your first-and worst-effort.
2. Pay attention to your background and attire. Some auto-focus cameras will put the flowers in the foreground in sharper focus than you are. Wear a solid color with non-distracting jewelry. Bookshelves or a backdrop are nice in the background, but you should be the main element.
3. Get as close to the microphone as you can to avoid a hollow sound. This may mean getting closer to the camera.
4. If you have to use notes, get them as close to the camera as you can. This will keep you from looking all around or being perceived as shifty-eyed.
5. Aim for vocal variety. Low energy or a monotone will bore your viewers. Let them see and hear your passion for your topic.
Last, consider hiring a coach to tell you what you are doing right and what you need to tweak. An objective third party can keep you from turning into one of those videos that's passed around for all the wrong reasons.
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