3 tips to get you camera-ready

The other day, my daughter and her friend spent the snow day at home making movies on our iPad. They created a story line, filmed each clip, uploaded it to iMovie, and created a trailer that looked both professional and fun. I can tell you that today, I still have no idea how to do that. I was really impressed!

For some of you who know me well, you know that I am not 100% comfortable in the spotlight, let alone on video camera. It has taken me a while to work up the courage and get comfortable with creating and putting out videos, social media updates, and communications for my business.

Over the last 6 months, as we’ve started putting out our newsletter and videos, I’ve become more comfortable with seeing myself on camera, reading from the teleprompter and hearing my voice on screen. I am amazed at how fast technology has changed and how fast I have had to adapt. No slow erosion, we are talking rapid light speed needed!

I can tell you it is scary, but I’ve grown a lot by doing this. Not only have I learned more and more about video production, but I’ve also learned how to do makeup (even though I haven’t perfected it yet), how to read from a teleprompter and more. I now admire the newscaster a little more than before and understand that in every profession, what looks easy, isn’t.

Here are a few points that have helped me get more comfortable:

• Practice, practice, practice – As with any presentation, the more you practice, the more natural you sound and the  more comfortable you are. The same is true when you are talking to a camera. We do several run-throughs so that I can get familiar with the breaks in copy and not sound like a robot. The practicing is fun and it makes for great bloopers.

• Don’t take yourself too seriously – You will most likely never get used to hearing yourself or seeing yourself on camera, so let it go. When talking to people face-to-face, we stumble on our words and make little mistakes. On camera, it doesn’t have to be perfect either. In fact, it makes you seem more real, authentic and natural. I can tell you I never like the way my hair looks or the way I sound, but if I waited until l did, I would never produce a single video.

• Invest in good equipment – Good lighting and a good microphone make all the difference. After 6 months, we are still playing with the lighting and are getting better. If you can, hire someone to help you get your set up right. If you can’t, then just experiment. The fun is in the learning process anyway!

Adjusting to the new types of marketing and digital media is still hard for me (and I’m am sure it is for some of you, too) but I encourage you to stick with it! Getting out there and embracing new communications is hard, but fun and I just wanted to share my experience with you. Stepping out of your comfort zone and joining the digital conversation will be very rewarding – if you just give it a chance.