BRILLIANCE IN PERFORMANCE
Or... just a few tips to brighten your day
Originally published in Shoptalk on 3/17/98.
For this installment, we got tips. A few, in fact. Just
some pointers to keep in mind whilst on camera to avoid making the folks at home
wince and duck.
#1 - DON'T YELL on long shots! Let's say the shot in
question involves some zoomage... it brings the reporter in from a distance, to
where we, the audience, feel right in there with them. They're close, the mood
intimate. Suddenly, the reporter is yelling - Yikes! We're startled... the
reporter is right there, filling up our television, right here in our living
room. Why are they YELLING?
However, from the reporter's vantage point, it's quite a
distance to the camera - and they want to be heard. Don't laugh... it's way
more common than you might imagine.
THE TIP: Even if the shot is from clear across the
lower forty, you are miked, my friend, and hence - do not need to raise
your voice. Just talk in a normal voice that suits the story and let technology
do its thing. Same problem, different scenario; a reporter is in a noisy
environment, and feels like hollering is the only way. As a rule, this is not
necessary - microphones were invented to save us from all that. If the problem
is that you can't hear yourself; use an earplug, or make one (just for one ear)
so that you can.
#2 - HEAD NODDING, sometimes known as the Bobbing and
Weaving Syndrome, is just so distracting to watch. In some, it almost makes you
dizzy. This is where a head nod accompanies just about every emphasis in any
given sentence and has been found to be one of the leading causes of at-home
motion sickness. In terms of body language, this one can come across as
insincerity, uncertainty and generally being disconnected from what you're
saying. It definitely dissipates the impact of your message, as does any
excessive on-camera movement.
THE TIP: Keep head movements to a minimum. If
you're an inveterate Head Bobber, experiment with allowing yourself only three
significant nods in an average length story. The rest of the time rely on your
eyes, the clarity of your message and intention to get the job done. Too much
head nodding often stems from a certain lack of confidence; a feeling that just
standing there isn't enough. To alleviate that feeling, we'll add gestures to
make the delivery feel fuller - head bobbing, eyebrow popping, squinting, etc.
But it really only serves to distract - and deflect attention. The truth is - if
you are connected to yourself, your feeling and what you are saying, just
standing there IS the most powerful way of communicating. When your voice, eyes,
emotion and stance all go together, your message comes through you like a laser
beam - focused - rather than dissipated. Less truly is more.
Appropriate gesturing is fine; looking or motioning toward the burning building
behind you, indicating the spot where the tragedy occurred - but these actions
are directly connected to the story and so are justified. Head bobbing... be
gone!
#3 - THE TIP: don't PUNCH your WORDS! Done
properly, emphasizing the active thought in a sentence is quite
appropriate. It only becomes a problem when the only way this emphasis
occurs is by PUNCHING a word. It gets worse when the wrong ones get punched...
or when way too many are. The result is a stilted and unnatural style of talking
doesn't sound like a real person. For the record, "punching", refers to an
emphasis where a particular word is made louder, more enunciated, or in any
other way pushed OUT toward the listener.
By the way, when I say "punching", I mean an emphasis
where the word is made louder, more enunciated, or in any other way pushed OUT
toward the listener. There are other ways to emphasize a word, thought or idea.
For instance, you can make the word sound rounder, stretch it a bit, put a
slight hesitation or pause on either side of it, make your tone warmer if that's
appropriate. After all, the point of emphasis is to single out a particular word
or idea and make it more important than the others. But always doing it the same
way makes for delivery that's dull, one-dimensional and mind-numbing.
#3a - THE TIP: If you're gonna emphasize a
word/thought/idea... make sure it's the RIGHT ONE, consistent with your intended
meaning! For example, in this sentence; "You should have a professional check
your pipes for dangerous leakage.
Saying it like this: "You should have a professional
check your pipes for dangerous leakage" makes for one meaning...
Speaking it this way: "You should have a professional
check your pipes for dangerous leakage" is a different twist.
Either can be correct, depending on the context of the story.
It all boils down once again to being CONSCIOUS about
what your point is, who you're talking to and making appropriate choices to make
your words spring to life in living color!
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