Feeling Too Nervous To Be On Camera? Try These Tips

We know that being on camera can feel a little overwhelming and uncomfortable, especially if it isn’t something you’ve done before, so we thought we’d create a blog post to help you prepare and to put your mind at ease.

It mostly relates to how we like our videos to look and feel, and the way we like to run a set, but you can use this info in other shoots that you’re involved in too.

Our Top Tips For Overcoming Your Fear Of Being On Camera

You may be thinking that no matter what you do, you’ll never feel comfortable and come across as being confident on camera. Well, we’d say you need to keep on reading and practice some of these, the next time you’re on camera.

1. Take a Moment To Relax

Take a moment before the shoot to focus and calm your mind. A few deep belly breaths will help with this, or even a meditation. It’s helpful to do this on the morning of a shoot, and also when you’re on set, about to film.

2. Don't Forget To Breath

Often we forget to breathe when we’re feeling uncomfortable (sounds crazy, but it’s true!), so try to bring your focus back to your breath and remind yourself to breathe deeply. It’s incredibly helpful to come back to your breath, whenever you become aware that you haven’t been breathing.

3. Don't Get Put Off By Minor Mistakes

We all get tongue-tied at times, but don’t worry about stumbling over a word or losing your train of thought mid-sentence. This is completely normal, and nothing to worry about! If you stumble, try to keep going if possible - often we will cut into whatever you’re saying, and only use part of it, so it’s best to keep going if you can.

4. Remember, The Best Footage Is Often What Isn't Perfect

Capturing genuine, in-the-moment responses is definitely the most powerful angle to take when promoting your brand on camera. It’s really important to us that your responses are authentic and that our videos have a natural feel to them. Little stumbles or mistakes often help to create a lovely authentic feel, so again, don’t worry if you’re not ‘perfect’ when on camera.

If you need some more intensive help on nailing your on-camera appearance, why not look into some professional on-camera presenting training to help you speak like a pro!

I’m going to be interviewed on camera… how does that work?

At Keyy Productions, we favour interview-led videos more than any other style, because we feel strongly about YOU being the person to represent your brand, not an actor.

Plus, we know how hard it is to learn lines and execute them in a natural, in-the-moment way, so interviewing you on camera is a great tool for creating this effect for corporate videos or even testimonial content.

We will prepare some questions to ask you, on the day. We don’t tend to send these through to you in advance, as we really want a genuine, in-the-moment response from you, and we don’t want you to have to worry about memorising an answer.

If there is anything in particular that you’d like us to ask, or that you’d like included in the video, feel free to let us know by sending an email or bringing some of your interview questions on the day.

When we ask you a question, we ask that you create a complete answer in your response. We will remove our voices from the edit, so that the video is just you, chatting, so it’s helpful if you’re able to somehow rephrase or repeat the question within your answer. Don’t worry, we can delete any take if need be!

There’s no need to ever look directly down the barrel of the camera. We set up interviews so that the speaker is looking just off to the side of camera. This gives the impression that they are speaking to someone who is sitting next to the camera. It helps to create a genuine and comfortable feel in the video.

Keeping a conversational tone during the interview is key. It’s best to avoid the ‘presenter tone’, and often, we’ll ask you more questions based on the answers you give, so it really does flow just like a real conversation.

We make sure you know what to expect on set

It always helps to know what to expect when you arrive on set. You can rest assured that we take the time on set to make sure you feel calm and confident. We keep our shoots simple, with a two-person team and a compact camera, lighting and sound set-up.

With interview-led videos, we generally set up 2 cameras - one in front of you and one just off to the side. We place a microphone above you, and we tend to set up 2 to 4 lights around the space as well.

We'll ask you questions that relate to your business and to your purpose for the video. People often worry about getting their answers word-perfect, but we allow plenty of time for you to feel relaxed and comfortable on set, and our conversational approach, along with the magic of editing, means that the pressure is off!

We like to include candid footage that relates to the interview content. Things like you and your staff in your work environment, dealing with clients, and showcasing your product or service. Don’t worry, this doesn’t involve acting or improvisation, and we’ll direct you through these moments to ensure that they feel natural.

What should I wear?

Figuring out what to wear can be a whole convoluted ball-game in itself! There are few standard guidelines to stick to when presenting on camera.

1. Try to avoid wearing anything with a strong pattern. Often patterns can distort on camera. This includes stripes, (particularly fine stripes).
2. Avoiding red is helpful too, as it tends to bleed on camera. Really just bright shades of red can be a bit of a problem, but darker shades are fine.
3. We recommend that you wear clothing that is in theme with your brand, and that doesn’t display any visible or distracting logos or images.
4. When filming cutaway footage, it is helpful to have a couple of changes of clothes, to help make the shots more dynamic and authentic; even just a couple of different tops is helpful. Again, make sure the clothing is brand aligned and appropriate to the action that you’ll be doing in the cutaway.
5. Make-up will often show up on camera more than in real life, so we recommend a natural look for hair and makeup. Also, using a translucent powder is a great tip for minimising shine, for both men and women. We always carry some with us on set, in case anyone is particularly glowing on shoot day 😉

That’s a few of our helpful tips when being on camera. We hope it helps to put your mind at ease and build your confidence! Feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions about any of this, and we hope to see you on set soon!