Powerpoint Rules

Hi Guys

Powerpoint has been around for what seems to be a lifetime and we have all attended webinars where we have been subjected to boring presentations supported by ugly, boring or complicated Powerpoint. Maybe all three. 

Like the following example 

The worse  nightmares were when the speaker just read the words straight off the screen, often facing the screen so you couldn't hear what was being said. And when he hadn't rehearsed and stumbled then this was the pits

Now these simple text only presentations have a place in offline seminars where the speaker knows his stuff and uses Powerpoint as little as possible, just with the brief bullet points.

And this is brilliant for webinars and online courses where you are watching remotely and just want bullet points. But here are some points to bear in mind:

• Learn what you are going to say. Rehearse. Rehearse. Rehearse. You just can't rehearse enough. Take a look at the professionals. Actors rehearse until they are not only word perfect but action perfect too. They are entertainers and so are you. Practice in front of a mirror, your family and friends.
• Keep your slides simple and big enough text. We have all seen screens full of text so small that it's impossible to read - firstly because it's too small and secondly there is too much text. This usually happens when the presenter is going to just read what's there. For text sizes I's recommend 60pt for headings, 48pt for sub-headings, and 36pt for the bullet points. Any smaller and it can't be read easily. Also if you use these recommended sizes it will restrict the number of words you can use. 
• I'd highly recommend using simple typefaces such as Arial or Times New Roman. Then use the derivatives such as bold, italic, Black, Rounded etc. By using different fonts in a family the look will be much more consistent. Using these typefaces are also easy to read and are the fonts suggested for visually impaired people.
• Use good contrast. Black on white is ok. The best contrast used to be blue on yellow but the latest thinking is black on yellow. Using more colours might look bright but remember KISS - keep it simple, stupid.
• There are loads of transitions and animations.These add a bit of sparkle but don't overdo it. Remember, it's what you say that's important, not a jazzy presentation.
•  Consider having the slides available online as a download. Afraid someone else will use them? Don't worry, it seldom happens but you give attendees the chance to see them and inwardly digest. You might consider an audio to so they can be listened to at convenient times, like in the car.
• Use pictures and cartoons if they are pertinent but make sure they are easy to see. Sometimes photos are too detailed, blurred or out of focus.  
• Talk slowly. We often talk too fast and in presentaions of any type it is really important that every word is clearly understood.

So there are a few tips. Now there are some great ideas to take Powerpoint to the next level. You can design this yourself or download ready made templates that you can just modify and change. There are plenty, Google free templates. I will be making video on how to use Powerpoint and convert it into an MP4. 

Here is a simple example of a downloaded template that I modified to show you. Now something like this can be used to make lectures for online courses, short videos of different types for your website and much more. If you are camera shy this is a sure fire route to take.

 I hope that this has been useful to you. Please follow me here and make a comment. I'd love to hear your experiences, comments and suggestions. In the right hand column you'll find a link to my YouTube channel. Why not click and see what I'm up to.

 

Your Community Station Studio Start-up

Hi Guys

Thank you for reading this blog. I do hope you find it informative and useful and that you take action. I've had some very positive feedback from the last post about setting up your own online TV show and today I want to elaborate on some issues that I've had questions about.

Gina from Ontario asked how do you start? And Bill living (I presume) in Wood Green in North London said he runs a community project and thinks this would fit well with what

they are doing. He also wanted to know how to get going. What equipment and how does he design a studio in his Community Centre?  I'll try and answer Bill's question now.

So lets talk about your studio.

You can have a studio almost anywhere provided you have a

 small space bigger than about 4 metres by 5 metres. You will need a power supply for low energy lighting and other equipment. Standard power sockets will be adequate and the quantity of power used will be no more than the power you use to light your home. So there's no big drain on energy.

Natural lighting is the best for filming provided it is sufficiently strong but I feel that for a studio it will be inadequate. If there is natural light use it and supplement it with artificial lighting. You can pick up a lighting kit for a very low cost. Lights

available on E-bay are adequate and low cost. I'd suggest a couple of these packs. Cost is less than £90/$130 per pack. These lighting boxes are called soft boxes because there is a translucent cover over he front to diffuse the light and cut out shadows. But you can remove the covers and have direct light. They hold low energy daylight bulbs that are cool when working, unlike traditional lights which become tremendously hot. With two kits you are ok for smaller sets such as interviews and also for larger sets such as panels, chat shows where there may be 3 people on a sofa and a presenter. You can of course use more traditional lighting or LED lights that are now available as direct mains powered or battery operated.

How about cameras? There is a whole range of cameras from the simple (well rather sophisticated really) smartphone, through camcorders, professional cameras, DLSRs and Go Pro Heros. The choice is yours. Personally I'd grab a couple of camcorders because they are relatively cheap new or dirt cheap second hand. This means you can work on a shoestring and grow in time. There's another bonus here. If you are going for funding then you can produce material to backup what you are looking for by showing you have started to experiment. You'll also need tripods. Hand help cameras are generally really bad. You just can't prevent hand shake and movement. To start use KISS - keep it simple, stupid!!

Sound is more important than most of us realise. So I'd recommend using separate mics, not the ones mounted on cameras. You can use the input socket and either wireless or long leads and this is ok. We use a boom mic held over the actors, interviewers or guests. And this works well. You can make a boom easily and cheaply. We'll cover that in another post. So my favourite external recorders are the Zoom range. These provide a variety of sound options and are compact and lightweight.

You will need a backdrop. Now this could be as simple as a painted wall, but you could use paper or material backdrops. You can by backdrop kits of a stand and material backdrops in black, white and green. You will move on to the green backdrop for green screen as you become more experienced. If you have a large room you could just pull away from the walls and have the background out of focus.

So you have choice. In addition you can dress the set at little cost. Remember a photo of a prop can look like the real thing on video. A planter on set is easy and you might get a local shop to donate or free loan you. Ask kindly and you will be surprised what you can get.I have tended to keep it simple. A tall planter is all I usually have on set. 

You probably will need a desk for news readers. This doesn't have to be elaborate and in fact a shallow desk is good because it takes up little space for storage between use. 

Props can be the real thing or made out of papier mache which can be used to form almost anything. I used to make puppet heads with it but also remember a huge dinosaur (probably 4 metres high) we used in a carnival made from chicken wire covered in papier mache. Once painted it is pretty well water proof and, if enough layers, is strong too.

Backdrops can also be sheets of mdf, plywood or almost anything that's firm. So you can have a window with the sun shining through, a balcony, painted backdrop like you see in Kids TV shows. The limit is your imagination.

Now with a small studio you will probably need to shoot some material around the show you are producing. So, for example when we had a music item, this was filmed prior to the show and edited in. Firstly the guitarist had another engagement so we had to film him early, but secondly he would have been hanging around unnecessarily for a couple of hours. 

So that's your studio. Ideally, if you are working  in a Community Centre you will probably have more room. A studio should be an integral part of any Community Centre at it teaches a new skill, gives users confidence and social skills, and its a a fun project. In addition it is a great way to promote everything local, particularly community activities

If you don't have suitable premises I would highly recommend approaching everybody who might be able to help using both social media and direct approaches. You may be surprised at the support you will get without having to pay.

Good luck with your venture. Watch for further posts on setting up and running a Community TV Station. And there will be a full course ready soon with everything you need to know about setting up and running one.

Selfie with a message

Just found these videos that were really selfies. I think this is what a selfie should be. It should be interesting and tell a story or give a message. 

What do you think?  Please leave a comment 

Making of an Indie Short Film

Film making comes in many guises. You may want to just produce family video for friends or you may want to produce a drama like this short indie film. 
 
The following will give you an insight into how and why this film was made.The idea was conceive at a visit to Swansea beach just looking for ideas. Coming across the railway arch on the beach brought back vague memories of the short story by Dylan Thomas and we went from there. It was a tight schedule with script written within a day, the filming took just 3 hours in a studio using a simple black backdrop (incidentally the studio was used recently for some of the green screen work in the latest Star Wars film, The Force Awakens). The editing kept Brian Marijena working over several full nights, his favourite time for this work. I hope you enjoy and learn both ideas and techniques. Please make any comments and ask any questions. And we hope that you will be inspired to make your own dramatic film. You don't need huge sets, costumes, lighting or cameras. Although this was made in a professional studio with a professional camera and lighting that was for convenience and not necessity.

This particular story takes place entirely under a railway arch where the locomotives ran along the beach road before turning inland and towards Manchester. Although the track ran parallel and next to the road it was constructed on the sand. There was a drop from the road and path to the beach and anyone standing under an arch would have their head just above the level of the road. The scene is night-time and of course there was little, if any, street lighting at that time so the characters are lit naturally from the elements and occasionally from a match or glowing cigarette. The magnificently descriptive narrative includes many cameos and these can be filmed, or a montage of multi-media or just narrated over the face of one of the three characters. Dylan has broken the story into two sections: the first part being mainly descriptive and scene setting; whilst the second part is the story of the two strangers. Both sections can be incorporated into the film so that anyone who had read the book would instantly recognise not just the setting but each and every detail.

It is important to note that the book is set around 1933 and that it would be expensive to replicate scenes, costumes and props for the entire production. This then sets limitations for the film-maker but also gives him the opportunity to use his imagination and ingenuity. An opportunity to go back to basics. Like the original silent movies where the director used gestures and lighting to convey translation and moods, so here glimpses and suggestion can make us believe we have been transported back in time without the associated usual high costs. 

This is project particularly relevant here in Swansea and at

         

 

 
this time because Dylan Thomas was a Swansea man who died over half a century ago, was and is generally regarded by the majority of the local inhabitants as a drunken layabout but who is now regarded as the second most quoted poet in the world and who is highly regarded across the world on the celebration of 100 years since his birth in 1914. The stories are good entertainment but also, because of the factual descriptions, are of historical importance.

There have been other great short story writers such as O’Henry, John Steinbeck and F Scott Fitzgerald who have crafted beautiful stories that are like gold nuggets to film makers. Interesting, however, is that few films have been made based on stories of any of these writers. They are all of a similar period but can be adapted at little cost to the story line, characters or background. We have had the same characteristic traits since time immemorial, love, hate, greed, love of companionship, morality or not, lust and fear to name just a few. The great writer manages to weave many of these traits into their stories to give in-depth real people who often seem to stride off the page. So it is with surprise that few of these stories have been transposed into movies. Longer stories such as The Great Gatsby, For Whom the Bell Tolls, and Breakfast at Tiffany’s  have worked well. Some short stories have been adapted for TV in the past.

Dylan Thomas’s stories in The Artist as a Young Dog for example are vivid descriptions of the actions and raw emotions that he experienced as he grew up in Swansea suburbia from a small boy and through his teenage years and abound with such vivid description that images just fall off the page. On first reading his stories one is struck by their simplicity and reality. It is as if you are there, in fact his stories have become woven into other peoples reality. People who read his stories whilst they were young have found that they have become part of their own memories. An incredible skill that is only obvious in others such as Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemmingway, Truman Capote and James Joyce.

It is a fact that all these writers were describing current events and so are a living history that is often far more interesting than most history books, adding fine detail about real lives, places and back-drops that bring the book, and hence the film to life.

This skill makes their work perfect for the short-film maker who can almost shoot off the page. Taking “Just like Little Dogs”, a story from Dylan Thomas’s “The Artist as a Young Dog” is a typical example. Let’s look at the opening paragraph.

Standing alone under a railway arch out of the wind, I was looking at the miles of sands, long and dirty in the early dark, with only a few boys on the edge of the sea and one or two hurrying couples with their mackintoshes blown around them like balloons, when two young men joined me, it seemed out of nowhere, and struck matches for their cigarettes and illuminated their faces under bright-checked caps.

Interestingly the whole paragraph is made up of one sentence, comprising of 77 words. It’s as if Thomas’s imagination or memory was running at break-neck speed. This could be transposed into an opening scene of long moving images fused into one silent night-time atmospheric take such as the opening sequence in the famous Orson Wells “Citizen Kane” with matching music straight off the page. Or it could be run as a single shot within the confines of the railway arch (where the entire story is centred) with a voice over reading the words as if reminiscing of a past experience. Both work, the latter more suitable for a low budget production.

This is followed by a descriptive paragraph about the two young men so that they can be cast to perfection. In fact the only drawback in filming the work of theses authors is that the images conjured up are so real that by miscasting the spell over those who have read the story will be broken. And interestingly the attention to copying the detail from the book by Truman Capote in creating “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” has brought the book alive for many readers. And it was possible because so much detail was included in the book.

“Just like Little Dogs” is a typical well crafted short story (of just half a dozen pages)  that has a beginning, middle and end, complete in the old-fashioned style compared to many stories nowadays that leave the reader baffled and confused. This also helps to  make the film-maker’s work easy because the finished product will be rounded and the film-maker can concentrate on film techniques rather than interpretation of the text. He can make small additions or changes if he wishes without unnecessarily altering the wording or style.  

The story continues with superb description that could narrated over material using a mix of new and old photos, live and historic film blended to match the descriptive text straight off the page. This should be in the style of the opening of Under Milk Wood. Thomas is the master of plays for voices so that many of the images used in this sequence could be suggestive and a background to the rich text. The narrative should be that of a deep male voice with a soft Welsh lilt.

Within this paragraph there is action descriptions how the two young men lounging against the wall under the archway, their cigarettes glowing and sparking in the wind. This will give the camera the chance to return to the two strangers within the descriptive filming and cement it together.

Paragraph four continues in the descriptive vein with Dylan lighting a cigarette so that the light reflected in the two strangers faces and gave Thomas further opportunity to describe Swansea life as it was then.

Here Dylan’s thoughts about each stranger and what he should be doing and where he should be builds a lovely picture of Swansea “where girls were waiting, ready to be hot and friendly, in chip shops and shop doorways and Rabbiotti’s all-night café, when the public bar of the “Bay View” at the corner had a fire and skittles and a swarthy, sensuous girl with different coloured eyes, when the billiard saloons were open, except the one in the High Street you couldn’t go into without a collar and tie . . . . “

The overall story finally becomes a dialogue between Dylan and the two young men and a story within the story is drawn out. This is a simple story about the two young men and their marital arrangements but Dylan has managed to embroider some fine detail about area and social aspects.

In fact this story, more than any other Thomas wrote, is so descriptive that it can be compared to Under Milkwood in that both are really plays/stories for voices but both have transformed well, and I have tried to follow the narrative with as much descriptive period photography as possible. I have produced this film using a single set, black and white throughout and with a montage of old photographs and some movement where I caught some people having a barbeque under the arch and was able to shoot them as if they were vagrant characters from the Thirties as described in the short story.

Looking at other well written stories they show remarkable authenticity for the period and everything associated so that clear descriptions of speech, people, clothing, furniture and other background detail is included. Interestingly the films made have become of historical importance. Included are Breakfast At Tiffany’s by Truman Capote, the story of Holly Golightly a larger than life character, the Great Gatsby about the young mysterious, but larger than life,  millionaire Jay Gatesby, and the range of John Steinbeck’s stories with what appear to be humdrum normal families but are in fact big personalities – in Grapes of Wrath which grew out of a series of newspaper articles about the Great Depression of the Thirties.

As I said before. Your comments are really appreciated as are you questions. This could have been filmed with a smartphone, in either a home studio or on location in the open using either street lighting or a low cost portable video light, costing around £20 ($30). We used a full black backdrop. You can buy a set of 3 backdrops (black, white and chromakey for greenscreen with a stand from around £40 or $55 on Amazon)

Better Selfie Videos

Talking Heads are a great way to tell viewers about whats on, what's coming, your thoughts, describing events, greetings for your family when you are out and about, places of interests, greetings and much more.

Talking heads are easy to make, just need a smartphone, so you can take yourself. But you need to think what you are going to say first so you can give a clear straight presentation without stuttering or pausing or worse, saying um or er. None of us re perfect but we can all take some simple steps to make it as good as we can.

Watch these mistakes in action.

So here are my top tips:

•  Think about what you are going to say before you start to avoid stumbling over your words
• Try to have something interesting to say to keep the interest. 
• Look at the lens and not the screen.
• Have an interesting background, but one that isn't too distracting
• Try to link the background with what you want to say.
• Have the sun to the side if possible, certainly not shining into your face so you have to screw up your eyes
• If the sun is shining brightly get in the shade if you can
• A cloudy day is best
• Check out for wind and background noises before you start. We have become programmed to ignore background noises but th camera doesn't
• Look happy and not miserable. So smile if its appropriate
• Be consistent if you are running a series
• Talk loud and clear, don't mumble
• Remember nobody is perfect and we all learn from our experiences. The more experience we have then the better we will get.

This list is not exhausted. If you can think of other ways to improve selfie video then please make a comment. Your input is most valuable. It's by making a contribution that everybody learns and improves.

Keep your arm steady and extended. If you are too close to the camera your nose ill looker bigger and out of proportion to he rest of your face.

Use these videos on Facebook and Twitter. It's not coincidence that I just talked to a local grooming parlour owner just 30 minutes ago and asked her about her website. I wasn't looking to design one for her but just curious, she had just opened after working from home. She said she just used Facebook and I asked her if she had any video there. "No" she said. and went onto tell me that she had photographs. I told her about very short video testimonials mde on a phone and her face lit up. She thought it was a great idea. Just then a customer came along to have his dog groomed. Even before I had moved on she asked him if he was happy with the service and whether i would do a testimonial. He said he would and I left. I hadn't met this woman before and it was just my usual chat that I always told people about, but it inspired her to take action. You could do the same.

I'll even give a critique to anyone who sends me a link to any video made as a result of reading this. This offer is free and valid until the end of the year.

Now just grab your phone and try it out. Practise and you will soon be good, maybe not perfect, that will come. But if you don't stat you wont even be good.

Start a Personal Video Blog. A Vlog!!

Starting a personal video blog is easy. Pick up a camera or smartphone, film and upload. And that's it. At its simplest no editing, no title, no background music. And the results can be interesting and watchable. I've made several videos in this vein and here is my formula that works.

First I always use the selfie model, secondly I keep the video length down to less that 2 minutes, thirdly the content has to be conversational like talking to a friend, fourth I think through what I'm going to say before recording so I have a plan, and last there should be something worth listening to and about. I try to keep to one take but inevitably re-do about 4 or 5 times. I do believe that each take is better than the previous but you are never going to be perfect so just finish and download.

Now lets look at each facet. Running this in selfie model is good. People like talking heads because they hear the words, see your lips move and subconsciously decipher your body language - just like you were there in person. And when you realise that we rely about 80% of what we see only on 20% of what we hear body language is a big deal.

Try to look at the camera lens. Many people look at the screen where they see themselves but the camera is often situated at the top. You'll see a pinprick, check by covering with your finger and if the screen goes black then you've got it. Look at the camera and you'll seem more intimate to viewers. Try to get an interesting background but fill the screen top to bottom with you face and shoulders. Many hold the camera as far away as possible to make themselves smaller, and this is wrong. Viewer want to see you. We are all a bit apprehensive about how we look on screen. Don't worry, you will look fine.

 Try to look happy unless you are talking about something really serious. I look at myself and think I look miserable. I just don't know.

Because you've thought through what you will say it will be easier not to hesitate. Stumbling over words, hesitation and umms or errs are really irritating. The good news is, however, that practice makes perfect. So don't worry too much with your first efforts.

Keep it short. You can usually get your message across in less than two minutes. This is a great control and will ensure you cover just the essentials. Firstly surfers will stay for 2 or 3 seconds to see if interesting and if there is no impact they'll leave immediately. Otherwise they stay but the average is less than a minute. So you've got to make it really interesting. OK your family will not only watch everything you film, but they'll watch over again. But not the man in the street. I try and give some factual information first then a point I want to get across. Look at the video on this blog and you'll see what I mean. 

When you are talking think that you are having a conversation with one person. Maybe you are telling someone in your family or a friend. This will make the video more intimate and will hold the viewers attention. And it's easier to think you are talking direct to someone you know than an impersonal camera.

I try to do it right first time and when I re-shoot I keep thinking this is the last. Inevitably I do about 4 or 5 retakes and each one is better. Just give it a go. You'll be bettrer than you think.

Now for the final act. Upload to Facebook or Youtube. Job done. If you find this useful or want more information make a comment at the bottom of the page. Go out there and shoot a mega movie.

Interview Techniques to Make better Video

Hi Guys
 

Interview techniques are straight forward but often we forget some of the basics so here's some tips.

Decide the format of your interview.

     Is it a two-hander showing both the interviewer and interviewer?  Just the interviewee? A documentary with the interviewer telling the story and cutaways of interviewees to accentuate a point?

Once you've decided then stick to the same format. If you change mid-stream it will throw the audience.

Are you using one or two cameras? You can make an interesting interview cutting between both parties with one camera but it takes a bit or organising and planning. With two cameras you can direct one at each party, lay them down in parallel on the time-line when you are editing and then cut between. This is the simplest. Firstly when you are editing it's possible to see both faces and cut to the best shot. If there is hesitation or any reason to edit something out then you just cut to the other party and there is no jump in the continuity.

If you are using one camera and you are shooting and interviewing then it's still possible to show both parties and retain the flow of conversation. We do this by pointing the camera at the interviewee, filming them talking then, when complete, move the camera to focus on the interviewer who asks some of the questions again, the words don't have to be exact because you will be cutting in when editing. Then take some shots of the interviewer nodding in agreement, shaking their head and looking as if they are listening. And of course finish with a summary piece looking at the camera (called to camera). You can then edit this together to look like a two headed interview.

Lighting is important. You should think about natural light which is best but avoid direct sunlight particularly in someone’s face. They will have no definition and will probably screw their face up. It’s always best to find a place in the shade.

If you are filming indoors then try filming near a window with the light on the interviewers face. If necessary then you’ll have to use artificial light. Video lights on Amazon are really cheap now. An LED hand held battery operated light will be as low at £20 but we do not have time to cover lighting here. Watch out for a FilmMakerTips information sheet .

 I would highly recommend that you get anyone you are filming to sign a release form giving your permission to film them and use it at all times. If you are using it commercially and possibly paying them, then put that into the agreement. The main thing is that you have their permission. If they are contracted to a major TV network or film at a later date then they may have to sign an exclusivity document preventing them from working with anyone else. I've had this a few times now with TV stations and Shows like the X Factor. In fact I've just wanted to use a photo of a girl who worked with me 4 years ago and I'm told the BBC want me to remove it off the website. I haven't looked at the legalities because we had a contract at the time, but have just done it to save time and effort.

Always explain to the interviewee what you are going to do and what you expect from them. So, for example, tell them where to look - you or the camera. Tell them to relax and that any mistakes can be edited out or they can start an answer

again. Tell them most importantly that it’s just a conversation and to talk to you like a friend.

Start off with some local questions to put them at easy so that there is some flow going when they answer the relevant important questions because they are comfortable. So talk about the weather, sport, TV last night, families. Then just carry on into your questions. Afterwards tell them how good they were, and that you will tell them when it's edited.

Before the interview do some research if you have sufficient time to do so.  This is obviously important with pre-arranged interviews where you won't get a second chance. I remember a reporter coming from London to do two interviews for me with local people. As soon as she sat down with them it was obvious that she had done her homework. She knew all the relevant information and more. She talked about their families, their jobs and history and the heart of the interview topic with confidence. I guess that's why she was contracted for so much Sky TV work.

At the interview avoid eye contact with the camera unless intentional. It’s always best to use front and back end pieces to camera even if you don't use. You can't go back later. Use open ended questions that can’t be answered with one word. Use Why, Where, When, What, Who because they lead the interviewee onto a full answer. Encourage the interviewee by nodding, shaking your head, smiling, leaning forward. Anything to get them to open up and elaborate. You will find you are closer to each other than you expect but this improves the visual impact. You will look further apart, just like you will appear to be slightly heavier in weight than you are in life.

If things go wrong just carry on. It is best to pause for about 3 seconds which gives you time to regain your posture and get your thoughts straight, but also helps the editing.

Times are important too. The editing will always cut out content but when you are interviewing you can go on too long or forget the time. If you are on your own refer to clock or your watch. If you are being directed then watch the director and take instructions from them.

When interviewing get names right, say them back before the interview to check pronunciation. Use names through the interview but not in every sentence. Remember you are in control so direct the conversation back whenever it slips away.  

A quick word about microphones. The usual microphones for interviews are lapel mics, handheld mics or if you are in a studio with assistants then a boom mic. You may also use a fixed overhead mic. I'll be talking about mics on another blog. The cover over the mic softens wind whistle sounds. Lapel mics are really good, they pick up the voice but most other sounds are out of reach. When you use a hand-held mic then point it at whoever is speaking. Often non-professionals wave the mic around, or don’t point it in the right direction. Sometimes the interviewer will tap the mic unconsciously with their fingers.  But always remember to tell others in the room to be silent whilst recording.

Wear suitable clothes. If it’s a formal interview then wear formal clothes. Always try to dress to suit the occasion. This looks better on screen but also puts the interviewee at ease. Avoid wearing clothes with confusing patterns, In fact keep it simple. Plain clothing is best. In the event you may be recording in a green screen situation then avoid greens and blues.

Any questions? Write to me at my e-mail which is ask@mikeleahy.com