The goal for every video should be to, at the very least, engage your audience. This means paying attention to the small details, like colour, contrast and patterns. Being appropriately dressed for the camera can give your talent the confidence they need to perform well, and can prevent any wardrobe hassles on the day. When you’re appropriately dressed for your video, your audience will be able to focus on the message you’re trying to deliver.
Match your colour
The colours you choose to wear reflect a small amount of light that will go unnoticed by the eye in regular situations, but cameras can pick up these subtle colours and it can dramatically affect the appearance of your face. Having a highly saturated colour, like deep red, emerald, royal blue near your face can make your face stand out against the background and provide a subtle colour splash that will lighten up any skin tone.
Be careful with black
This may come as a surprise to those who live in Melbourne, but sometimes wearing black isn’t the right choice. Wearing too much black, especially in shirts and clothing near the face can have an ageing effect as it can enhance shadows on the face, making you look tired and worn out. Black is fine too if it’s accompanied by a splash of colour, like a light coloured shirt under a black sweater as seen above.
When you have taken the time to prepare yourself for a day of shooting and you have run through your lines of your presentation again and again, it’s often easy to forget the simple things like what you’ll be wearing on the day. Many big presentations are filmed, or if you are in a large auditorium, you may be projected 20 feet high on a projector screen. As projectors don’t show black as well as monitors and TVs, you can appear “washed out.“ If you’re looking for an alternative, navy is a good alternative colour.
Avoid logos
Avoid wearing clothing that has visible branding or logos on it, or even T-shirts with text on them. You want the viewer to be absorbing what you’re saying, not reading the hilarious message on your shirt. Your brand and business should be at the forefront, free of the distractions of seeing other logos and brands in your video.
Use patterns sparingly
Patterns can look great, but there are a few things to look out for, especially with video. Small checked or striped patterns can be distracting on camera and can cause something called a moiré pattern, which makes your fine check shirt look like a swarm of angry bees. Avoid small, busy prints, which can look cluttered on a small screen. Bold prints and thick stripes of colour and checks will work well.
If you really want to stand out, get in touch with Dream Engine today.
Ryan Spanger is one of Melbourne’s most respected and sought-after video production professionals. Ryan founded Dream Engine in 2002, and specialises in helping medium to large corporates, government departments, and the non-profit sector to connect with their audience more effectively by using video.
