“Looking the part not to fit in but to not stand out”

A long time ago when I was having a mentor-like chat with a friend who was in the advertising business I asked the question, “So what about wearing a suit?”. This was in reference to wondering how important it was to wear a suit to do business. His reply was, “It’s one less hurdle to overcome”.

When I go to shoot I keep this in mind but with my spin on it, of course. The important thing for me is to get the person in front of the camera to forget they are on camera. So the more things I can do to eliminate distractions the better.

I ensure that I dress according to the client and the situation. This goes for my crew(s) as well. No jeans or ripped clothes, no matter what the situation. It’s a simple business practice but I have found that, especially with new clients, that they are put at ease that the crew is presentable.

Now this plays on a few stereotypes. Creative people or artists have been known to and even expected to look a bit disheveled or bohemian and camera crews dress for comfort or whatever way they want to because they are behind the camera.

I find this most critical for corporate shoots. Often times businesses have dress code policies and for myself and my team to show up dressed uber-casual would have us stand out and we would be the show.

It is important to not stand out. Not that I need to fit in but rather just not be the focus of the attention. It sounds a bit odd but when the talent is in front of the camera the last thing they need on their mind is, “I can’t believe the Boom guy is wearing blue socks with his sandals, and it’s not even causal Friday…not that we’d let that go by without a memo…”, when they need to be reciting a line of text about their company.

Being comfortable is all about the talent. They need to be made comfortable and feel relaxed so they are natural on camera. This is even more important with non-professional talent. Being on camera is difficult. I often call the camera the memory eraser because as soon as you turn it on and point it to someone they forget what they were supposed to say or do.

Now it’s my job as the director/producer to coach, cajole, trick and help coax them back to get the performance we need for the project but leave that to me that’s my area of expertise.

CM
www.cmcreative.ca