Light Affects How You Come Across On Video

Our eyes are attracted to light.

If you've ever walked through a park on a sunny day and seen the glint of a gum wrapper off in the distance, you know what I mean. You might not know it's a gum wrapper when the flash of light attracts your attention, but you're instantly drawn to the bright, white reflection.

Television is nothing but light ... and sound. It's really important to understand this is you're planning on immersing yourself in this very powerful medium.

When I wrote, produced, and directed television commercials in the '70s and '80s, it become obvious that there were three key rules I had to adhere to (I learned this the hard way):

The script had to be persuasive (have emotional appeal) and every word had to count.The product had to be the brightest element on the screen.Movement attracted attention so if it wasn't part of what moved, it wouldn't register with the viewer.What does this mean to you?

If you're going to use this powerful medium yourself; if you're going to appear on camera, for example, you MUST BE well lit. Take a look at what's in the background of the shot. Is a picture on the wall better lit than you? That's a potential problem. The simpler the background, the better in most cases. Make sure it's darker than you.

I created a commercial many years back for the Hudson's Bay Company. It featured fabulous looking models in fur coats. There was a one week sale on these coats and we went to great lengths to make both the models and the coats looked great! However, the client got more calls about the clock on the wall than the coats!

You see, we'd shot the commercial in a hotel lobby area with a beautifully appointed background and the clock ... well, it was lit even better than the coats. It was a gold-framed, white-faced, grandfather clock. But the biggest problem was that the Bay didn't even sell this type of clock. Big lesson!

Our eyes are attracted to light.

Movement is also critical. Anything moving from left to the right in the screen is moving forward in time. It's a positive movement. Right to left is the opposite - back in time, a negative movement.

When text comes onto the screen, particularly if it's white, the movement attracts the eye. But if something else is moving in the screen, we might miss the text. Unnecessary movement is distracting.

All these rules!

Here are four things to keep in mind if you're just getting started with video:

1. Always be lit well from the front. Never have a window behind you (it will put you in silhouette and attract the viewer's attention away from you).

2. Be the brightest object on the screen. Light needs to come slightly from one side of you and above (like the sun). If the strongest light is right in front of you, it flattens the face and that makes you look fatter and quite unattractive.

3. Edit your script and edit it again. Throw out all the fat. Ums and ahs are enhanced on television. Every word counts, because unless you're hugely entertaining and compelling, people simply won't watch someone not getting to the point. This is even more important on the internet where distractions are the norm. They'll be gone in an instant.

4. And here's something that's really important, in terms of your performance: You're talking to one person - just one. You need to come across as if you are.

Those are the key things to keep in mind. Oh, yes ... there's one more. Keep the light off the clock!


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Peter Temple has been a writer/producer/director in commercial and corporate television for over 35 years. He now helps people use this most powerful technology (video) to their own benefit through vlogging and developing clips for the internet. He also speaks to groups about using video to further their careers. You can find more information on his website at
http://www.themediamaestro.com