Decision, Decisions…
In video we have to make a lot of decisions. The success of each video depends on our choices.
So naturally we skip stuff like what shade of lipstick to wear, how we’ll start the video, whether we’ll sit or stand, and all kinds of other things that don’t make any difference in how the video will be received.
Except for one thing.
Your shade of lipstick does matter, how you start the video matters, and believe it or not, whether you’ll be sitting or standing matters, too.
But again, a tiny decision.
Speaking of which…
I’ve decided to create a little oasis of calm and simplicity with something I’m calling “The tinyTutorial™“. (The “™” is a bit corporate, isn’t it? I may have to rethink that.)
The first tinyTutorial (yep, that’s better) is about a shooting decision many people skip, and so it’s often one of the things we talk about before a new client steps into their studio for the first time.
And yes, the video underneath this is a more immersive training for those who want to take it to the next level.
So…if you want to create that perfectly imperfect “sitting down space” you might find this helpful:
11 replies to "Do I Sit or Do I Stand?"
Excellent stuff Steve. The spirit of Ron Burgundy lives on. I like the ‘sit down’ style, but it’s a harder one to pull off compared to standing. I have a gaming chair that frames my head and the background in my little studio is chaotic compared the ‘stand up’ grey photo paper I use. I’ve got a pop up elgato green screen that I am tempted to place behind my chair when sitting but I guess that lighting is tricky in this set up. Stay classy!
Thanks, Jeremy! Classy is a challenge, but I’ll do my best.
You might want to look at the self-lit green screen if your space is more limited.
This tinyTutorial is timely for me. I’m working on a series of videos for my podcasting group that I’m naming Podcast Subject Matters. Many of these will be screen capture videos where I show resources and demonstrate techniques online that can help my fellow podcasters up their game. I will be sitting for these videos, and I was feeling like I wanted your “permission” to do that, since all of my videos in the course that I’ve posted in the Green Room have been standing for my Your Story in Your Voice project. I now see a large bright green light! I will post my Trailer in the Green Room in December and maybe we can discuss it a little in the monthly webinar for the course. Thank you, Steve!
Awesome, Tom! And you’re welcome. 🙂
I love that you’re branching into doing different kinds of video. That will open up new channels for people to discover you.
Great video, Steve, as usual. I appreciate very much your sharing your expertise, gained from years of experience, with all of us newbies. In my area of expertise (estate planning attorney), I have found that sitting is more personal, less threatening. I’ve begun sitting for some of my videos when discussing serious issues like death and dying. I stand for the videos in which I am trying to inspire my clients to take charge of their estate plans and to not be in denial or afraid to do so. So, you are quite right in that it really depends on the message of the video. Thanks again, dear mentor.
Jay
Thank you for your kind words, Jay. What I like about what you’re doing is how you merged the topic with the tone to determine how you would appear. It could have gone the other way had your intent been different. And you would have known what to do in that case. Well done!
“Like a dead body in the closet with one leg sticking out.” Your script writing is pure poetry, Coach. LOL!
I too prefer not to blur the background on Zoom calls. Great videos both! Thank you, Steven. jp
Thanks, Jim. It’s nice to hear when some little bit of word play lands. 🙂
By the way, it’s really good to see your ever-increasing facility with all the new elements you can add to a basic video.
Steven:
TinyTutorials – a great idea. We like TINY because we don’t like long-winded. We like tutorials because they seem more friendly than Training Videos. Concerning to sit or stand, I’ve tried both for my one-minute videos. Standing works best. More energy.
I do use a different background for each video. Wonder about that. Should they all be the same or something different with each video? See the variety here: https://www.youtube.com/@RonRoss/shorts
R
It’s probably a good thing that they’re all different, Ron. The YouTube Short phenomenon is all about constant variety. And since you’re using the 9×16 rather than the 16×9 format, any little change you can get in the background seems smart. Always keep the Chroma Fusion technique at the ready to make them as high quality and as fast as possible.
Great videos.vthank you.