Hi, this is Ivan D'Antonio from Italy.
I'm a Canon Europe Ambassador for video,
and today I'd like to talk about how to improve your shot in a video conference.
Because, you know, sometimes
a good image can communicate more than words.
So, let's start.
The image you're seeing right now is from my Canon C200, a pro camera.
And of course, our webcam can't deliver this kind of look.
But if we use this image a reference point to start with,
we can turn our bad webcam shot like this, for example,
into great quality webcam shot, like this one.
Let's start talking about framing.
This is very important in order to be able to focus on lighting
and background later.
99% of the time when we are in a video conference,
we can see shots like these ones,
and we can easily name them.
There is: the giant, the spaghetti Western,
the conceptual artist and the guru, the mystical man.
So I decided to focus on how to improve my image
without having to build an entire movie set.
Using only the things that we all have in our homes.
In order to build a good shot,
we have to focus on perspective and framing. And we can
borrow the right terms from cinema.
We can use what is called tight meeting shot,
or lose close up. Webcam should be positioned, less
or more, at the same height of our eyes, because in this way you
avoid awkward perspectives.
Now we can decide where to be in the frame, the shot, so
you can choose to be frontal like this or more 3/4 and letting the
face frontal.
I personally prefer to be with my body 3/4 because it creates more
depth and it looks like a painting to me.
Don't forget also,
to leave some room in the upper part of the shot between your head and the end of the frame.
Not too much, not too little.
The second aspect of a good shot is lighting.
Try to avoid direct sun rays as they produce a lot of contrast,
and most webcams can't handle the exposure.
So we're going to use a simple method called three-point light.
In three-point light technique,
we use a main light on the subject,
the key light, and it is this one I'm covering with my hand. You see?
Now there is, no it's gone.
Then I use a fill light that helps to raise up the
shadows, so they don't look too dark.
And it's this one. See?
And this light is warmer than the key light,
because I like the effect it makes because the shadows
warmer and more cinematic.
And then there is the backlight. For this video,
I used my window as a backlight,
so it helps me to separate from the background.
You see this right here separates my shoulder
from the background.
Now that we have fixed our lights,
we can concentrate on the background.
Background is as important as the subject because it helps to
define the composition of your shot.
Try to avoid big windows behind you because webcams can't handle
such exposure.
And my advice is also to avoid big,
flat walls behind you because they literally flatten your image.
We have to feel some air in the shot between the subject and the background.
So try to avoid as much as possible, of course,
to be right against the bookcase, for example,
because you can look like you're trapped it in a cage.
While I was at home these days,
I made this crazy experiment because I shot a sitcom
entirely on video calls. Actors don't have at home lights,
professional lights, etc.
and we used the same thing that we are using now.
So house lamps to create pleasant images.
It was very difficult, of course,
but the actors with the same tips I'm showing to you
were able to build very good looking images.
Thanks for watching and I really hope that this video will help you for your next video conference.
Take some time to experiment.
Don't be afraid to move things around, move lights because,
you know, the more you try,
the better results you get.
And I think that in this way you will be able to present
yourself in the best manner to people,
even for a webcam