February 14, 2012 New Capture authenticity
“Do you want to be more dominant, powerful, attractive, trustworthy, sincere and confident…. well, get ya some eye contact”. What a pitch. More than a few self help books will encourage folks to offer eye contact to convey these traits. Humans need and want to establish credibility quickly… and offering your personal eye contact in response to theirs, is a great way to give your interview subject that chance.
As a film maker, your nod, a smile or raised eyebrow broadcasts a silent, non-verbal, yet synchronized communication with your subject. Resist asking a question… and then looking to your notes, because this sends a message to! You really need to listen. Take advantage of the private connection you establish. Imagine the exchange of eye contact as semaphore or a code… a silent yet powerful communication, at the exact moment they are captured by the camera.
Michael Ellsberg, author of The Power of Eye Contact, writes:
“In order for eye contact to feel good, one person cannot impose his visual will on another; it is a shared experience. Perhaps eyes meet only for a second at first; one partner then tests the waters and tries a few seconds, and when that is met warmly, the pair can begin ramping up the eye contact together until they are locked in a beautiful dance of eyes and gazes.”
When you finally achieve a high level of communication (i.e. eye contact), you will find the subject reciprocates and feels more confident about giving and sharing verbally. The result for the pragmatic film maker is to benefit from ‘getting to the meat’ of a story more quickly. Your intensity will encourage theirs. Whether you agree with their position on a topic or not, you generally want to capture an authentic delivery of closely held beliefs or recollections. Offering your subject the chance to establish their own credibility through eye contact is a courtesy as well as being closely aligned with your sincere intention of capturing authenticity. In a way, you, as the listener ‘allow and acknowledge’ the subjects efforts to be credible by accepting their eye contact.
Tags: authentic, eye contact, eyedirect, interview
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February 1, 2012 Non-Verbal Cues
Research has show, 75-85% of communication is non-verbally. Just last week, Scientific American reported, “a study by Hungarian researchers claims that dog-owners can get closer to their pets by looking directly at them while giving them commands.” (http://bit.ly/zFCDDA)
During presentations, we see teachers use gestures to guide a student from speaking too fast or slow. Raising an eyebrow, or cupping a hand to the ear, alerts a young presenter to elaborate, or speak louder. In multicultural environments, a finger to the lips or a thumbs up, generally convey the same meaning across language barriers. The teacher’s guidance is transparent to classmates who will never be aware there was an external prompt.
Many filmmakers take advantage of non-verbal communication by using these same techniques with interview subjects and even actors as a way to guide the shoot.
In December, I attended a undergraduate American Sign Language class in Chicago and was fascinated by the volume of detail I could pick up, while not knowing how to finger spell my own name! The non-verbal signs were enough to know if the subject was having fun, if they were angry or alerting me to something that may be ‘hot to the touch’. Additionally, I found the non-verbal dialogue was extremely focused and concise. Never have I been in a more attentive classroom.
Consider establishing a few ‘signals’ of your own, to help an on-camera subject know what you want. Perhaps an OK sign encourages them to wrap it up, or a pencil to the lips might signal the speaker for more clarification. Offer one or two ‘signs’ to make your interviewee feel better about how they are doing. Flash cards with keywords work well since the EyeDirect reflects text, left to right correct. Consider this as more of a ‘referral of an image’, rather than a reflection.
EyeDirect users tap the power of non-verbal communication and ‘speak’ to their subjects, without interrupting the flow of the interview, by incorporating eye contact and non-verbal responses. I think you may find, as I have, the non-verbal prompts are often more powerful than the spoken word.
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January 19, 2012 Memories by Kodak
I remember my first Kodak purchase was from their lovely mid-century modern office building in North Dallas in 1975. (now the building is owned by Home Depot). For my university film class, I had ordered four, 100 foot rolls of double perf, 16mm Tri X on daylight spools, catalogue number 8012270. Facing ‘baptism by budget’, my part-time job would only support a 3 to 1 shooting ratio so I convinced myself 400 feet would be plenty.
I had never gone to a WILL CALL desk before, or even knew what that meant but I quickly learned it is where the truck drivers, coffee drinkers and smokers came to wait. Upon arrival, I entered and secured my place in the cue by signing my name to a clipboard list. I imagined the list must have every great filmmaker’s name on it… if only I was bold enough to scan for Vilmos and the like!
After a short wait… suppressing my anxiety for what $100 could buy… my name was called and I unceremoniously went through the swinging warehouse door. There, sitting alone on a pallet, was my carefully wrapped rolls of film. I waved off the forklift driver’s offer to ‘help me out’ with my order and I collected my cargo. For the next 36 hours…. I religiously kept the stock in perfectly controlled conditions… and did not let it go unrefrigerated if I could help it. That stock became my film, ‘The Chase’ and it is still with me today… as are the lovely little metal cans that held my treasured Kodak film. Kodak has been making memories for a very long time.
Tags: 16mm, documentary, eye direct, eyedirect, film school, kodak
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