How to Direct People on Camera
Everyone who gets into video production (or photo) believes that operating the camera is the tricky part. It’s easy to understand why when so many Youtubers and education sites are essentially just glorified gear reviewers.
But the camera is actually the easy part, I’d argue. You can teach any monkey how to operate a camera, but you can’t teach a monkey how to direct someone in a way that is going to elicit a great performance on camera.
The good news is that, just like camera skills can be taught, being a good director can be taught too.
Having done this for… literally years now, I’ve picked up a thing or two about the process, and I’m happy to share all of my little tips, tricks, and techniques with you here.
How to direct people on video camera to get a great performance:
1. Nail down your script or talking points
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my years directing people on camera, it’s to insist they submit a written script or at least their talking points prior to the video shooting.
If you don’t insist on getting that stuff ahead of time, they will inevitably be scribbling it out on a napkin in the minutes before you arrive. Now they’re unfamiliar with what they’re about to perform on camera when there are a million other things to be considering. Don’t let this happen.
In the event a client insists, “I’m great on camera. I don’t need to have a script ahead of time,” chances are they are a rambler on camera (not a fluent speaker). This makes your editing life brutal. Insist on a script.
2. Rehearse before the day of shooting
It’s not enough that your talent writes out the script ahead of time. Make sure that they have gone through it a few times before you show up with a camera.
Wanna know the secret to determining whether they rehearsed or not?
If you show up on the day of the shoot and they say they’re ready to go, they didn’t rehearse. If you show up with a script and they say, “I made a couple minor word changes since the version of the script I sent you,” then you’ll know they rehearsed.
In all honesty, by this point it’s too late anyways. But it might mean a few more rounds of doing #4 below before the day really gets started.
3. Set a positive tone
The reason it’s always referred to as “Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight” or “Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel” is because the director’s vision for the film can be the determining factor in how successful or unsuccessful the crew is.
You as the director are going to play a huge role in how the talent feels on camera, how smooth the day is going to go (despite inevitable hiccups), and even how happy the client is going to be with the end product. If they feel like the day was a disaster, they are primed to think the video will be too—before they even see it. If the client leaves feeling like the shoot was a success, they will be primed to think the final video is too.
From the second you walk in the door to the minute you pull away in your Dodge Grand Caravan (woop woop), you need to be energetic, smiley, enthusiastic, and relentless with your praise and support. The talent should feel like you are their biggest cheerleader. If they air their concerns or “awkwardness” about being on camera, it is your job alone to squash that and reassure them everything is great. I expand upon this more in #9.
4. Rehearse without the camera rolling
While you’re getting your camera set up, the lighting finessed, the audio rolling: have your talent practice their lines and discuss what you want out of that particular scene.
More importantly, even when you’ve troubleshooted and gotten everything set up: before your first take, have the talent do 1 or 2 practice run-throughs of that portion of the script.
Here are the major benefits to doing a run-through before you hit record:
The talent feels like there’s no pressure on this take, and they often get through it with minimal mistakes (some weird psychological voodoo going on there). This then sets them up for success when the camera is rolling.
The talent becomes familiar with exactly what’s going on: the position of the camera, the lighting in their face, the quiet on set, where you’ll be standing as director, and so on. This, again, is just increasing their comfort for when it is show time.
This gives you the opportunity to work through any awkward wording / stumbling blocks and reorganize them before you really get going. It is the final opportunity to fix things before it’s committed to memory card.
It saves the amount of hard drive space you need for their numerous takes.
It saves you watching 5 bad takes in the editing room when culling your footage.
Need I really say more?
5. Let them make it their own
Although we insisted that there be a solid script to have on-hand and that they rehearsed it ahead of time, we’re going to always assume that things are going to be changed on-the-fly when filming actually begins.
Know ahead of time if this is going to be an issue. If it’s critical that the wording be exact and that nothing strays from the page, the talent ought to know this (and rehearsal becomes more vital).
However, in most circumstances, rewording something to be more natural to how the talent speaks is totally ok. With the exception of saying the title of the video word-for-word (assuming you have a title already and it appears in the script), let them make the script their own.
6. Communicate what you want from the performance
Again: you as the director have to have the vision in your head ahead of time. If this is a somber part of the video, it shouldn’t sound enthusiastic and fun. If this is playful and goofy, it shouldn’t feel like a eulogy.
Communicating what you want from the talent often means being clear about eye contact, hand gestures, body posture and language, pace, tone, and more.
Again: if the end product is super specific and there is no wiggle room, this is where your vision is the live-or-die of the film.
But, assuming that there’s some flexibility and room for interpretation, it’s really important that you don’t over-direct either.
Every person on camera is different, just like every person is different. Some people need direct instructions and to have their hand held the whole way through the process. Others just need a general direction and are competent to get there.
A good director will be able to quickly pick up on what the talent member needs, and adjust your directing style to suit it.
If you are too specific with someone who only needs broad strokes, you run the risk of feeling too restrictive and causing them to trip up. If you are too generic with someone who needs specific instructions, their interpretation of your vision is likely going to be very off from what you actually intended.
7. Teach them mistakes are normal
Assuming you’re directing someone who is not routinely on camera, you need to bring them into the process in a thoughtful way.
Teach them that it’s totally ok to flub your lines. Tell them that even the pros often take 3 or 4 or 5 tries. Most of the time, the mistakes may not even be about them: it may just be the director wanting something different from the performance (like a bigger gap between sentences, a slower pace, or more emphasis on a certain part of the dialogue).
If you don’t communicate that nothing happens on the first try, they’re likely to think they’re wasting everyone’s time, and they’re going to get super stressed out super fast. Don’t let this happen or you’re going to pay for it dearly later.
Remember that they’ve probably never shot a video before. They likely need a lot of reassurance. It is your job, as director, to give it to them.
8. Give extra space before a take and after one
This is a pro editing tip that isn’t always possible but should be the goal whenever possible.
Before yelling “Action”, encourage the talent to take a pause before beginning. Before yelling “Cut”, make sure the talent has been given a moment or two to hold on the last beat of their monologue before stopping recording.
These 2-3 extra seconds on both ends of a take can be the difference between life and death in the editing room. Too little time before and after a take can cause the editor to produce a product that feels rushed when viewed. By providing more time on the front and back ends of a take, your editor has all the leeway they need when making creative decisions. They will love you for it; and if you’re also the editor, you will thank yourself!
9. Never let them see you bleed
Not so much in a literal sense, but in a metaphorical sense.
As I explained in #3, you as the director are the one that sets the tone for the day. You alone are responsible for making sure the talent is comfortable on camera. But you have a million other things to worry about (especially if you are a one-person crew), like:
Making sure you’re not taking too long on any particular shot
Knowing when a take is going to be perfect
Technicalities like lighting, audio, location
Making sure you’re not letting fear or exhaustion dictate your shoot
Making sure the client’s going to love this video and you’re going to get paid
and so on and so on.
One of the most important things I think you can take away from directing someone effectively on camera is to always keep your cool, no matter how bad things are going. Why is that so important?
When things are going wrong, they seem like they will never get better. But the only certainty is that they will not get better if you, as the director, don’t believe they can.
If you were driving towards the edge of a cliff, you don’t stop fighting to correct course until you’re airborne. Same idea with directing. Until there is absolutely no way things cannot get any better or be fixed in any conceivable way, you never communicate your loss of confidence in the talent, the crew, or the project. If they sense it from you, the entire production is doomed.
Keep. your. cool.
In Conclusion
Directing people on camera is a big job. When you read through this list, the idea of working a camera doesn’t seem as scary, does it?
There’s a reason directors are the top dogs: it’s hard work. The entire thing will succeed or fail by your involvement. Step up to the plate and get it done.
Will things go perfectly according to plan? Absolutely not. Will you make mistakes? Sure. But learn from them and move on. Nothing is ever final.
