Get Ready for your Close-Up

• Trends
• January 24, 2017
• by Merrie Spaeth

What do current movies like “Jackie” and “Moonlight” have to do with your ability to communicate to your employees and customers? Well, besides watercooler talk about both films touting Oscar nominations this year, they’re video-enabled stories. This is something you’ve read quite a few articles about if you’re in a leadership position. An overwhelming percentage of traffic on the internet is video, and storytelling has become a corporate seminar topic.

Just when you thought you had it down, more is expected. Driven by new technology and expectations of constant actions, filmmakers are doubling down on extreme close-ups, frequently of just the actor’s eyes.

Why should you care? First, if you’re still producing the bust shot or three quarter body shot video, you need to get up to speed whether you have a corporate videographer or are doing Facebook Live yourself.

The movies are training your audiences to expect these intense shots. One technique is called the “video assist,” where filmmakers actually watch a small screen when shooting for the large screen to see what looks good.

Eye contact has always been one of the staples of good communication, driven heretofore by our experience with TV news anchors.  Filmmakers say their focus on close-ups is driven by the fact that “more of their work will live online” and be affected by mobile and streaming devices.

So will your corporate videos. Start practicing.