Becoming Camera Ready: Preparing for Your Filming Day at The Studio

Presenting live in a classroom in front of students versus in front of a camera in The Studio can feel worlds apart, but it doesn’t have to. When you combine the techniques that are effective in a classroom with those that work on screen, you start to bridge that gap. With experience both behind and in front of the camera, I’ve observed some helpful tips that I’d like to share. Let’s dive into considerations for improving your preparation and conveying authenticity – so you can be camera-ready every time.

How to be Prepared

Read Your Scripts Out Loud

First, it’s best to read your script out loud when you practice to catch any mistakes or things that don’t sound right. It gets your voice used to speaking these words and develops muscle memory in your mouth and tongue. On your recording day, you’ll be speaking in your full voice, so practicing in your head, or in a whisper, won’t give you the same results. You’re essentially practicing something else entirely, and it won’t benefit you when the camera is rolling.

Practice Frequently

Secondly, practicing frequently, for short periods of time, is more effective than practicing in long, infrequent sessions. This approach lets your brain absorb the information gradually, allowing you to become more familiar with the script each time you revisit it. Practicing this way in succession, leading up to your recording date, will ensure you feel as prepared as you can be.

Establish Muscle Memory

This method helps you become even more familiar with the words in your script. When you read from the teleprompter, you’ll speak with better flow, and it won’t sound like you’re reading – allowing your students to stay more engaged. By establishing the muscle memory beforehand, you’re able to put more mental energy into teaching, the meaning of the lesson, and the most important words to emphasize. The camera enhances everything. Monotone speech will be extra disengaging for the students. Ensure your voice doesn’t drop off at the end of sentences with a volume dip or vocal fry.

Mark up Your Script

When I worked as a news anchor, I was never handed a script without a pen. We were always expected to mark up our scripts with underlines, circles, and dashes to help guide us to speak in the most effective way. This helped us to emphasize certain words, add upward inflections, or indicate where to pause. All details that improved comprehension, retention, and engagement. We were taught that in live news, you only get one chance to deliver a story, and the viewer must understand it the first time.

Warm Up Your Voice

Lastly, whether your lesson is scripted or not, you need to warm up your voice. With an unwarm voice, the chances of getting tongue-tied are higher while speaking extemporaneously. Likewise, reading the scrolling text from the teleprompter with a subdued voice may hurt your enunciation. Tongue twisters are the best way to sharpen your articulation. Give it a try right now with one of my favorites. This is from the 1952 movie, “Singin’ in the Rain:”

“Chester chooses chestnuts, cheddar cheese with chewy chives. He chews them, and he chooses them. He chooses them, and he chews them – those chestnuts, cheddar cheese, and chives, in cheery, charming, chunks.”

Fun, right? Let’s up the difficulty. But be careful, you might accidentally say a naughty word if you mess up on this one:

“I saw Susie sitting in a shoeshine shop. Where she sits, she shines, and where she shines, she sits.”

By focusing on getting each word correct – avoiding mixing up “chews” and “chooses” or dodging whatever the naughty word may be – you stay present in the moment. Warming up with challenging tongue twisters is great preparation for any event where you’re presenting because it not only boosts your fluency, but it also brings you into the here and now.

Being Camera Ready

The camera is a truth teller – it picks up everything. If you’re staring blankly at the teleprompter, standing stiff, and panicking – it will show. So, how do you appear more polished? Let your natural expressions, gestures, and voice shine through – just like in a real classroom. Use your natural body language as if you’re speaking to a real person, not a camera. Imagine you’re speaking directly to a student or a friend.

Picture their reactions – are they nodding, curious, or confused? Let that guide your tone and delivery. Speak as if you are not even in a studio. Picture the classroom that you’re in. It can be difficult to imagine all this while looking into the lifeless lens of the camera but trust the process. It seems very unnatural. But if you can get comfortable with the awkwardness, it will subside once you’re in the flow.

During your lesson, try asking questions. I’ve seen professors ask their students a rhetorical question during a lecture video. Obviously, no students were present in the studio to answer. But the purpose is to provide a thought-provoking question that encourages students to pause, reflect, and make connections. Then, you can provide them with the answer. For example, here’s how a history professor may ask a question:

“Does anyone know how these two stories are related? You got it, of course…”

Studies show that this kind of active engagement leads to stronger learning and better outcomes compared to passive watching alone. Think about what you want the students to take away from the lesson. The more present and engaged you are, the more connected your students will feel. That is essential in the classroom, but especially important on camera since it magnifies the energy you give.

With thoughtful preparation and a solid understanding of the tools best for on-camera presentation, you can deliver your course with impact on screen. We look forward to seeing you in The Studio!