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ARCHIVE ARTICLE 4 - Raise Your Energy

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YOUR ENERGY LEVEL ON CAMERA!

Always remember that the camera lens accentuates various
aspects of performance - especially the perceived energy
you radiate onscreen.

This is most evident when you are delivering a piece to
camera at an energy level you perceive as being light,
entertaining and upbeat, yet watching playback on television
it is surprising lacklustre. You must always compensate for
the loss of energy onscreen. Always add energy to your
performance to ensure that you come across as friendly
and personable. The reason for this is the way WE perceive
ourselves - no one sees us, like we see us!

As a result we are often fooled into thinking our energy
levels and personalities are engaging enough to be considered
appropriate.

There are various ways to lift energy in your performance:

a. Smile through your delivery – this doesn’t mean grimace
through your dialogue – but it is a good technique to
'lighten' your expression and add energy to your voice.
Listen to how you sound when you smile through your words.
Your face becomes animated, it flexes your facial muscles, it
generates more life in your personality and un-creases your
forehead;

b. Laugh quietly to yourself just before you start
delivering. Based on the same ‘smile’ philosophy, it gives
you a lift in terms of body language and facial expression
if you are finishing off a laugh when it is time to talk.
Sometimes the best performances are generated through
mistakes – you will laugh at something funny, or an error
in dialogue, which makes you relax and adds that energy.
Having a good belly laugh moments before delivering will
help;

c.Relax your shoulders. Most people carry great tension in
their shoulder frame and neck. By simply relaxing your
shoulders you will open your diaphragm and become less
tense. Have a full body stretch before you start;

d. Rehearse as many times as you can so that the words
become automatic. This reduces the likelihood of dealing
with memory loss, and you can concentrate on your
performance. Most teachers will encourage you NOT to
memorise but to understand the words. That is true – but
you need to strike a careful balance between the two.
Memorising means you have the time to add your personality
to performance;

e. Steady your breathing. Taking long deep breaths will
encourage your heart rate to slow, metabolism to calm and
prevent the tightening of the chest.

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