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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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Copyright © 2007 by Nick Piper, Derrick Siu and Plop
Entertainment. All information, text, graphics, audio, design
and software are copyrighted works of Plop Entertainment.
All Rights Reserved.

Max is a powerful man. I'm not talking about his bench
press poundage or arm-wrestling technique. I am talking
about his power to make stars out of ordinary people!

If you don't know about Max then you need to find out!!
There's not enough room on this page to do justice to the
work he has done with hundreds and thousands of TV talent
over the years.

Max is well known within the industry as one of the leading
tutors of TV talent. He has been at the forefront of some
of TV's most famous names including Larry Emdur, Peter
Overton, Kylie Gillies, Ali Mutch, Karena Brown, Christine
Spiteri etc. (All Australia leading TV personalities)

You can find out more about Max and his services by
visiting his own personal website:

www.maxrowley.com

We recently sat with Max and asked him to spill the beans
on his TV presenting philosophies:

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1. What makes a good presenter?

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MAX: Well, I think a good voice is very important. You
should always train your voice. And you should also know
how to write, your creative skills need to be nurtured.

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2. How many days/weeks/years should an aspiring presenter
train for?

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MAX: You should train forever. There is no amount of
research, training or courses you can do that will be
enough. That said, you should train WHILE you actively
search for work.

Don't train or practice without making some attempt to
get work - to be forever training is fantastic. To be
forever training without looking for work is disastrous!


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3. What are new presenters MOST unprepared for?

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MAX: Definitely the live element. There is no real way
to replicate a LIVE broadcast and that takes people by
surprise. Most presenters do not realise how much they need
to practice! The best presenters are usually the ones who
will train more than anyone else!

www.maxrowley.com

An extended video interview with Max can be viewed on the
How To Be A TV Star product 'Your Big Break' - A Career
in Broadcasting DVD Series - out now!

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Copyright © 2007 by Nick Piper, Derrick Siu and Plop
Entertainment. All information, text, graphics, audio, design
and software are copyrighted works of Plop Entertainment.
All Rights Reserved.

Here are a couple of scripts for you to practice - for
those of you who have forgotten the importance of training
all the time!

Print them out and rehearse them over the next few days!
Find a camera and shoot all of them - promise yourself to
learn one script per day.

SCRIPT 1:
'No matter what you're doing, where you're doing
it or whom you’re doing it with, it’s important
to keep your wallet close by!’ (5 seconds duration)

SCRIPT 2:
‘North, South, East or West. The choices you
have when you reach the crossroads in your
life. Nevertheless, there is a tendency to
pause here, instead of jumping in head first.’
(10 seconds duration)

SCRIPT 3:
Been searching for that weekend getaway, and
not afraid of a little exercise? Well why not
try cycling on the world famous Coast Road,
here in South Australia Most cycle tours run
during the autumn months, but this line of
road is so spectacular, anytime of year will
do it justice. (15 seconds duration)

More scripts can be found on the 'How To Be A TV Star' website
and contained within the product 'Audition Secrets Revealed' -
out now!

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Copyright © 2007 by Nick Piper, Derrick Siu and Plop
Entertainment. All information, text, graphics, audio, design
and software are copyrighted works of Plop Entertainment.
All Rights Reserved.

Getting Practical

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This practical exercise requires some creative scriptwriting.
You do not have the luxury of pre-written scripts in this
case. The parameters have now been extended however to enable
you to inject some personality and charisma into your
performance.

No talking robots - give it your own personal touch.

a. One Minute Piece

Prepare a 60 second piece on yourself. Make sure it is
concise and entertaining. Be sure to concentrate on formulating
a basic structure: an introduction, the main content, a
conclusion and then an outro.

Take at least 10 minutes to prepare the piece. Practice it
several times before performing it to camera. Then take the
time to watch it and make the following changes:

1. Perform it with no hand movements;
2. Perform it with 25% extra energy;
3. Perform it from a seated position.

Note how the different variations affect your performance.
Do not over-rehearse this piece as it will turn stale in its
delivery.

b. Two Minute Piece

Prepare a two-minute piece on SLEEP. You can talk about the
effect of sleep, how much you enjoy sleep, what makes you
sleep. Work the idea around entertainment and engagement.

Find ways in which to ‘tell a story’. This will engage the
audience.

You can make it humorous, factual, creative, positive or
confronting. Learn to make it compelling to last the full
two minutes – the attention span of the average viewer is
around 20-30 seconds, so you will need to work hard to keep
the flow and pace for 120 seconds.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright © 2007 by Nick Piper, Derrick Siu and Plop
Entertainment. All information, text, graphics, audio, design
and software are copyrighted works of Plop Entertainment.
All Rights Reserved.