 by Dr. Jeffrey Lant. Author's program note. I was doing one of those thankless tasks that is the result of affluence and impulse buying, namely too many DVDs and VCRs, the result being that my bedroom is overflowing with empty plastic jackets, mismatched, a riot of chaos and disorganization, efficiency and good order the first casualties needing immediate attention. However, it is the way of such matters to make grand resolutions... then find them, always for the best of reasons, impossible to carry out. Thus, instead of getting my mint collection of Flash Gordon videos organized the way they should be, I popped in an unmarked tape and thrilled to what I saw. It was... me! And I was wonderful! In the pink at 28 or so... all deliciously captured on film, forever and ever. The video in question, depicting my popular workshop on how to succeed as an independent consultant, was the result of my friend Paul Bloom volunteering to undertake the bewildering number of technical details that it takes to create magic and that critical connection with your expectant audience. Way ahead of his time, this oh-so-smart cookie, rightly knew and forthrightly told me that with video mastery the world would be my oyster, with "wealth and fame your reward." And, by golly, he was right. Thus on a very hot day in about 1977 or so, in an ordinary classroom turned into a makeshift studio with live audience; temperature like the steam room of the Chicago Athletic Club; hotter and hotter from the plethora of sweat-making lights, I faced the truth that is video... and found out that Paul -- and Rudy Vallee' -- were right: I was a natural, video thereby becoming a substantial part of the mail-order enterprise that first turned me into a millionaire by 30, a long time ago. Now I intend to assist you get rich and famous, too... ready to get started? You just couldn't have a better avatar than Rudy or... me! Two-step to video mastery... "You Ought to Be in Pictures". Even if you're 60 or 70 or so, you probably couldn't name a single one of Vallee's' mind-boggling array of hits. However, he was prolific, he was cute, he was a real-deal Yalie, and he knew how to keep America dancing and feeling swell. And so he did yet again with his 1934 hit "You Ought to Be in Pictures", written by Dana Suesse and Edward Heyman. Go to any search engine prontito and immerse yourself in the background music that will put you into just the right mood to rise higher and higher. It'll be the ride of your life. Here are the essential tips you'll need.... Set your objective. It all starts from within. Since you've now listened to the recorded version of "You Ought to Be in Pictures", you know it's written from the perspective of an adoring lover paying his girl friend the biggest compliment he can think of. Men have been giving their ladies such posies since there have been men, ladies, and the need to fashion compliments to achieve desirable ends. Effervescent tunes with delectable beats and dance steps fall under this heading... but it's going take much more to get you started in video. First, you need the desire to be a "star of stars". It's not enough that people tell you, however lyrically, that "you ought to be in pictures." You've got to want it. This essential aspect of the matter eliminates the wannabees who think the final results are marvelous... but who won't do the necessary to achieve them. Be different. Resolve here and now to be one of the 1% who is truly dedicated to success and will do the necessary, all the necessary to achieve it. Get help. One of the problems about succeeding in video or any other form of media is the lack of role models. I mean, Oprah just isn't going to take the time to advise and mentor you, is she? However, you need that kind of detailed, specific, hands-on help. Where can you get it without breaking the bank? Start at worldprofit.com. That's where you'll find me and the folks called Monitors. I am the originator of this concept and virtually every day of the year (with very infrequent time off for good behavior) I am there being a Monitor and, along with my colleagues, instructing new folks like you. It is a unique system which creates video professionals like the Monitors at Worldprofit. What's more -- and this is really BIG -- your instruction is FREE once you've become a Member, that's right, F-R-E-E. I kid you not. Here's just some of what my colleagues and I will teach you... each technique, tactic, and tidbit the distillation of years of actual experience and "been there, done that" hard work, not a word theoretical. Item: When you're an ingenue, on camera for the first time or two, you'll be nervous and that's ok. That means you are treating the matter at hand with the importance and consideration it deserves. Item: Smile. Because the matter is important, because you want to get off to a good start, chances are you'll look like the Grim Reaper when you come up. Remind yourself (by keeping this set of recommendations near) to smile. Remember, the audience wants to like you. Show them you want to be liked; that you're worthy of their attention and appreciation. Item: Tell your audience you're a newbie, still learning the ropes. There isn't a person in your audience, no matter how large, who hasn't been in your shoes. Believe me they are rooting for you. Just make sure they know how new and green you are! Here are some more useful tips. Item: Place yourself in the center of the screen. Make sure you are not squished in a corner or that your head seems to rest on the bottom pane. That is what I call the "guillotine" position and you know what happened to the folks, even kings like Louis XVI, who made that mistake! Item: Make sure your lighting is adequate. It should be ample, not generate shadows or glares. It should look entirely natural, flattering, not raking; making you look like the proverbial deer in the headlights. Item: Make sure your background is plain and simple, never "busy" with lots of avoidable distractions. K.I.S.S. Keep it simple, Simon. Item: Your clothes should be dressy casual. You should look like a person of the world, which necessarily entails knowing what to wear, when, and how. When in doubt, ask your mother... or ask me. I am a video fashionista! Still more. Item: Use a script -- and practice. Until you become very comfortable with the camera (like me!), don't extemporize. The script is your friend. Item: Keep a dictionary at hand. Look up words you don't know and how to pronounce them. Adult learners tend to be difficult about this, often regarding the matter of increasing vocabulary and proper pronunciation and usage as cruel and unusual punishment. YOU need to take the broader view. Item: Eliminate all background noise, including overly indulged dogs and terminally cute kids, all of whom view your air time as the perfect opportunity to demonstrate the power and perfect audibility of their practised shrieks and yelps to the world. Item: Practice. At Worldprofit we maintain what we call the Live Business Center practice area. In it people can get their on-screen presentation just so. If you don't have this helpful facility, then ask a friend to assist as I did so long ago with Paul Bloom and his meticulous eye. Lights, camera.... goof. Now it's time to get out there and astonish the world; only unless you're Superperson your inaugural performance is likely to be less than brilliant, more like a dog's dinner, glitches, false starts, errors small, memorable, ludicrous. Not to worry. It takes time to get good. So don't get discouraged. Make your mistakes early, particularly the really memorable bloopers you are sure to make. (Need I say that visiting me at worldprofit.com will ensure you make as few and get good as fast as humanly possible.) Serendipity, Tom Welling, and the power of media, the power you want to have working for you ASAP. . About 3 a.m. today, while I was working on this article and feverishly trying to find the complete lyrics to "You Ought to Be in Pictures" but with no success whatsoever, the phone rang. It was a gentleman who was on one of our affiliated websites and had what I was looking for. And so he picked up the phone, never mind the time, and called with all the details I required. Hallelujah! The power of media demonstrated yet again. My live presence online united with Tom Welling's kindness and search skills delivered the bacon. Tip of the hat, Tom... I'd love to have you a participating player at worldprofit.com. "You surely should be offered/ A starring part -- right away..." And if no one offers, why then propose yourself for there is a world to conquer... ideas to disseminate! People to touch, change, influence! And as for money... when you're using media it's as easy as turning on an endlessly open faucet! So get started now; don't keep your legions of soon-to-be fans waiting. Haven't they suffered enough without the immediacy, the vibrancy, the grand reality that is you? Go to worldprofit.com and let me know. I am ready to work my proven magic on you, for after all, ""You're sweet as a Gaynor/And you're hot as a gal named West. You'll even make Garbo jealous/ when you take a movie test." Oh, yes, you are going to be "My star of stars!" A dedication. To the memory of Paul Bloom. Too soon taken , never forgotten, always remembered and loved. You told me it would happen, then you helped me so it did. Rest now and dream the big dreams forever. |
