Does the camera add 10 pounds?

B

boke

Active member
Sorry if this is an old myth , I'm getting my XH-A1 this week so I haven't got to see it for myself. Does the camera make people looking bigger? If so, in what way? I'm a pretty hardcore weightlifter (am not too big, 6'1"ish and around 190lbs) , I'm going to appear as the main talent in some "about the town" type show (think a cheap version of Brooke Burke's WildOn show), but this is in Japan, and Japanese people and American people have a pretty big difference in what they think is too muscular, so if possible I want to stear my training more for the Japanese audience. So..... will I look bigger on camera?Or just a myth?
 
Don´t worry - it´s all about lightning, camera position and lens.

Nothing a good Dp can´t do with ease.

Frank
 
It depends a great deal on the person, the camera can appear to make some people look 10lbs heavier and some 10lbs lighter. Lighting and angles play a big part of course.
 
That's why they invented widescreen - to compensate: a wider frame makes you look narrower in comparison.
 
And sqeezing 16:9 content to 3:4 does even more.

If I remember right there is also a plugin in Magic Bullet or an other bundle that does make folks look thinner.

Frank
 
I think this myth has mostly to do with focal length. Extremes on both ends can distort things in a way that can make people look fatter. Stay in the midrange of the zoom lens and you should appear "normal". Also, sharp overhead lighting will really accentuate your muscles, so if you want to look less muscular go for a softer lighting scheme...And stay away from the craft service table, which will add another ten pounds.
 
A friend of mine married some rich dude who got invited to Miss America pagenet, she sat right next to Donald Trump. They have a tv monitor there below and then you see the contestants above. She said you DEFINITELY gain 10 pounds on film.

I'm seen Marcia Cross (desperate housewives) only thing I noticed is that she is tall, but yeah, without the camera, she's definitely thinner.
 
GenJerDan said:
That's why they invented widescreen - to compensate: a wider frame makes you look narrower in comparison.
Click to expand...

But of course it doesn't help when you have the idiot technicians at the networks and TV stations who stretch everything out to fill the 16:9 aspect ratio. History Channel is one of the biggest offenders at this. (It's really crazy seeing an image that's intended to fill a 16:9 monitor, but black bars are added at the top and bottom to turn it into 4:3, and then it's stretched out to fill the 16:9 area... AAARRRGGGHHH!)
 
KMR said:
But of course it doesn't help when you have the idiot technicians at the networks and TV stations who stretch everything out to fill the 16:9 aspect ratio. History Channel is one of the biggest offenders at this. (It's really crazy seeing an image that's intended to fill a 16:9 monitor, but black bars are added at the top and bottom to turn it into 4:3, and then it's stretched out to fill the 16:9 area... AAARRRGGGHHH!)
Click to expand...

The worst! TNT sucks too!
 
I don't think it's a myth at all. Sharp featured, thin people generally look better on camera. Being a weight lifter isn't necessarily a bad thing, provided you still have a neck.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top