What's A Philtrum and Why It Matters To Your Video

 

That thing between your nose and your mouth is called a philtrum.  If you know that you get extra whip cream on your dessert tonight. 

A friend asked what a philtrum was good for on Facebook and got 17 responses.  One response  quoted the wikidoc.org definition of a philtrum:

"The philtrum allows humans to express a much larger range of lip motions than would otherwise be possible, which enhances vocal and non-verbal communication."

So what does this have to do with your video? 

When you're taping someone, you're going to express more from your subjects if you shoot them in a close up.  Don't be afraid to show their philtrum! The philtrum rocks!

If you are doing an interview, 99% of the time a subject's face will be the most interesting thing in the shot.  Not the wall.  Not their shirt.  Not the view outside.

Take a look at these videos of Seth Godin.  If you had to pick one that is more intimate, more penetrating, and more interesting which one would it be? I'm not talking about the content here.

Sure, content plays a role, and yes the content that Nic Askew is trying to get from Seth requires more intimacy...  In general, though, the biggest mistake I see from non-professionals in their interview video is not going close enough.

Can't see the video? Click here and here.

'curiosity' from Nic Askew on Vimeo.

Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaysk/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0