You can practice television delivery with or without equipment.
Of course, using a camcorder is the most desirable way of practicing on-camera delivery; and several cameras of adequate quality are priced under four hundred dollars. A camera plus a tripod, will, in most cases, give you the basics for television practice. An external mic is desirable because the built-in mic will be several feet away from you as you speak.
If video equipment isn't available to you, you can place some object on a wall (a drawing of a television lens will help) and use it to practice eye contact. There's no perfect substitute for performing before a camera with later playbacks for critical evaluations, so perhaps you can volunteer as talent on the projects of others. You may also obtain on-camera experience at a local cable station.
As with audio performances, you should critically review your television performances to identify areas to work on and to assess improvements. The checklist presented below covers the physical aspects of television performance.
Television reporters engage in a great range of specalizations; one of these is feature reporting. Feature reporters write, edit, and announce soft news stories that engage audiences with stories that move, entertain, amuse, and/or illuminate.
Evaluating your Televsion Performance
1. Eye contact
Good _____ Needs work _____
2. Use of peripheral vision
Good _____ Needs work _____
3. Posture
Good _____ Needs work _____
4. Standing on camera
Steady _____ Rocking _____
5. Moving on camera
Telegraphed movement? __________
Moved smoothly? _______
Sat correctly?
6. Were transitions smooth when switching cameras?
Good _____ Needs work _____
7. Were props held correctly for cameras? _____
8. Was pointing clear and even? _________
9. Was eye contact with camera maintained while using cue
cards?
Good _____ Needs work _____
10 Were cues correctly responded to?
Good _____ Needs work _____
11 Was dress appropriate?
12. Facial animation
Appropriate? _____ Too much? _____ Too little? _____
13 Note specific areas on which to work:
14 Note areas that showed improvement: