One thing that’s definitely different between on stage and
on camera is the use of the voice.
On stage you are working in an acoustic space and you need
to be easily heard throughout that space. The mouth machine will automatically
set the appropriate volume levels in any acoustic space unless you do something
to disrupt the mouth machine’s tendency to do so. In the theatre actors often
push volume levels to insure audibility. Ironically, being too loud makes it
harder for the audience to really hear what you’re saying. The extra vocal
energy creates a kind of audio haze that blunts the impact of your
utterances.
On camera you are not working in an acoustic space. You are
working in an electronic space. The nature of focused (shotgun) microphones
means that volume is a nonissue. The microphone does the work. I think the best
way to think about this is that when on camera, you are working at a personal distance
from whomever you are talking to. Personal distance is no more than 3 feet
away. If you know that the shot is an extreme close up, volume can fade even
more to match the closeness of the shot.
Ideally, when working on camera you strike the right volume
without losing vocal animation. I did a shoot once where the camera was quite
far away even though the framing was a close-up. The microphone was hovering
out of shot just above my head. To hit the right volume levels, I played the
mic as opposed to the distance to the camera.
Next… How does the camera affect you personally?