Sitting on camera

[andrewrg]

I spend a lot of time on video conference calls--I'm a teacher, so I'm on video 5+ hours each day. I don't have great posture, and I'm not used to sitting, so my posture is even funnier when I'm sitting all day. This changes the way clothes fit.



Been watching people on TV, most presenters button their jackets while sitting (I'm guessing that's to get the shaping effect of a suit jacket that they see while standing). I'm not sure I could do that.
Anyone have similar experiences or ideas?

[evanparker]

i feel like you're right, that most of them button their button on their jacket. i think for me to do that, i would have to have a jacket tailored exactly for that extra few inches to be able to move out.

if i did it with any of my regular 44R jackets, i'd break all the buttons off lol

[Galcobar]

Part of it will be clothes tailored to fit well for the activity, a large part of it will be posture (compare TV presenters against radio DJs who aren't actively working to the camera), and a little of it is supportive chairs.

Look at historical figures and their much more constricted jackets are buttoned when sitting. Though it should be noted the tail was split to accommodate the type of seat, with a single middle vent for the saddle and double side vents for a chair (the latter being what we basically all should wear today). The double vent makes it much easier to sit without straining the jacket.

Holding your torso straight, even when sitting, will also keep from straining the fabric. Slouching rounds the back and increases compression of the belly.

A good chair will correct your posture, keeping your torso straight and widening the angle between legs and spine. We understand now that it's better not to sit with our legs and spine at a rigid 90 degrees, but to be leaning back. When spending hours in front of a computer an ergonomic chair, which is usually found these days with mesh seat and back, will help maintain posture by preventing fatigue. By the way, this never includes "gamer" chairs, which are massively over-priced, painfully cheap in construction, and based upon car seats meant to hold you in place while doing high-G turns in a car race.

An alternative would be a vest or waistcoat. It provides some of the shaping effect while disguising the belly, and always looks more formal than the rumpled lower half of a shirt. Jacketless with a vest is a classic professorial look for a reason, though you may easily keep the unbuttoned jacket on (a look favoured by King Edward VII, especially in later years as his waistline expanded).

[andrewrg]

Part of it will be clothes tailored to fit well for the activity, a large part of it will be posture (compare TV presenters against radio DJs who aren't actively working to the camera), and a little of it is supportive chairs.

Look at historical figures and their much more constricted jackets are buttoned when sitting. Though it should be noted the tail was split to accommodate the type of seat, with a single middle vent for the saddle and double side vents for a chair (the latter being what we basically all should wear today). The double vent makes it much easier to sit without straining the jacket.

Holding your torso straight, even when sitting, will also keep from straining the fabric. Slouching rounds the back and increases compression of the belly.

A good chair will correct your posture, keeping your torso straight and widening the angle between legs and spine. We understand now that it's better not to sit with our legs and spine at a rigid 90 degrees, but to be leaning back. When spending hours in front of a computer an ergonomic chair, which is usually found these days with mesh seat and back, will help maintain posture by preventing fatigue. By the way, this never includes "gamer" chairs, which are massively over-priced, painfully cheap in construction, and based upon car seats meant to hold you in place while doing high-G turns in a car race.

An alternative would be a vest or waistcoat. It provides some of the shaping effect while disguising the belly, and always looks more formal than the rumpled lower half of a shirt. Jacketless with a vest is a classic professorial look for a reason, though you may easily keep the unbuttoned jacket on (a look favoured by King Edward VII, especially in later years as his waistline expanded).

Thanks for the history lesson 😄 it helps to understand why things are cut the way they are. And how that does or doesn't transfer to the environment those clothes are worn in now.

[tankerjohn]

Hmm, well, this is interesting and not something I've thought about before. It seems to me that most TV personalities don't wear their own suits on air, hence the "Wardrobe provided by..." credits at the end of the broadcast. Therefore, it would stand to reason that the suit jackets are cut stay buttoned while sitting. But maybe not. They do all look pretty stiff and straight, don't they?

If you're finding it difficult to sit all day, you might look into elevating your monitor and camera to standing height.

[idvsego]

Hmm, well, this is interesting and not something I've thought about before. It seems to me that most TV personalities don't wear their own suits on air, hence the "Wardrobe provided by..." credits at the end of the broadcast. Therefore, it would stand to reason that the suit jackets are cut stay buttoned while sitting. But maybe not. They do all look pretty stiff and straight, don't they?

If you're finding it difficult to sit all day, you might look into elevating your monitor and camera to standing height.

some of that "stiff and straight" for sportscasters might be their jackets. it might also be the years of punishment they put heir bodies through making it uncomfortable to sit for any amount of time. I only played soccer and basketball through part of college and I have felt it the entire time.

[idvsego]

Part of it will be clothes tailored to fit well for the activity, a large part of it will be posture (compare TV presenters against radio DJs who aren't actively working to the camera), and a little of it is supportive chairs.

Look at historical figures and their much more constricted jackets are buttoned when sitting. Though it should be noted the tail was split to accommodate the type of seat, with a single middle vent for the saddle and double side vents for a chair (the latter being what we basically all should wear today). The double vent makes it much easier to sit without straining the jacket.

Holding your torso straight, even when sitting, will also keep from straining the fabric. Slouching rounds the back and increases compression of the belly.

A good chair will correct your posture, keeping your torso straight and widening the angle between legs and spine. We understand now that it's better not to sit with our legs and spine at a rigid 90 degrees, but to be leaning back. When spending hours in front of a computer an ergonomic chair, which is usually found these days with mesh seat and back, will help maintain posture by preventing fatigue. By the way, this never includes "gamer" chairs, which are massively over-priced, painfully cheap in construction, and based upon car seats meant to hold you in place while doing high-G turns in a car race.

An alternative would be a vest or waistcoat. It provides some of the shaping effect while disguising the belly, and always looks more formal than the rumpled lower half of a shirt. Jacketless with a vest is a classic professorial look for a reason, though you may easily keep the unbuttoned jacket on (a look favoured by King Edward VII, especially in later years as his waistline expanded).

gamer chairs are the worst.

[tankerjohn]

some of that "stiff and straight" for sportscasters might be their jackets. it might also be the years of punishment they put heir bodies through making it uncomfortable to sit for any amount of time. I only played soccer and basketball through part of college and I have felt it the entire time.

LOL! Indeed. Men who were once paid to run around and beat each other up now paid to sit still and pretend to like each other. Oh, the irony. I guess I was think of news anchors too, at least the ones who sit behind a desk.

[evanparker]

I sat on my camera the other day! it was the worst day.

[idvsego]

I sat on my camera the other day! it was the worst day.

I have to confess, thats what I thought when I read the title too lol

[evanparker]

that's nothing! i keep reading the title, and re reading it and seeing it as "shitting on camera", and wondering if that is what i thought it was, then what in the fuck am i doing clicking on it?

[JohnR]

When I'm sitting with a coat on, I pull the tails tight, tuck them under me, and sit on them to keep the shape of the jacket