The Making of “Alien Abduction ASMR”” – What It’s Like Filming a YouTube Video While Wearing a Silicone Mask

The Alien Abduction ASMR video has been one of the more difficult videos I’ve filmed due to the vision obstructing nature of the mask (might be the same difficulty as wearing the rhino mask).

The mask’s eyeholes are created and positioned in such a way as to make their appearance subtle as though there are no eye holes. It’s a clever design by the mask maker Immortal Masks. But this creates a difficult viewing situation for the mask wearer.

The first photo below shows my normal field of vision. I can see everything: the camera and my typical 2 microphone stereo/binaural setup. I know at all times where I need to position myself in order to speak into the microphones while still remaining on camera. Easy peasy!

Photo #1: This is what my normal, unobstructed field of vision looks like without a mask when filming a video. I can see the camera and its LCD screen. I can see the microphones in my peripheral vision. I know at all times where to position myself relative to the camera and microphones.

The second photo below is pretty much what I see when looking out out of the alien mask at the camera (if I were to angle my head upward to look at the camera). As you can see, my field of vision has been reduced to about 5% of what I normally see, and I have no peripheral vision whatsoever.

Photo #2: this is what it looks like when looking out of the silicone alien mask. I have a very small field of vision. I also have no peripheral vision whatsoever. It is very difficult to constantly know where I am relative to the camera and especially the microphones.

This is what made the video so difficult. I filmed 90 minutes of video, but 25 minutes had to be cut out as there was a lot of footage of me constantly looking at the camera and the microphones in order to determine where to position myself. I also had to edit out footage of me fumbling around with props due to the obstructed vision and large gloves.

The third and final photo below is what I see when I’m speaking into one of the microphones while looking towards the camera. My head is leveled (I’m looking straight ahead) so that the alien mask’s eyes are looking at the camera (the viewer). This means I can just barely see where the microphone is so that I know I’m close enough to speak into it.

Photo #3: this shows just about what I see when I’m talking into the microphone while aiming the alien mask towards the viewer.

If I were to angle my head back in order to see the camera through the mask’s eyeholes, the alien mask’s eyes would appear as though they are looking upwards. So I had to find the perfect balance of looking towards the camera without seeing the camera myself through the mask, while at the same time being just barely able to see where the microphones are in order to speak into them.

When all is said and done, the struggle was real, but it was well worth it, and I plan on doing it again!

-Paul / ER

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