sandersstudies:

For I know we joke about the whole “the sides look like different people” thing, but in all honesty I think (besides Thomas’ amazing acting) a great deal of it is camera angles. It varies a bit by video (and there are exceptions, like the Christmas video) but here are some general trends: 

Thomas is seen almost straight-on and has much more space to move than the sides. The objects behind him are at a distance while the sides (except Logan) have their backs to a wall. A fair amount of Thomas’ torso is visible, and combining that with the distance of the things behind him makes him appear a little bit tall. However, the top of his head is always in frame, unlike some of the sides. 

The camera frequently looks slightly down at Patton, which gives the illusion of a larger forehead/eyes (traits associated with cuteness and youth) and smaller shoulders. Think of the way many people take selfies from slightly above: It’s to enhance those features. This angle also makes Patton look smaller. You can always see the top of Patton’s head in the frame, but often not much of his torso.  The height of the blinds (and the fact that we usually can’t see where they begin or end) add to this effect. His body takes up very little of the frame, even when he is emoting with his hands. 

Roman is next to objects, usually the TV. He’s taller than these objects, which gives him the illusion of being tall. The broad shoulders of his costume make him appear to have broader shoulders (especially in the 2.0 outfit). His distance from the camera varies more frequently with his actions than any other side except maybe Virgil. His head is occasionally slightly cut out by the top of the frame, and he seems to take up more of the frame with his body than any other side except Virgil, who is very near the camera. Like Logan, he has good posture, but his emotiveness makes him vary his distance from the camera and he frequently crouches or bends forward to express emotion as well. In general I’d say his stance/posture/angle vary the most of all the sides.

With the exception of the very early appearances of Anxiety, Virgil is usually closer to the camera than any other side. When he leans forward to make a point, he’s very near the camera. Often the top of his head is out of frame. He is also seen at something close to a two-thirds angle while the other sides are usually facing (or close to facing) the camera. When Virgil does look at the camera, he’s not looking forward like Thomas, but looking slightly to the side (his right, the audience’s left). The fact that we so rarely see Anxiety straight-on is enough to make him appear different than the others in the audience’s mind’s eye. Very little of his torso is visible, and when he hunches his shoulders this effect is only magnified. Because we know he is standing on the stairs, he is raised above the camera (which makes his chin look slightly different than the other sides’) and he looks down at Patton and Logan, but seems to be fairly eye-level with Roman, which might be another contributing factor in Roman appearing tall. Finally, Virgil wears clothes that are too big for him, which makes him appear skinnier. 

For the life of me I can’t figure out why Logan always looks slimmer than the other sides, but there is usually a fair amount of his torso visible, and his excellent posture probably contributes to a sort of slimming effect as well. The top of his head is occasionally out of frame, making him appear a little taller. When he looks at Virgil, he looks slightly upward, but Virgil is raised above him by the stairs. The stairs are the only piece of setting “shared” by two sides. We can tell from its position that Virgil is above Logan (standing on a higher step). Logan is the only side with as much space behind him as Thomas. Take a look at his nearness to the camera compared to Roman when the two duet in Crofter’s: The Musical. 

A good way to see the differences is to watch “Making Some Changes” and the first blooper reel, as a lot of these details apply to Valerie, Joan, Talyn, and Terrence when they switch roles as well.