Publication in Russian on the Zen blog
https://dzen.ru/a/Zh5r1HfJWD6-5fqF

We reveal the features and secrets of video filming food, how to film food so that viewers want to eat! From pre-production to the final delivery of the project.

Publication from PiterPro_Production together with Mikhail Smirnov (founder and head of CMCproduction and SmartREC).

I would venture to guess that many of those reading this article have already filmed food on a smartphone more than once and posted the fruits of their creativity on social networks. Surely, these creators noticed that in advertising videos the burger looked beautiful, but for some reason theirs didn’t turn out very well. I hope my story will give all readers a clear idea of what kind of beast this “food photography” is.

In my opinion, professional food photography is the most difficult area in the video industry. It requires a lot of resourcefulness and patience from you.

Still from our shooting for LUCKY GROUP:

LUCKY GROUP
Purpose of the video: Corporate video.

Let's look at the stages of working on an advertising video, the creation of which requires Food photography.

Scenario

There is a misconception that a script is not needed for an animated video or a video that does not feature actors. But it is while working on the script that all shooting techniques and sequence of shots are determined. Thanks to this, the videos are seamless and harmonious.

Storyboard.

The stage during which the script is laid out frame by frame, camera angles and movements are determined. When working on a storyboard, it is especially important to take into account the presence of infographics in the frame, so that everyone on set understands which side and how the subject can be positioned. Also, shooting techniques are determined, and there are a lot of them in food photography.

Example of a food video storyboard for SubWay

Preparing for filming.

Based on the script and storyboard, the operator determines the choice of equipment that he will need to create the video. She also selects items that can be used to decorate the product and give it a more appetizing look. In general, purchasing products is a very important process. A food stylist goes to the store, walks along the shelves and selects the most beautiful fruits, vegetables or meat products - everything that may be needed for shooting. Therefore, if in a store you see a buyer who is looking too closely at tomatoes and carefully putting them in a bag, then most likely this is not a strange person, but a food stylist preparing for filming. This is done to ensure that only the most beautiful products are in the frame. However, even a beautiful fruit can look “tasteless” in the frame, and then specialists in this type of photography use their secret tricks, which they, like magicians, keep secret.

Filming.

The process is very complex and very lengthy. During a twelve-hour shift, 5-6 scenes are filmed. Of course, a lot depends on the level of complexity of each scene, but on average this is the output. I'll tell you why this always takes so long.

Start over. First of all, preparing the set. Let's imagine a situation where you need to film how a burger comes together in the air, or how a roll flies - your task is not only to ensure that everything turns out beautifully, but also to make the viewer want to eat this dish. This is the main goal of food photography.

Unfortunately, it is impossible to control the flight of sausages or fruits, like the flight of a drone. Therefore, in order to build scenes with products floating in the air, you need many different devices: stands, fishing lines, etc. This usually takes about two and a half hours!

Every detail matters in food photography! The background and food props included in the frame.

Food shooting process for TV

To get the perfect shot, you have to do a lot of takes. Everyone is always interested in: how many products do you need for a shoot? One of the biggest misconceptions is that to complete a task, it is enough to bring a ready-made burger, pizza, etc. to the set. In fact, all the dishes are prepared right on the set, and most often this work is done by a food stylist, unless of course he needs to recreate such complex dishes that require the level of a chef from a Michelin Star restaurant.

Even after thoroughly preparing the subject, additional polish is required. This moment can be compared to putting on an actor’s makeup. One of the most famous techniques is applying varnish to products to give them shine. And to create a fogging effect in a glass of beer, water with glycerin is used. And of course, there are many other secrets.

I think you're all wondering: where does all the food go after filming? No matter how sad it may sound, they are all disposed of, because... covered with a bunch of different substances that are extremely unsafe to eat. This is the irony of the situation - the appetizing food that you see in commercials is absolutely unsuitable for consumption.

Post-production

Editing food photography is no different from standard editing a regular video. Therefore, let’s better understand what role the color correction and sound design stages play for these videos.

Sound design is the process of decorating a video using sound effects. As you know, a person reacts very strongly to different sounds and experiences vivid emotions from listening to music. So it’s the sound design that helps to capture the viewer’s attention from the beginning to the end of the video. Imagine: a cucumber crunches, bubbles in the soda make noise, the sound of ice cracking in your glass... Agree, you immediately feel the desire to eat that juicy cucumber or drink a carbonated drink! In simple terms, sound design can control our desires.

Still from an advertising video for SubWay

SUBWAY BALL ROLL
Purpose of the video: Promotional video of a new combo set in the Subway restaurant chain.

Now let me draw your attention to the importance of color correction. If you look at store shelves, you will notice that all the products have very faded colors. Their shades are very different from the bright palette that you see on the screen. But what’s surprising is that subconsciously we prefer that the same tomato have a bright, rich color.

You can even try the experiment yourself! Buy a red fish, film it on your phone, and then see what happens. I'm sure you won't want to eat it after watching it. But if suddenly you see in the video that the fish is bright red, then you can be congratulated - obviously, you bought a very “chemical” fish. And all simply because by nature the red color should not be so bright. So color correction helps us bring to the screen all your ideal ideas about how beautiful and healthy food should look.

When we go through all these rounds, the end result is a good video that will delight and at the same time “seduce” its viewer.

In the article, I briefly talked about the stages of creating food photography and I hope that I was able to explain how much work is required to produce such high-quality videos. Well, in the end I wish you bon appetit!

(General Director of PiterPro_production Ermakov A.I.)
You can find out about our prices and work in the area of food photography here.

Publication from PiterPro_Production https://piter-pro.com/
Official permanent partner of Yandex Taxi, Subway Russia, social network Tik Tok, Yandex charity project "Help is Near", Expoforum, Government of St. Petersburg, Association "NAUMIR", Tinkoff Bank, Company "Siberian Wellness", Volkswagen dealership network, Moley Robotics, “Magic World”, MEDI, Siberian Wellness, “My Business”, Gillette (P&G), “TatNeft”, “Geyser”, IKEA, “Sovcombank”, “Bekhterev”, “White Birch”. Seaport of St. Petersburg, international IT company T-Sistems, IT company Novardis, Rossiya airline, and many others.

Together with CMCproduction and SmartREC https://vk.com/smastudio
Professional video production CMCproduction and SmartREC.
CMCproduction - full cycle video production.
SmartREC is a territory of free creativity, the first mobile video production in St. Petersburg.

Author's video content.
In collaboration with video studios CMCproduction & SmartREC
https://www.youtube.com/c/ViolettaWennman

If you are interested in making videos, join our communities.

I'm making a video
Video for business
Promotional videos
Instagram content
Movies
TV programs and reality shows
As well as professional reviews of products, video equipment, video equipment, devices, gadgets.

Professional video production CMCproduction and SmartREC
CMCproduction - full cycle video production
SmartREC - a territory of free creativity, the first mobile video production in St. Petersburg

I am also a professional in smartphone video production. I love filming on my phone and am happy to share materials from filming and useful information about how it was filmed.
Post your work via offer news https://vk.com/topcontent2022 TopContent

TopContent on Zen https://dzen.ru/topcontent2023

Telegram channel from the head and founder of CMCproduction and SmartREC.
Let's share how the filming goes. Promotions for clients, invitations to participate in joint projects.
News, promotions, invitation to participate in joint projects.
https://t.me/CMCproduction

Killer cocktail photography.
At the end of the working day you want something refreshing! A delicious cocktail will do! Fragments of the video we made for cocktails. This is what we do when we are asked to shoot a beautiful cocktail... Video for a brand (compilation, shooting for Restobar 1828). After the shooting, the whole bar is covered in puddles!

A beautiful cocktail.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/DFTptoJx3Hk

Killer cocktail.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/qVQ1bNQM1og

A refreshing cocktail.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/NSopwFrYWTA

Stylish cocktail.
Dry ice creates a very cool pattern in the frame and ripples of waves of movement, captivating the eye. You can look at this for a long time, especially with some Chillout, like a video picture!

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/W9xsMkriImI

Delicious cocktail.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/oAzlVfdzykU

Tasty cocktail.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/OL5nVXloa8s

Publication in Russian on the Zen blog
https://dzen.ru/a/Zh5r1HfJWD6-5fqF

I INVITE YOU TO THE TELEGRAM CHANNEL
UNCENSORED
https://t.me/shipshard