We shot some videos at Kitchenlane yesterday. (The mojitodemo was scheduled for last to ensure that what was prepared wouldn’t go to waste!) So, this seems a perfect time to give you a quick peek behind our
video production scene. Of course, the process does vary some depending on whose cooking video it is.
audio and video technicians, to make-up artists and wardrobe people, to
producers, directors, and script supervisors—are swarming over a studio kitchen
set attending to the sound and lighting, the star, the script, the propping and
continuity, and dozens of other jobs. (I’ll explain about the “continuity”
shortly.) In a prep kitchen somewhere out of hearing, cooks and food stylists are
busily preparing all the recipes that will appear on camera, and helpers are washing
dishes and carrying items back and forth to the studio.
Most all the same activities happen here at Kitchenlane. Except
that my “crew” is a little smaller.
Usually, videographer Gonzalo Rodriguez (who came highly recommended by his
film professor at the University of Maryland) handles all of our sound, lighting, and video shooting tasks. (That’s Gonzalo with his handsome baby son at left.) Sometimes Gonzalo’s
cousin operates a second video cam.
The video script and the food and recipes, such as the array of icings at right, are
the responsibility of yours truly. Often, my regular recipe testers shop and ready the
food for me, but I do all the propping and food styling (as shown in the colorful cookies pic below; the associated daisy cookie how-to video is here). You can also guess who does my makeup and
wardrobe, right?
While shooting, we stop and do retakes for flubs or whenever
the kitchen gremlins cause piping bags to clog up, pastries to topple from their
cake stand, or a cookie reindeer’s antlers to break off during show-and-tell. Just
as with bigger-budget productions, we carefully capture the action from
different angles and depths, ensuring plenty of “B roll” footage. This material, like the daisy cookie and flower zoom-in below, adds a lot of visual interest
and enables viewers to really see what I’m showing them.
Later, I also create carefully styled still photographs of the food, called “beauty shots,” that are slipped into thefinal video. The mojito beauty shot below will go into the mojito demo sequence we shot yesterday. Taking such steps probably helps explain why several professionals have told us our videos are “pretty impressive,” and say they can’t tell our “team,” is so small.
One big difference with Kitchenlane shoots is that my “set”
is my own kitchen. The good news: I know where everything is and feel at home. In
one video (view it here) my grandkids came and made cookies with me, and it’s quite obvious
that they felt completely at home, too. (They’ve been making cookies in my
kitchen with me since they were toddlers.)
that has to look inviting and spotless and as if nobody ever cooked there! Which
means that there’s always a lot of last minute scrambling and scrubbing going
on, and on shoot day the laundry room right off the kitchen is crammed with
ingredient set-ups, props, and finished recipes, and the utility sink there is
full of dirty dishes! Another negative of shooting at home—sometime my poodle (see the photo at the bottom) barks,
the doorbell rings, or the neighbors decide to run loud power tools.
is, making sure when we reshoot or add more footage later that all the details—from
the pitcher sitting in the corner to the cooling rack and bowl of dough on the
countertop—look the same or match up as they should throughout. On really big
budget shoots, a script supervisor constantly checks to be sure the details and
sequences are right, but since we have to manage this ourselves, occasional errors,
some very funny, creep in. Interestingly, viewers haven’t commented on these—but
now that I’ve brought up the subject, they probably will!
disappears from the background, as does a doodad hanging from a cabinet knob. In
fact, the flowers got set aside and weren’t put back; the distracting doodad was
overlooked and should have been removed before
we started shooting.In another video a door that should have been closed
throughout is open in a couple of cuts. It’s actually the entrance to the
laundry room, which I forgot to close after retrieving some supplies. In
another quick snippet, a cookie is missing from its spot on a baking sheet before my grandson actually reaches in
and takes it!
wearing a different, though similar, apron than in all the rest of the frames!
Obviously I put on the wrong one when we reshot, though neither of us noticed until
far too late. An actual continuity editor might be in serious trouble for that
mistake; I, of course, will be keeping my job.
many teams do. Gonzalo does a “rough cut,” in which he puts together what seems
the most interesting footage in its logical sequence. Then I go over this “first
draft” very, very carefully, suggesting major cuts to root out redundancies, errors,
and slow or boring parts. Next, we weave in stills, captions, and other graphics,
and add in background music. Last, I give the video one more intense review and
suggest additional ways to trim draggy parts and pack as much useful and fun info
into 2 to 3 minutes as we can. This meticulous editing is probably another key
reason we’ve been told our work looks “pretty slick.”
Once these final changes
are made—ta da!—our video is done and goes live on YouTube!
For another Kitchenlane video that’s on YouTube, the best way to roll out cookie dough, go here. Part 2, how to cut out the dough is here.
Sorry, Toby, I don't think we'll be doing a bloopers video any time soon. So far most have just looked bad rather than funny 🙂
What an interesting glimpse "backstage." So much work goes into making a good video and yours are attractive and instructive. Very professional. I'd love to see a "blooper" collection of out-takes.
Thanks, Ruth. When we started I was surprised at how much I'd learned over the years from doing TV segments and satellite media tours and watching what the crew did.
This is a really fascinating look into how you shoot your videos–which come across as VERY professional. Probably most people don't notice the flubs that are so obvious to you.
Wow, you guys are such fabulous pros I am thrilled that YOU think our videos look good. Thank you SO MUCH for commenting–it means a lot!
Such a great post Nancy! and your videos look awesome. Great team.
Thanks so much! Yes, I needed to build a whole separate cooking area, so I could keep the "studio" one in pristine condition at all times. It's certain that I will NEVER open the refrigerator door during my shoots 🙂
That's fascinating, Nancy. Apparently you should have built a separate prep kitchen next door to your actual kitchen when you did the remodel. Or the laundry room works. Either way, the results are gorgeous!