Regional commercial shot with AF100 and Nikkor Primes

gkantziper

gkantziper

Esteemed Member
I lit and operated on this spot and I am putting it out there for comments, suggestions and I am hoping others will put there work up for viewing. Really curious to see spot work, etc...from others on the forum shot with the AF100. Looking at adding an F3 or FS700, but still weighing the need.

http://youtu.be/yvJdwBsk5ec
 
What did the client think of it? That's pretty much all that matters. I thought it looked great once the real footage kicked in, the speckly aging effect wasn't all that effective, but the food shots looked lovely.
 
Thanks Barry. The client was happy. It was there second round of spots with me. (I guess you may be familiar with B-Ville as they are all over NC and VA?) The "effected" footage was shot by someone else with an HPX500 but likely didn't match well?!?
 
I am sorry because I am going to be very harsh.

The food shots do not achieve what they should be doing...

ie. They do not make me want to eat the product at all!

My saying is ..." Trigger the crave". ( I shoot and direct with that in mind constantly and religiously)

Most of the problem in what I saw, is lack of a food stylist ...and next is the lighting and photography.

When you shoot food...you and the crew and the client must be salivating and going "wow", "yum"...

Food shooting needs color, texture, selective focus , movement, action, steam, heat. It needs food cues that "trigger the crave"...salt, moisture, ooze, sizzle...

Think bacon, think beer, think hot fries, think ice-creamy, think salted nuts, think ... etc.... ( drooling yet?)

Food photography needs precise framing and composition ( eg close up,
camera angles, lens selection, DOF deep/ shallow...)

Take a look at great food shots and analyse what makes them great.
Analysethe lighting ,photography ... and replicate it ...but do understand that you ned to have something great in front of the lens before you can do anything.

Only a foodstylist can give you that (unless you happen to be one your self).

Another saying we use .. " you can not turn chicken manure into chicken pie"
 
Have to agree with shooter. The food looked dry and unpleasing. Color was under saturated and the lighting was too flat. Needed more contrast The food needed that glossy wet look. With a tight budget adding a food stylist is hard however shooting food is one of the hardest to shoot.
 
I just saw this on WFMY News 2 this morning. Actually want to try the BLT now! Glad to see something shot on the AF100 on local TV.

The background with the egg basket and tomatoes looks lit well, the background color is what put me off a little, too dark for advertising a sandwich you will eat in the morning.

The shots of the individual food items work, but the collective sandwich does lack in appeal. Like Eric says: glossy, wet, and more contrasty.
 
My favourite shot was the sizzling bacon shot. That made me go "mmm". I thought it was a good spot. Shooter had some great constructive feedback, but overall I thought it did the job! Good stuff!
 
Thanks for the input. We didn't have a professional food stylist, just a really multi-talented producer! I thought she did a good job considering food so tough! Also, we shot in 2 locations, kitchen and "studio" (breakroom adjacent to kitchen) ~ 3 hours and they got 3 different spots. It was very low budget. 3 person crew including director/producer.
 
When you shoot food...you and the crew and the client must be salivating and going "wow", "yum"...

Food shooting needs color, texture, selective focus , movement, action, steam, heat. It needs food cues that "trigger the crave"...salt, moisture, ooze, sizzle...
Click to expand...


Yes it is important that your client is happy, but -
Shooter knows what he's talking about here, I've produced hundreds of food commericals in the US for top directors. I am not being critical
about your spot I just think you have to give it more....balls? take a look at this link, I produced all of these and did the final edit on the Ruth Chris. (sorry was a long time ago, it's in SD) Hope this helps.
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/8738417/domestic_spots/

and in all fairness to you these spots had a huge budgets, 90k plus per day!
 
Just realized we might be hitting you too hard, my apologies - hope this comes off more as advice than criticisim. Shooting food is not easy.
I believe the start of this thread was to celebrate the use of an AF100 in a local commercial.
Love this camera.
 
I hope my harshness was also considered as advice.

OP is welcome to ask me for some tips that woud have helped..despite the constraints of budget, crew and time.
 
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