jessicaevansuca

[jessicaevansuca]

Where I’ve Been...

As mentioned before, my studio work and life in general (as well as pretty much the entire world) was abruptly put on hold due to the Coronavirus. As time had passed it got increasingly more difficult to carry on with my project and it pretty much came to a standstill. We were told that our final major project work won't account to anything and instead our previous work will be used to gauge our results for our Pre-Degree course.

I can’t say I'm not disappointed by the fact that I wouldn’t be able to carry on with my project, as it was something I was really enjoying, however, now I know it is something I enjoy I will definitely pick up where I left off sometime in the future. 

I believe that this project hasn’t gone to waste, I have learnt a lot through the experience and found new interests in the world of food artistry and styling. Many of the artists I found through my research I am still following on social media and I am genuinely interested in their craft, which is something I didn’t know before.

The whole situation has sprung so much uncertainty and worry, it feels as if the world has flipped upside-down and its a very unusual feeling. You look around and it almost feels apocalyptic, something only found within dramatic doomsday movies or post-apocalyptic video games. You find yourself saying and doing things you would’ve scoffed at just weeks ago. I wanted to write this post to finish off my blog I have been updating over the past two years as it would’ve seemed strange to leave it so open ended. 

For the most part I have really enjoyed my Pre-Degree course, and I am scared but excited by the new chapter of my life and I hope it is going to be as brilliant as I want it to be. 

[jessicaevansuca]

Further Acrylic Experiments

As food is quite important at the moment. I was reluctant to get the curve box back out and try more foods, however, today we had some things that were going to be thrown out so I thought it was an appropriate time to experiment some more with the acrylic I have got.

While in the studio a couple of weeks ago, I caught up with my technical tutor Rob, while talking through my project with him and explaining what I wanted to do with the acrylic sheet I had, he suggested a method that makes a super white background, and he said he would help me set it up when I next saw him.

Obviously circumstances have changed, and everything has moved online. I emailed rob to see if he could help me set it up still and he agreed. We emailed back and fourth and he showed me how to set the space up, as well as the settings my camera needed to be on. He was really helpful in showing me how to do it, despite the limitations of not being in person. I eventually got something I was happy with, and started my shoot.

I had very little food to experiment with, a handful of pasta, some spinach leaves and an old lime. I’m finding that a lot of the shots I get look a lot better as pictures then as video as I have individual control over every image. But the videos turned out good too.

My favourite thing I did was the images of the spinach, it looked very abstract while looking fresh, I think the crisp white of the background helped to portray the food as being fresh and healthy. 

Here are the various images I took throughout the shoot. I couldn’t do a lot given the amount I had but it was a good test to see how the acrylic ‘floating’ method looks. This was a top down angle but Rob also said I could do it from the front so it looks like the produce is floating in mid air, so I think I will try this method next.

[jessicaevansuca]

Online Tutorial

Today, I had a tutorial with Joel. I was supposed to have a tutorial with Simon across email, but I had already decided to have a video email with Joel as I find it’s better to talk through video.

The tutorial was a good chance to not only discuss how I am doing within my project, but also just have a general chat about the current situation which really helps.

We talked about what I am doing currently, and how the situation has affected the progress of my project, but also how I can work around this and produce work given the situation.

We came to the conclusion that of course the work I will produce can’t be of the same standard as the work I have been producing in the studio as not being able to get access to the adobe programs has limited some of my options. If I can gain access to the adobe programs again that will be brilliant but for now I need to focus on work I can produce without.

Joel and I were talking about the videos I have already shot, and we talked about the fact that some of the videos looked really appetising (like the bread shots), but some looked quite grotesque (like the yoghurt on the weetabix) and how there is a fine line between food being a desirable thing and being quite a gross thing.

This is something I think I can research and explore as I like the idea of the juxtaposition between the two.

Joel also emailed me some recourses I will look into and get some ideas from.

[jessicaevansuca]

Editing the Video

For editing the video, I couldn’t use premiere Pro as my adobe is having issues, however, I could use some of the feature on the video editing app Premiere Rush. I had limited features on the app as I can’t access my adobe account to get every feature, however, it was good to use for a simple edit, so it ended up being sufficient.

Premiere rush is similar to Premiere Pro, so it wasn’t difficult to get used to. I edited the footage together, adding titles and trying to get a couple of smooth transitions. I then went into the premiere rush audio library and used a generic, happy soundtrack, similar to that used in a typical ‘Tasty’ video.

I think the results are better than I expected, the video has come out quite well and I think it captures the essence of that style of video. If I have the time and resources I will be trying this again, but focusing more attention on the aesthetics of the video itself, like the plates and work surface I use.

This is the finished video - Password: tasty

A couple of things I will be careful with if I do this again:

- Be consistent and quick with timing:

I found that at some points, I was slower/faster than other clips, this made the video slightly disjointed at parts. If I maintain the same speed when adding ingredients it should even it out.

- Once an ingredient is in, leave it in:

A couple of times during the shoot I added a little more of an ingredient after the main shot. This made weaving the shots harder as there were inconsistencies between the two shots, as the ingredients in the bowl looked different. If I work quickly and stick with the ingredients in the bowl as soon as I have added them, it should keep the shots looking smooth.

-Look carefully at the video before taking it:

A couple of times during the video you can see ingredients and other objects in the corner on the screen, this makes the video look less smooth. If I make sure everything is out of the shot every time I add a new ingredient, it should make the shots look clean.

- Charge Batteries!

A simple mistake to make, but not having a charged battery stopped me from adding a time lapse to the video, something I initially wanted to do. If I check all of my equipment before a shoot, I should avoid this in future.

[jessicaevansuca]

Editing Style

Using the ‘Tasty’ cookie video as a main reference, I set off trying to edit in a similar way. I studied the video, as well as many other videos closely, and this is what I found to be common. 

Titles:

Titles are used frequently in recipe videos to give instructions to the viewer, or add small descriptions or comments about what the video is displaying. They show up when relevant, and give a little more understanding to the video playing. They sometimes appear and disappear in creative ways, by showing up when a door is opened or having the text disappear into the bowl when a mixture is being mixed.

Cheesy Music:

This is also something worth noting, in these types of videos, they usually feature no commentary but instead have a repetitive and cheesy soundtrack in the background which plays throughout. I suspect that these songs are royalty free, or produced by the company to add to their videos.

Range in shots:

There isn’t an extensive amount of range with the shots used in these food videos, however, they do make an effort to change the shot a couple of times through the video. They keep the shots simple and pleasing to look at, and when there is an opportunity to make a food look more appetising, they use various shots to show it off. Tasty also seem to enjoy zooming in on a mixing shot almost every time they mix something together.

Transitions:

Food video producers like to be creative with transitions, usually to help the progression of a recipe such as baking. They move objects to the camera, and transition into another shot to make the video move smoothly. 

[jessicaevansuca]

Trying the ‘Tasty’ style

Today, I decided to try and replicate the style of recipie video seen everywhere on social media. I am aware there are hundreds of food related recipe channels and accounts all over the internet. However, I am using Buzzfeed’s ‘Tasty’ franchise as my main inspiration.

Due to the coronavirus outbreak, I have been more careful with using food, so decided to make something that requires little ingredients. This also is similar to that of the style of food videos, as they aim to make things look simple and accessible.

I wanted to try it out roughly at first, focusing more on the format of the video rather than the aesthetic. So I didn’t bring out the best plates and bowls and didn’t worry about the surface I used to film.

I chose a simple cookie recipe, I didn’t pick one from the ‘Tasty’ channel itself as I wanted to see if I could adapt the style rather than copy a video. So I used a recipe from a website instead. I got my ingredients and set up my shot.

Even though I picked a different recipie, I used a cookie video by tasty as reference to how they filmed each shot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_zM9IafC7A

Many of the videos on the tasty channel are at a birds eye view angle, so I tried to replicate this as much as possible. I got my tripod and angled it as much as I could, I couldn’t get a full top down view because the table was in the way, but I got as close as I could.

I then filmed each step, keeping the camera rolling all the way through. I tried to emulate the same style, making sure my hand entered the shot to add an ingredient in the same place every time to keep things consistent.

Once I had the ingredients ready to cook, I stopped the recording and moved it over to the oven and took some shots of the food inside. I wanted to take a time lapse but I didn’t think ahead and my battery on the camera died before I got the chance.

After they were baked, I took them out and took some shits of them done, so I could use them at the beginning and end of the video, similar to that of typical tasty videos.

[jessicaevansuca]

Buzzfeed Tasty

Buzzfeed is a online media company that focuses its attention on social media. It is a multimillion dollar franchise which have websites, YouTube channels and social media pages that produce content every day. 

The ‘Tasty’ Company

Buzzfeed is a very versatile company, and have produced many different styles of media. The style I’m most interested in of course is their food videos, which have gained massive success through the years.

‘Buzzfeed Tasty’ is one of the many branches of the buzzfeed franchise, they focus on producing various food content such as recipe how-to’s, celebrity cooking shows and food tips and tricks. Tasty has an Instagram, Facebook and YouTube account,  as well as a section on the Buzzfeed website. All of these platforms have millions of followers and rack up millions of views and shares every day. As of March 2020, Tasty has 36.6 Million followers on Instagram and 17.7 Million subscribers on YouTube. The YouTube channel having a total of over 4 Billion views. 

The tasty franchise utilises society’s interest in food, from making recipes that people would want to try at home, to recipes so ridiculous, you feel compelled to watch.  This, paired with the desire to look at good food, makes channels like Tasty so popular.  This links into what I have been looking at to do with advertising, as channels like these, that rake in millions of views, are approached by brands wanting their product to be used. You can find many videos on the Tasty channel that feature brands, either on purpose or through just using the brands in the recipes. This is a subtle yet powerful way to sell products, as the millions of viewers are being exposed to brands while they watch, just like you would in an advertisement.

This is similar to product placement in films and TV shows, the act of showing a product without explicitly advertising it is something we’re not unfamiliar with. It has just simply evolved to the new social climate with online food video. Not all food video companies use advertisement, but it’s definitely worth noting.

Recipe videos

The main videos on the Tasty social media profiles are Recipe videos. These simple, yet delicious looking videos supposedly teach viewers how to cook all sorts of food. They use a simple video style, showing the ingredients and process, as well as the customary food shots at the end, which display the food in a desirable way.

The format is almost always the same, and it has proven to be extremely effective, with a videos getting millions of views hours from posting.

This style is soemthing I have been interested in, as it seems to be fairly low-cost, but produces videos which get insane amounts of views. Hence why the company is so successful.

I’m going to look into replicating the style of these videos, to find out just how easy it is to make, as well as finding out if this style is soemthing worth looking more into.

[jessicaevansuca]

Online Recipe Videos

While researching into food and food videos, a lot of what I was seeing were online food videos either showing off food, or showing how to make foods.

There seems to be a large online presence of ‘Recipe Videos’, especially on social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook. They are an extremely popular style of video, with some videos raking in millions of views in a short span of time. I personally find these videos entertaining, and clearly I’m not the only one.

There’s got to be a psychology behind why so many people enjoy these simple yet effective videos. Maybe it’s simply the fact that the videos provide an ‘easy watch’ and require little to no thought into watching. The videos are also short and to the point, and produce amazing and tasty looking results, which people may find desirable to try out for themselves.

https://youtu.be/fcD94e93cCk

As I’m having trouble with the Adobe programs, I thought it was a good idea to look into these recipe videos and see if I could attempt my own. I can use a less extensive video editing software for this as the videos are usually fairly simple, so it will be easier to achieve.

[jessicaevansuca]

Unexpected Circumstances

So while I have been working on my project, the world has slowly been surrendering to the Coronavirus. It was not a problem at first, however, now things are being shut down and we are being advised to stay home while the virus is strengthening. This has put a spanner in the works for my project, however, I am determined to carry on with it as much as I can.

The first problem was to find a way to access programs at home, as the editing programs I use for my pictures and video I only have access to at school. 

This changed however, when adobe generously offered 2 months of adobe software for free so students can work from home. This is a brilliant thing for adobe to do, however, I can’t gain access to my account.

I have tried every adobe help centre and emailed everyone and anyone to try and figure out why I have been locked out of my account. But haven't been given a clear answer. This is very frustrating. I am going to persevere and try my very best to gain access to these programs so I can continue with my project. Wish me luck!

Moving Forward

After emailing Joel, I have scheduled a video tutorial with him that I will have next week. I think this will help me organise myself and see what is and isn’t possible with regards to my project and my initial ideas. I’m also going to call the IT department of the school and see if they can assist me with the adobe program situation.

For now, I’m going to look into other areas of my research and put what I was doing before on hold. I think this is the best way to progress rather than wait to get something fixed.

[jessicaevansuca]

Testing Tabletops

Here are some of the test shots for the acrylic. Just as I had hoped, the acrylic gave a really nice glossy reflection which looks really nice. I have to make sure it is kept clean so no imperfections can be seen on it, but I think it will do nicely for some of my shots I have planned. 

The only problem I had with the acrylic is what I put underneath it, I put some black paper underneath which in theory should’ve worked. But instead created a slightly blue hue which can look good for some of the shots, but as I was specifically looking for an all black look, I am going to try and find some other materials to put underneath to see if it gives me any different looks.

I tested the tabletop with a tomato, I really like how the red reflected off, giving it a glassy look which I really like. I think the acrylic is a useful tool to have when doing food photography. 

[jessicaevansuca]

Shiny Tabletops

Today, I set out to try and find a material that could give me a waterproof reflective background. I. looked online to find any ideas and a lot. of people said acrylic or perspex is good and it is both waterproof and reflective. I looked. on websites such as wickes and B&Q, and had a look in store to see if I could find any, to no avail. I decided to ask my tutor who directed me to the. UCA shop downstairs, and sure enough, I managed to get a clear acrylic sheet.

I didn’t have much time to experiment last night, but from what I can see, the acrylic sheet works nicely and is sufficiently reflective. I put the acrylic sheet on top of some black paper so it reflected while being black and I experimented with a tomato. 

[jessicaevansuca]

Friday Workshop- Random Character Making?

Today, we were set to do a photography workshop, however,due to a mix up in rooms, we missed it. Instead, we ended up going to the other workshop that was happening about character development. 

It isn’t something I will busing right at this point in time, but it was a fun workshop and could be useful in the future.

[jessicaevansuca]

Filming Professionally

While doing my project, I was approached by a company who film professional videos to be hired as a camera operator. I eagerly accepted, as this would be my first ever professional job doing filming. I filmed at Pizza Express in Maidstone, operating the camera that was filming a Barbra Streisand tribute band. The experience was really cool. I got to experiment with the angles and work with professionals. I was also paid for the work which was a great addition to the experience! 

Overall, this was a great experience and. it was interesting to see how an independent company works film for customers.

Here is one of the videos edited together. My angle is the one that is the closest to the singers face, side on. I. also did. the opening shot with the out of focus pan down, which the boss of. the company really liked and used in the final video.

[jessicaevansuca]

The Experiments - Cheese Pulls

I had some spare mozzarella sticks so decided to use them by pulling them apart. The effect is quite good, but I need to find a way to pull them so my fingers aren’t in the shot. It would also help if the cheese was more melted.

[jessicaevansuca]

The Experiments - Shredded Wheats

Using the leftover food, I tried to make something appetising. The main thing I had was an old box of shredded wheats. I experimented with the composition of the cereal, as well as pouring various foods over top of it. I tried both yoghurt and hoisin sauce. Not the nicest of foods to eat with shredded wheat but I was trying to gage what looked good with the product. 

The hoisin sauce worked really nicely with the shot, its syrup like consistency worked well, producing a slow drip effect which was really nice. The yoghurt was ok, but not as good and I added too much. 

This is the compilation of all the shredded wheat videos.

[jessicaevansuca]

The Experiments - Bread and oil

Using the food I was given by my family friend, I tried to take elements from the M&S adverts and other influences to see if they looked good when I replicated them.

I started with bread, there is a shot in the M&S ‘Adventures in imagination’ where they use olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and bread. At first showing them in their own components, and then putting them together by pouring the oil and vinegar over the bread. It is really simple but looks really effective.

I found an old bread roll in the cupboard and decided to try and replicate it. I think I got the composition and brightness of the bread right, but I think there's always room to colour correct in premiere, which I will do when I compile all of my experiments from tonight into one video.

This is a compilation of just the bread videos. I think I did well and I will be using bread when I draft together my own ad.

[jessicaevansuca]

Black Background - Home Experiment

Tonight, I decided to try what I had learnt with Rob at home. I set the studio up in the same configuration as how I did with rob and sure enough, the background looked jet black. There was a few adjustments I needed to make to make sure it was completely black. 

I needed some subjects for my images, but I didn’t want to waste food, so I asked close family and friends if they had any food they were going to throw away anyway. Luckily, one of my family friends had a few items that were out of date, and so I drove to theirs and picked it up. I will try this again if I want to do any more experimenting, as it reduces waste. 

I started with no backdrop as you couldn’t see it anyway, however, you could start to see it when the lights were being adjusted. After looking at the images and seeing this, I put a black backdrop up with some black paper I bought earlier on in the day. This fixed it and I got the complete black backdrop I needed. 

Most of the pictures I took I used black paper for the tabletop and black paper for the background. I wanted to experiment with a glossy tabletop to have the colours bounce off, however I couldn't find a material that I could use to do so. I also wanted to look into water after watching a video where a man drops various vegetables in water and films the slo-motion water coming up. I wanted to try and experiment with water and food. The only problem I had was I don't have anything waterproof. I tried using a black bin bag to give a reflective effect, but the bin bag wasn't completely black and had a lot of creases and faults, making the surface blue and wrinkly.

I was trying to think of solutions and came to the conclusion that some form of acrylic could do nicely, as clear or black acrylic sheets would reflect nicely. I will have to look into where to buy this sort of material and try and get some for my next shoot. 

The next few posts will be detailing the different foods I experimented with.