My recipe… for filming recipes!
(Download below)
Nervous you’re going to forget something when you film your first recipe video? Don’t be. Keep reading.
My foolproof way of planning my shoots may seem basic, but it works. It’s as simple as this:
Think it through, and write it down.
Use paper and pencil if you want. But it’s this easy.
I’ve transitioned to doing this in a worksheet on my computer, but for years I honestly sketched it out on scrap paper - for me there’s something about not looking at a screen that allows me to get into things deeper.
So, I’m sharing this worksheet not as a “make work project” but because I actually use this every time I plan a recipe shoot. This is my tried, tested and true method of not forgetting anything as well as ensuring I’m confident going in (even if I’m only filming my mummy in the kitchen.)
This is my recipe for getting your head wrapped around the actual recipe that you're cooking or bakin. It helps you think through the shots before your camera is in your hand, and things are burning or bubbling or spilling.
Download my filming recipe worksheet. (It’s free!)
How do I use it?
What I do is copy the list of ingredients and all of the steps of the recipe into the spreadsheet (download it below!) Recipes by their very definition are a set of instructions or a method so half the work is done for you already! Recipes are usually broken up into little steps anyways! Then, beside these cooking or baking instructions, I write (or type) what I’m going to do with my camera. My suggestion is to take the smallest steps that there are and put them into their own separate cell in the spreadsheet. This is going to inform every single shot that goes into the video. The more specific the action is for the recipe the easier it is going to be to plan the shots, and therefore, the easier your video will be edit.
Simply think through the recipe, and begin filling in the steps you want to take and the shots you dream up in your head.
A few things I consider and do each time:
Film the physical recipes. Whether it has Grandma’s handwriting on it, whether it's in an old cookbook whether it's been printed on a piece of paper or cut out of the newspaper, doesn't matter if you're actually going to use it in the final video it just matters that you captured it just in case you need to refer back to it when you’re editing. Sometimes I use it in the video if it looks nice, sometimes I don't. So I am actually going to be shooting this video in two days so I'm I'm doing this live with you. And she has showed me that her kitchen is reasonably small so I know that I'm going to be shooting quite close to everything. So I'm going to write in here close up of.
Introduce the character(s). Sometimes that looks like an empty shot of the kitchen with someone tying up their apron or walking through it. Sometimes it’s a close up of their face getting started.
Cover the scene. Do 3 or 4 shots of the same thing from different angles, different perspectives or with a different lens. You need a mix of close ups and wide shots, face shots and hand shots to make your video exciting. Be creative here but do each action multiple times.
Include “interview” or “question” markers on your written shot plan wherever you want to ask a question or get more information (and therefore include audio of them talking!)
To download my filming recipe worksheet and get access to a video explanation of how I use this worksheet to plan my recipe shoots:
Want more of this?
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