action
yes
nailed it brian
oh yeah
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that's awesome hey i'm david ma and i'm
a director and filmmaker i take people
behind the scenes of my shoots on tick
tock and instagram where i share movie
facts and how we do food styling and
special effects on my commercial sets
today i'm going to take you behind the
scenes of how me and my crews pulled off
some of my favorite shots from films and
commercials i've directed as well as
provide some tips for how to get started
in the industry first let's start with
the food styling fact i learned on set
last year did you know that we use fake
silicone ice instead of real ice cubes
on set this is because when we light our
set film lights would melt the ice in
the drinks and we'd have to reset the
drinks multiple times after a couple
takes second if there's dialogue real
ice clinks in the glass it would make
sounds that would distract from the
dialogue on screen to give viewers a
more interesting intimate angle of the
food we're cooking sometimes i'll cut
the lip off of a pan which allows us to
get up close and personal to the food
this allows the lens to get super close
capturing all the details slow motion
moments and flavors in the pan we also
use robotic arms also known as motion
control to program and move our camera
to capture slow motion shots of products
and cooking actions these robotic arms
move really fast and are used to create
dynamic sequences for both film and tv
but before we even get to shooting it
all begins with a storyboard the
storyboard is a quick sketch of the
vision in my head that conveys framing
composition camera movement and lighting
notes to the crew in this pizza
commercial we built a fake oven that
raised the pizza as if it was a concert
stage with real smoke and haze and a
mini led lighting sequence to mimic a
concert the food stylist is holding a
handheld broiler that allows the cheese
and toppings to look fresh and extra
bubbly as if it were cooking in a real
oven now if you're going to get into the
industry here are my four tips for
getting started
tip one
make it till you make it we've all heard
the phrase fake it till you make it i've
always believed and make it till you
make it with social media it's easy to
post and get swept up in quick views now
there's nothing wrong with sharing your
journey along the way but make sure
you're advancing your craft as you do i
started as a food stylist for my first
few shoots learning the visual language
of food the details of every plate and
food styling tricks to make food look
amazing on camera tip two serve up
something unique since i couldn't afford
film school at the time i shot my own
films to build a reel i concepted wrote
directed and produced a food series of
short films that went viral and received
millions of views the premise was
creating recipe videos in the style of
iconic directors like tarantino wes
anderson michael bay and others each of
these food films had its own camera
style recipe art direction and story
around the food these films were my
introduction to the food advertising
world and showed i was bringing a new
and unique perspective to food
videography tip 3 assemble a small crew
shooting food is a complex and
detail-oriented process try to find a
friend roommate or family member who can
help you with little tasks like resets
cleaning propping or even food styling
so you can focus on making your piece as
creatively and conceptually interesting
as possible remember an idea is nothing
without the execution and the more help
you have to bring your vision to life
the happier you'll be with it tip 4 eat
cook taste before i became a food
director i photographed dishes and
became a pretty serious home cook i'd
observe and note the techniques of
different chefs cooked recipes dined out
at birya taco trucks and tried tasting
menus at michelin star restaurants
understanding food and the narratives
around it and what it means to people
helps you understand food on a deeper
level and helps you create stories
around it for more behind the scenes
movie facts and film tips follow me on
tick tock and instagram david w mob
thanks for listening and feel free to dm
me with any questions
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you