In food commercials, we often see such delicious things that we unwittingly become victims of marketers. And the sandwiches there are delicious, and the cocktails are multi-layered, and some Bavarian sausages are so steamy that it seems that I would give a lot for a couple of such portions.
But you will be very disappointed when you find out WHAT we are actually offered to taste!
Now we will share with you the main secrets that are used in the studio when shooting such gastronomic videos.
milk rivers
The milk that you see in a bowl of very healthy mules is actually a mixture of sunscreen and glue. Such a liquid has a greater luster and flows beautifully from a spoon. Flakes in it do not get wet and remain very appetizing.
foamy mountains
Have you seen the foam rising from the beer mugs? She is lush, huge, almost lacy. But certainly not beer! For its manufacture, ordinary soap or dishwashing liquid is taken and generously added to a bottle of tea or a mixture of apple juice and vegetable oil. Beer is ready!
Exotic cocktails
Do you think they have really expensive colored alcohol in them? Do you hope that a lady in a bikini really sips it through a straw and smiles so blissfully? No matter how! For these colored illusions, ordinary gelatin and dye are used. Well, and water, of course)
clouds of steam
What you think is fragrant steam from hot dishes is actually smoke from incense sticks. They are hidden behind a plate of food and filmed from the right angle. Therefore, the studio always smells not of some kind of shawarma, but, for example, of jasmine, which has a much better effect on the work process and does not allow the staff to relax.
And if they save even on sticks, then they simply draw "steam" on the computer.
meat supplies
The meat in the ads is usually neither pork nor beef. To advertise dishes with open meat fillings (for example, tacos), chopped makeup sponges are used. These porous pieces are carefully soaked in sauces, after which they look very much like meat and keep their shape perfectly. If the dish consists of several layers of dough, they are often glued together.
And if you need to remove a whole piece of meat (for example, a steak), then use a raw semi-finished product, only slightly browned for appearance. Then it is covered with hairspray and the characteristic “grill stripes” are applied with a special marker!
To create a golden crust on a chicken leg, it is treated with a building hair dryer, and mashed potatoes are injected under the skin with a syringe (this gives splendor to the chicken silhouette).
Ice icebergs
If suddenly you see ice in an advertisement, immediately say Stanislav’s “I don’t believe!”. Frozen water would instantly melt from the heat of the spotlights and the studio temperature that is comfortable for people, so transparent acrylic cubes are always thrown into the glasses, not ice.
succulent dew
When in an advertisement for soft drinks (juices, waters, nectars, etc.) we are shown beautiful glass glasses, all so foggy and in droplets of liquid, then immediately imagine food stylists who diligently rub the dishes before shooting with a matting cream and sprinkle it mixture of glycerin and water. And then bring the drink to a well-heated state and - voila! — you can start the first double!
ice cream balls
For those who think that promotional ice cream is ice cream, get a deuce in your diary! Advertisers do not want to mess around in sweet colored puddles for several hours, so they prudently stock up on a convenient mixture of flour, dyes and packaged vanilla cream. Alternatively, silicone or gel masses are sometimes used and watered with PVA dyed in different colors.
multi-storey sandwiches
This engineering design of 6-8 layers does not bother signing contracts, and therefore there is no clause on mandatory stability either. To keep all these meatballs, cheeses, tomatoes, greens and sesame rolls together, they are put on toothpicks, Chinese sticks are glued to them, tape and cardboard are used in all sorts of combinations.
Then the camera skillfully zooms in from the right side - and you admire another culinary miracle of fast food!
It's no secret that a well-shot commercial can be invaluable in promoting your product or service. Promotional video is often distributed through popular video hosting sites such as YouTube, where it has the opportunity to be seen by a very large audience. It is generally accepted that the creation of commercials is the work of professionals, and without experience in the field of shooting and editing it is impossible to make a promotional video.
However, we say that with Movavi Video Editor, you will be able to edit a quite high-quality promotional video yourself at home. Don't believe? Watch the promotional presentation of Movavi Video Editor, completely edited in the same program!
Where to begin?
You need to start, of course, with thinking about the general concept of advertising. How will you present your product or service? What will be the main idea? What will be in your video? It will also be useful to write a short script and make a preliminary storyboard for clarity and convenience.
The next question arises: where to get the video material for your video? There are several options.
- First, you can record the video yourself. This is perhaps the most time-consuming path, which, however, can lead to good results if you have the necessary equipment, talent and skills.
- Secondly, you can hire professional cameramen and actors. Of course, they will help you shoot high-quality video ads, but, as you understand, it will not be cheap.
- There is a third, compromise way: use one of the stock video banks. These are websites where you can find beautifully shot and edited videos on almost any topic at a very reasonable price. We would like to take this opportunity to recommend our partner, VideoBlocks, a stock video site, which you can read more about on this page. If you need high-quality photos for your video project, you can use the GraphicStock website (more about it -).
Well, let's say you found (or shot yourself) a video suitable for your idea. Now you need to create a real commercial from this material. This is where Movavi Video Editor comes in handy.
How to make a promo video in Movavi Video Editor
Add video to the program
Click the button Add files and upload the video to the editor. All added files will appear on the timeline at the bottom of the program window.
Cut the video, remove unnecessary fragments
Let's start installation. To cut a video, click on it on the timeline, set the red marker at the desired point and click on the icon with scissors. The video clip will be cut into 2 parts at the location you selected. Thus, you can cut the video anywhere and into any number of parts. To delete an extra fragment, select it on the timeline and click on the icon with basket(or press the key Delete on keyboard).
Add transitions
The video will look smoother if you connect its fragments with animated transitions. Open a tab Transitions, choose the ones that suit your video and simply drag and drop them onto the timeline. Transitions are added between two video clips, but you can also add a transition at the end of a video.
Apply filters
To make your video look more spectacular, you can apply special filters to the video: for example, the effect of retro shooting or noise, like on old video cassettes. Open a tab Filters and browse the effects library. To add the effect you like, drag the icon with the desired filter to the video clip on the timeline. Read more about applying filters to videos in our instructions.
Voice your video
Now less and less people can sit with a newspaper in their hands or with a business newspaper on a laptop. Rather, it will be a smartphone or tablet with headphones and some kind of video sequence. Video - more visual, and also much larger
VISUAL SERIES
From the point of view of filming equipment, very decent cameras are often installed even on top-end smartphones. Also, for the same money or a little extra, you can take a SLR camera or a camera without a mirror with optics, which will give a more cinematic picture. In fact, every Canon DSLR since the 600D has been able to capture almost cinematic images. And slightly more modern cameras like Canon 80D, Panasonic GH5, Sony A7SII have completely redundant opportunities for shooting videos.
By the way, for cameras with interchangeable lenses, the lens can be even more important than the carcass.
For example, if you look at the clips of Lana Del Rey, then noise filters are specially superimposed on the video sequence to make the image seem more artistic and as if taken from a VHS video cassette. That is, in fact, you do not need 4K and an expensive camera. Relatively simple solutions are enough. But much more important is well-exposed light, atmosphere, image stabilization and so on. In a word, you need to have a certain taste in order to shoot videos.
But this is just a form. And in video, the issue of content is noticeably more important. Video advertising production can be compared to art, where it is important to find and show an interesting idea. And this is already a more difficult task than just shooting everything beautifully. In many cases, it is better to turn to creative guys who specialize in video marketing, rather than trying to shoot everything on your own. You need to be very talented in order to remove advertising on your own for a reasonable budget.
SOUND
Many videographers rightly believe that the sound in the video is even more important than the picture itself and its dynamics. Quality sound really makes a difference. Therefore, it is advisable to immediately think about suitable recorders and microphones. For example, I have at least two external microphones for vlogging. Record audio using the microphone built into your camera or smartphone. Although - it all depends on the specific tasks. But at least 3 out of 4 times it's better to have a suitable external microphone or recorder. Moreover, different types of microphones are suitable for different types of tasks.
INSTALLATION AND PROMOTION
And then - you should already think about promoting the video. YouTube, Instagram, VK or other social networks. Recording a cool video is important. But it's even better when hundreds of thousands of people see it. Therefore, it is worth studying search engine optimization, YouTube video optimization and viral video promotion ideas.
Do you want to sell something? It needs to be properly advertised. Do you want to advertise in such a way that buyers flock and shoals? The best way is to shoot video ads. It has long been known that our people love to look at moving pictures more than to listen, and even more so to read. So, do not hesitate to order a shooting of a promotional video from us - it really works. Of course, it all depends on who is filming.
Now the phrase literally suggests itself about how cool professionals we are and how you need to order advertising only from us. We are not just professionals - we are monsters of the advertising market, we are the Mark Zuckerberg of video production for TV, we are the Ilona Masks of image video advertising. In short, if there is someone cooler than us, then it is only us in the future: because with each video we are getting better.
We answer: yes! The iPhone is always cool. This is super-duper cool, and he shoots cool, and the result is always cool, and all these cameramen, copywriters, directors, stylists are needed. In general, when you play enough - you are welcome for a normal video.
What are ads for?
No, this is not an evening of dumb questions, this is a task that needs to be decided before any shooting. Video ads have many purposes. Well, for example:
- to ensure that when they see your product, they do not shrug their shoulders in bewilderment, but snatch it with burning eyes, run around the trading floor with joyful cries, knock down an insolent person who dared to take the last unit from the shelf with a cart;
- tell why your product (service, brand) is better than nothing, and why competitors offer ge on a stick, and you offer a real tasty candy;
- remind lazy customers that you haven’t actually closed yet, that the warehouses are full of products and it’s time to grab them, run!
- increase the number of people who will shamelessly believe that you are the best in the world. Look at the fans of iPhones on the day of the presentation. We will help you achieve the same effect.
In general, decide and voice the requirements in the brief - we need to know why we are starting the production of the next masterpiece. And then we will achieve huge queues for you, and you just wanted to shoot in a video and show on TV the boss's youngest daughter. She's so pretty at 42.
Pre-production, production, post-production and other nonsense - what is it and why understand it?
All these “productions” are the stages of creating turnkey video advertising. Professional buzzwords that studio representatives like to use to throw dust in the eyes of the client. So we imagine a typical monologue: “What are you ??? Discount on shooting ads?? It's PRODUCTION!!!". So that you are no longer intimidated by this terminology, we will explain what it means:
- Production. Production (in our case, video) or, speaking in Russian (it's much clearer, right?) - shooting a video. Some advertising studios also call themselves production studios. It's cool and adds a couple of zeros to the price. Tried it yourself - it works. In general, when your neighbor, who has drunk beer, shoots a friend on a mobile phone who spoils the environment under a tree - this is also a production.
- Pre-production - preparation for filming. This is when the neighbor is still drinking beer and says to the sidekick: "Let's shoot a four-thread, for real." In short, these are all the stages of preparation for filming: script, storyboard, castings, selection of props at the nearest landfill, and so on.
- Post-production. Returning to the neighbor: this is when he already took off his imperishable clothes, downloaded a free editing application and put a funny music on the video. And he did the right thing, because post-production is editing, color correction, sound mixing, writing music, applying effects, 3D computer graphics, and so on.
How is filming going?
Advertising video estimate
Everyone wants to make a creative, funny, selling, professional video with Hollywood effects, stars in the frame, exploding cars, battles shot from a panorama from a drone, Pixar-level 3D animation - and all this for 300-500 dollars. Well, what - we all got drunk here, we don’t want to work, and we are only interested in money. And it is true.
Well, in fact, we form the price for shooting video advertising not from the ceiling (there are no prices there, we checked it), but depending on the type of video, timing, level of specialists, cost of locations, quality of equipment, graphics. For example, if you need to advertise delicious cutlets made from the meat of a Chinese unknown animal, we will have to involve a food stylist who will beautifully cover this biomass with grease and varnish so that everything in the frame is fried and tasty. All this will be included in the estimate, no doubt.
- locations - if you want the shooting to take place in the palace of the Queen of England, get ready to invest heavily in rent and permission;
- the quantity and quality of specialists in the film crew and actors - everything is clear here, either a talented duo of young wedding videographers for a modest remuneration, or a professional film crew, but more expensive. The stars have their fees, and everything is serious there too;
- equipment, props, consumables - a camera with a video function, but we include in the estimate the camera, light, sound, taps, rails, smoke machines, drones and a canister of cognac for the film crew;
- post-production (this word again, yes) - you need to pay for editing, computer graphics, renting a studio for dubbing and everything else;
- royalties to the composer or royalties for the use of a famous song. Gotta work legally guys. So we forget about the idea of using the song "Vladimirsky Central" for nothing;
Before you snort disdainfully at the phrase creating a commercial, remember that Guy Ritchie himself did not disdain this art (- it's art, let's not be afraid of this word!) That's really someone who would seem to have enough money and fame. The current level of video and animated advertising products is unspeakably high and it is far from easy to match it.
Shooting clips and commercials is a huge branch of the video industry, in which hundreds of talented people work and create - cameramen, directors, screenwriters and editors. It should not be denied that there are enough mediocrity with video graphomaniacs, but this is the misfortune of any art. If you can make money shooting commercials, then why not do it. It is with such thoughts that fans of quick money come into the advertising industry, forgetting that video clips and commercials of the post-perestroika level have been out of fashion for a decade and a half.
Well, seriously, what should you first of all pay attention to as an advertiser? You thought about making a selling promotional video, but search engines are full of links, sites with tempting words, prices with great offers - so there is no way to decide. It remains either, trusting in chance, to poke a finger at the first phone number that comes across, or patiently call each studio, “poke up” and ask around.
Shoot commercial or advertisement
So the first thing is professionalism. Of course, one should not demand from the studio to present diplomas from the Hollywood video school or membership cards of the directors guild, but it is also hardly worth entrusting shooting to a graduate of a road-building technical school, even if he took short courses in cameramanship at the Kamyshin Institute of Arts. Still, a commercial is a video product that must meet certain standards, requirements, not only in terms of its aesthetic, but also in technical terms. What is the maximum duration of a static plan? How to direct the key light to highlight the silhouette of the model? When is it worth using a manual aperture, and when is it better to rely on automation? Searching for answers to these questions by trial and error is too expensive, and it takes a lot of time. That is why, in order to shoot a commercial of the corresponding education, the screenwriter must “burn with style”, the director “turn the soul out of the actors”, the operator must work wonders with the camera ...
The professionalism of the studio employees is the first indicator of the level at which the company operates. Technique can be expensive and complicated, but the technique needs hands and a head, and if the technique makes a mistake, experience will always help to compensate for this mistake.
The second point is hardware. Just as having a camera in hand does not make a person a professional, neither does it bring a professional title to a studio. Cameras are different and without being a specialist it is sometimes difficult to outwardly distinguish professional equipment from semi-pro or amateur-level equipment. Look at the videos presented in the studio's portfolio, ask them to show you on the big screen, find out the technical characteristics of the equipment. Most likely, this will be enough to form an opinion about how good the company you applied to is.
Third - the timing of the production of the commercial. It usually takes from a week to a month to shoot a commercial, so if the studio gives you a deadline of several days, be careful. Sometimes the development and approval of the script takes dozens of days, but this is rather an exception. In general, the terms required for shooting a music video or creating a promotional video are strictly individual and vary quite widely. Anything can be an obstacle - bad weather during filming, for example, can ruin Mel Gibson's mood too ...
