Back in January 2019, I began to shoot the ofCourse+TV Cooking Show for YouTube with John X and produced by Darren Alexander of Beetle Black Media. Little did I know how involved it would be!
As we are on the verge of launching our first episode in late February, I thought that it was a good time to reflect........
It all sounds very cool and glamorous to get your mug up on the biggish screen, but I'm here to tell you it's bloody hard work for all involved.
I'm not just talking about the many hours spent during the shoot, but also the incredible amount of planning prior.
For example, discussions began in July 2018. This was when we where approached by Darren from BBM with the concept and design. Then comes the creative and financials side. And finally, choosing which venues to approach for each episode. Luckily we managed to partner with some great venues and chefs that where 100% on board.
Now, as both John and I are pretty busy with our day to day jobs etc. timing was problematic - could be the reason the series took over 12 months!?
But we got there in the end, and I must say we are pretty proud of what we have all produced!
It was great fun, but.........
The Pros and Cons of making a TV show.....
Pros....
Personally challenging - Standing in front of a camera with crew and onlookers can be pretty daunting, but once you get use to it, it's like working in an open kitchen. You forget they are there!
Character building - You can see pretty quickly, where your short falls are and you HAVE to face them and develop a pretty thick skin!
Fucking fun! Nuff said.
Achievement - When you sit back after 12 hours of shooting and check out the raw footage, it makes it all worth it!
Cons.....
Stressful - Now I thought punching through a hell service was stressful, nope! Standing in front of a camera with no props or point of reference and just delivering lines from memory with personality and engagement is farking hard, well for me anyway! Now John on the other hand cruised through it, being the consummate professional that he is!
Having said that, once I got behind the stove, I loved it!
Graveyard shift - Some of our venues opened 7 days per week, lunch and dinner, so night shoots were our only options. I can tell you,
9 pm to 5 am stings the next day!
Finally, all in all it was a fantastic experience and with more episodes to shoot in the not to distant future, it will only get better!
Subscribe to our YouTube channel https://youtu.be/w3_T7NASA and judge for yourself!
Cheers,
PFx
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