Zack and Natalie are back with another episode of their Veggie+Candie Review Show.
These short review videos are an excellent example of how a video can be brought to life in post-production. Here’s how:
When we film an episode of Zack and Natalie’s Veggie+Candie reviews, I usually just let the camera roll for the entire time that we are going through each vegetable and candy. I don’t stop filming for fear that I’ll miss some golden nugget of funny from them.
I also try not to direct them too much. I don’t want to be ‘bossy director dad’ who takes all the fun out of an already tedious process. Instead, I just talk with Zack and Nat, ask them questions, and encourage them to share their thoughts on what they’re eating. Natalie shares a lot of facial reactions.
Most of the time when we wrap filming I’m left with one long 40min+ take of which I wonder, “Is there even anything here? Did I get anything?”
I hand that long clip over to one of my editors with only one note: Tighten it up! (Usually to no more than 4mins.)
That’s when the editor starts working his magic. By adding reaction shots, sound effects, little graphics or animations, and subtitles for Natalie the video really starts to come together and the funny starts to emerge.
We view the video a couple of times revising jokes and fixing gags. Then I show an almost completed version to Zack, Nat, and Mommy. I like to see what jokes they get or don’t get, and where they laugh. Then we go back and revise the video one more time according to their reactions.
Sometimes you feel like you could tweak and tweak forever, but I don’t want to go all Orson Welles on my kid’s review videos so we get it 98% right and then release. You got to release it!
In this episode, our pint-sized produce experts and candy connoisseurs check out Rutabaga, Brussels Sprouts, Alfalfa Sprouts, Cotton Candy, Triple Power Push pop, and Sunrype Fruit-To-Go. Enjoy!