Business Insider: Movies and TV shows tend to use real food when they can, but there are a number of times when they need something fake. We spoke with two fake food artists who specialize in making custom, inedible treats for restaurants, trade shows, and Hollywood. Here's how fake food props are made to look so delicious. Following is a transcript of the video.
10 comments:
This two women are very inspiring in their work. I think it is really cool that both come from different backgrounds of education and yet are able to create such beautiful renditions of food for movies and shows. I also find the work they do to be extremely important. I think audiences take small details like the food being half eaten or even there taken for granted because they are focused on the greater plot or the character’s development, but really none of that would happen if we didn’t have the detail of designs surrounding it all in these movies and shows. I also just find the foods so beautiful and realistic. They are so creative to think up all of these different ways to representing food without making the actual product. I also love to paint and bake so this kind of job seems like a dream and they seem to be doing really well as artists. It is definitely a job I am interested in.
Fake foods in television and movies is definitely something I knew existed, but never really thought too much about. It is extremely fascinating to learn more about what goes into all that we see. For example, I didn't realize that the props master/ fake food designer would make multiple versions of the same prop as it progressively gets eaten. That is definitely something foreign to theatre; we couldn't use fake foods if actors were directly working with it because audience would notice when the actor doesn't actually consume the food. Another thing that caught me by surprise was the fact that both of these women work from home. Thinking about it now, it definitely makes sense that they would work from home. I forget so often that film and TV professionals don't work in an office building- filming travels and hiring someone for fake food would not even require them to be onsite. Reading and learning more about the culture shift between theatre and film/TV is always interesting and something I hope to continue.
This is some really impressive artistry. I love how well we are able to fool people with theatre magic in these ways. It is a beautiful thing to be able to replicate something so real and natural as food in a completely synthetic way. This remind me of when Todd Kulic told us about his favorite way of making fake stake for theatre which is water melon that is dyed with caramel color. It is an interesting distinction between fake food and edible fake food. Food that has to be made differently due to dietary restrictions or practicality like steak that just could not be cooked for every show. I think this is where some of the most ingenius solutions to problems can really come into play. When you know you have to make something differently than how it actually exists, yet no one can be able to tell that it is fake.
This video also reminded me of the conversation Todd Kulik had with our stagecraft class about props. I remembered how stage ice cream is actually mashed potatoes so it will not melt under the hot stage lights. I was also reminded about how many items in movies and theatre shows and television shows and even just advertisements are classified as props and that someone has to find those items and that some else has to make them. I had not thought about cooking shows and advertisements using fake food props, but when you think about the reasoning it does make a lot of sense. Similar to Lily, I was in awe at the work these two women do. I think it is interesting how Chapman was able to pick this business up as a side hustle and that Friedman makes these fake food items more for fun than for the money. These two women have such different motives and backgrounds and skill sets, and yet all of their props are still cooked to perfection. I think this is a great example of how you do not have to be an artist to get involved with art. Also, I would love to know how these women, and other people in this business, complete transactions with props masters and larger corporations. How could Chapman not know her doughnuts had been bought and used in that Muppets movie? How does the props artisan business work?
I was surprised to hear that the often use real food as a mold for the fake food. I would not have expected them to use real food as I thought it would deteriorate in the molding process. I was also surprised to hear all of the different ways that these women got into the profession. What I thought was most interesting was when one of the artisans said that what they try to do is look at ordinary things different. I would have expected that since they are trying to create real looking food, rather them suggest that the real food, that they would have used more formal recipes. In theater we often can rely on the allusion which isn’t necessarily possible on television. However, from the series of clips, I wonder how often the food is just there to suggest the location rather the an integral part or the scene and how that would change the construction of the props.
Fake food, and for that matter fake anything for the entertainment industry, are all a fascinating thing to behold. The more and more I see about things in our industry the more concreted I become in the belief that we use anything and everything from other industries in order to do what we do. I will say that between the two women featured, I feel one presents her self much more professionally and it is probably due to the training she has received as an artist. The level of detail that needs to be put into some of these works is absolutely incredible. Often one can find cheap fake foods on the internet made in some country that looks ok from 300' away but the hold up to close camera work. It is a field and industry that has been around for quite some time and will always be needed. To me, it is all those extra little things and attention to detail that help go to sell the reality of the thing, and are often worth spending the few extra bucks to get.
There is definitely a talent that would take me more years to train to reach the level that these two individuals have. Amazing and now i’m hungry. The talent and skill that both of these women possess for this area is incredible and it also highlights the different ways that these products can be made. There is also the industry crossover. I remember some years back watching a documentary on how commercials were made and how they talked about using elmers school glue for the milk because of the stability under the hot lights. This video could also be expanded on into a lessons series for props people at local community theatres who don’t have big budgets but need food props. Sure they could order stuff, but they could also learn how to make some of these items that they could then keep in storage. How amazing would that be? It would also be a great way for these two individuals to pass on their talent and knowledge to others.
I first stumbled upon the concept this world of fake food and food styling when I was younger, before I had even gotten into theatre, as it was used for advertising. I think it is amazing how detailed and realistic these items can be, and how incredibly creative these artists have to be in order to accomplish that level of reality. I have spent a little time trying to recreate fake food as props for shows, and it was so difficult to actually make household or hardware store objects and products read as edible food. Especially in regards to the colouring, which is nearly impossible to get perfectly right, I am simply amazed at how talented and creative these two women are. I think it's amazing also how much time and detail goes into even background food for movies and television, even if it isn't going to be used for a close-up shot.
I remember a few weeks ago in props stagecraft we were talking about the different ways that a props designer has to go about creating and developing different types of foods for plays, and I feel like many of the techniques that these two women are using for film relate to that discussion as well. It is so interesting to see how truly realistic looking food can be made using foam or rubber and paint, and this is truly a highly underrated art form. Something also to note, that I have always found is incredibly interesting, is the fact that this fake food used not only for some of our favorite film and tv shows but also for the commercial branding of many popular restaurants that we eat at on a regular basis (after all- your McDonald’s burger never looks like the McDonald’s burger that flashes across the tv screen). When it comes down to it, this craft is so unique, and one that I hope doesn’t die out with the introduction of accurate mass production machines- such as 3D printers.
This is incredible. The talent of these artists is really impressive. They have created really delicious looking food- except that you can’t really eat it. It’s so smart to use fake food for those long runs or long days on set so that the food doesn't go bad or melt- especially for the cold foods that would be so hard to keep cold on set or need to be used in multiple takes. In theatre we very often use fake food, but rarely to the degree of realism that these artists must make it. We only care what it looks like from 15 ft or more away. Many of these have to look like real food right up close on a camera shot, and they all hold up. It’s really interesting how they mold over real food so that all the detail is preserved and then they just paint it to match the real food. or they pour resin over real items to preserve them. It’s all simple tricks, but it must have taken years to perfect.
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