When young people watch food documentaries, they may see workplaces, families, thoughts… Food connects people with these scenes. There is also a food documentary, the narration is a bit like a martial arts novel. Street restaurants linger with strong fireworks, stubbornly guarding their respective “characters”, forming this grassy river and lake…In
reality, food documentaries have enriched the lives of many people, such as some TV shows launched by the TV station to explore shops and cook dishes. . “China on the Bite of the Tongue” opened up a new form of food documentary-“Food + Human World”, and everyone suddenly realized that eating can be so deep.
Food Documentary get through an emotional connection
gourmet documentary development has already had a variety of categories: chronological, from breakfast to supper; by region, across the country north and south; by type, different hot pot, string, noodles, seafood …… The categories of the audience have different emotions.
For example, in ancient agricultural societies, few people ate supper. Because of this, the story of midnight snack has more modernity. The director of “Towards the Supper” Han Jingguo went to Panzhihua, Sichuan, and learned that this city has been planting mangoes on a large scale since the 1960s and 1970s and is now one of the largest mango producing areas in China. Mango picking needs to be done at night, so the local area has developed a rich supper culture.
Why are we obsessed with the little thing of eating? Zhou Kui, an associate professor at the Communication University of China, invented a term-food populism, which uses food to reflect the real life of the common people.
Zhou Kui believes that breakfast is about family, supper is about friends, and lunch is closely related to career. There are many stories in it. Therefore, lunch should also be taken well.
Food documentaries classified by region cover almost the entire map of China. Young people who work hard in a foreign land miss their hometown while cherishing far away. These are all in food documentaries.
“When I was in college, I could only go to the Beijing Office if I wanted to eat some hometown food. Now, the Internet is convenient and the logistics is fast. Young people think about their hometown, and they can have it with just a few clicks of a mouse.” Zhou Kui said, “Food has become young people. A synonym for hometown. For example, during the new crown pneumonia epidemic, special snacks such as hot dry noodles, steamed buns, steamed buns, hot pot, etc. personified each province.”
”The gourmet documentary opened up a kind of emotional connection.” Zhou Kui said that when young people watch food documentaries, they may see workplaces, families, thoughts… Food connects people with these scenes.
“Jianghu Restaurant” is a unique food documentary, the narration is a bit like a martial arts novel. Surrounding the street restaurants with strong fireworks and stubbornly guarding their respective “characters”, they formed this grassy river and lake.
The environment makes people want to go in, hard dishes make people want to eat, and the boss makes people want to make friends-this is the selection criteria of “Jianghu Restaurant”. Qu Chu, producer of “Jianghu Restaurant 2”, said: “This’Jianghu’ is not a sword, but a heroic character in the fireworks of the city. In those restaurant owners, we can see the’Jianghu temperament’, such as being disciplined and honest. , expansive sense of justice. ”
eat it the most mass base, but also cross-border
Internet profound impact on food documentary. In 2012, “China on the Bite of the Tongue” became popular, and viewers watched it while shopping online. Today, video sites have become the main place for young people to watch documentaries.
Zhu Lexian was the producer of the first and second seasons of “China on the Bite of the Tongue”. He said: “Reviewing the food documentary in China as a whole, with “China on the Bite of the Tongue” as the dividing line, the food documentary before 2012 It is column-oriented, mostly in the’exploration shop style’. After that, there was a qualitative leap, and after 2018, a self-made documentary by the network emerged.”
Youku Documentary Center Director Zhang Wei once filmed “Maritime Silk Road.” In his opinion, the reason why food documentaries are widely welcomed is because the subject matter is grounded. Eating is the most popular among people, with low barriers to viewing, suitable for all ages, and can cross national borders and cultures. For example, “Jianghu Restaurant” was released in the United States, Canada, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, the Netherlands, Hungary, Czech Republic and other countries in the first season, with good ratings.
Zhou Kui believes that food is a good way to flexibly publicize. Some scholars have conducted surveys before, and Westerners are most impressed by two things in China: one is kung fu, and the other is food.
As Zhu Lexian said, human beings make food, but food also shapes human beings. There are obvious differences in personality, physique, and cultural connotations between people who eat rice and those who eat beef. Therefore, the ultimate goal of making food documentaries is to see people, society, and the world through food.
Food Documentary how to shoot
food documentary how to shoot? Zhang Wei believes that food is the main body and the characters are the main line. “In a food documentary, the audience wants to see where the ingredients come from and how the food is made. Therefore, the food must be the main body. But in the end it is the people that give the food the charm, and the stories of the people should be used to connect the food.
“The selection of products ” by Han Jingguo and team members is very rigorous. Each director group will have southerners and northerners, and both parties must agree before this store can be selected. Han Jingguo said: “The price of food is not our standard of choice. We only want to take pictures of the food and the boss with stories.”
Qu Chu said that the restaurants selected by “Jianghu Restaurant” must be “reachable” by the audience. Some food is of the state banquet level, and the audience sees it as a curiosity. And they want to make food documentary films functional, and people can use it as a guide to taste food when they arrive in a city.
Zhou Kui said: “I hope to see some food documentaries that reflect people’s living conditions in the future. Eating is a highly social activity in itself, and the meal is a river and lake, and the shots are not enough.”
