In the past year I’ve managed to expand my skill set by diving into more video production for Drake’s Brewing. Earlier efforts were focused on the development of a short series of Beer Rants featuring a single subject shot with two cameras in a controlled environment. I’d then add in some b-roll of products using slides and pans, and the results have been pretty good. My most recent project, Farm to BARN, was an entire new level of complexity and challenges, and I’m really happy with the results.

Farm to BARN features executive chef, Rachael Zavala, and the program manager of the West Sacramento Urban Farm Program, Sara Bernal. Within yards of the BARN, Sara cultivates a quarter acre site called Riverfront Farm that Rachael quickly seized upon when arriving to fill the executive chef role at Drake’s: The BARN. Until recently, Drake’s Brewing purchased a minimal amount of produce from the farm. That changed when Rachel arrived, and my promotional video tells that story, while diving into the wonderful advantages of an on-site farm, the delicious food that can be served, and the mission of the West Sacramento Urban Farm Program.

I managed to capture all the footage I needed for this sub 5 minute video in a single, very hot day. The temperatures hit 108°. Thankfully I started at 6:30am, beginning with the early morning light on the farm. I spent time interviewing Sara, and then worked on b-roll production. It was the first time I used my gimbel, which was a lot of fun. By 10:30am I moved onto the BARN so I could interview Rachael and then capture food and venue shots.

During the editing process, piecing together a cohesive narrative between the two interviews was the biggest challenge. There was no script. I just had a series of questions I felt would yield compelling details to the audience. I didn’t want to rely on narration or captions to connect the dots and move the story along. My initial pass resulted in a lengthy timeline, which I managed to cut down to a succinct length, without missing any critical info about the relationship. I covered a lot of ground that day, and had just enough footage for the project, plus a bonus segment with Rachael called Meet the Chef, that will be released at a later date.

BONUS VIDEO

I was able to extract a nice little Meet the Chef style video out of the main filming session above. Rachael provides a nice breakdown of her resume and what she’s excited about at Drake’s: The BARN. Note: Intro title photo by the talented Skyler Greene.