As we finish up our first e-cookbook and start on production of Bits & Pieces Season 2, I felt a desire to reflect about Season 1. There was so much to learn and today I wanted to share our experience with you! We made this video mostly for our curious friends and subscribers, but also thought it might be helpful for those of you considering filming your own online cooking show.
When we were starting out, there wasn’t any “manual” to go by, and we kind of wished there was some sort of resource like this out there for us. It might have put us on the right track and spared us some unnecessary headaches!
We made up our own rules, walked into it blindly, and hoped for the best. I would say that we were somewhat prepared for what was to come, but also a bit naive. We had no idea how much time, money, and energy it would take to make these Youtube videos! I didn’t realize how much of a perfectionist I was. And we weren’t sure what our working dynamic with each other would be like.
Well we soon found out, and it was a bumpy, crazy, frustrating, and exciting ride! We did some things right and other things wrong, but it was all necessary growing pains and we’re thankful for the experience.
So here are the 10 lessons we learned from filming Season 1:
I hope you enjoyed the video because it would’ve been challenging to explain everything in writing.
But I do have to add one more thing!
I would say that another lesson I just thought of that’s not included in this video is to invest some time into building community. The cool thing about the community on Youtube is that it’s not really competitive. In fact, Youtubers are quite supportive of one another and that’s why you often see them collaborating together or redirecting their audience to someone else’s channel. We all grow together and there’s plenty of room for all of us to do well.
I was so wrapped up in just trying to stay afloat and film our show that I didn’t have enough time to leave comments on other people’s videos, collaborate with anyone else, or invest in the Youtube community. But we just joined a network of fellow foodies and cooks. So I hope to be more involved and active with others during Season 2.
If you are someone already filming your own cooking show, what other lessons did you learn over time that you’d like to share? We’re always up for any helpful advice. Leave it in the comments below. Love to hear your thoughts!
Stay tuned for Season 2, coming REALLY soon. Be sure to subscribe to our channel if you haven’t already, and we’ll see you in Season 2!
*I mentioned this in the video, so in case you’re interested, you can watch Our Kickstarter Video.
*EDIT: 10 LESSONS we Learned from Filming SEASON 2! : 10 MORE LESSONS
Congratulations on finishing up season 1! I love watching your videos – they are so well thought out and lovely. I always feel like you’re right in front of me, so I feel like I know you personally. 🙂
I have a suggestion…would you consider possibly making the videos shorter in length? I know you guys work so hard on each video and more people should see them!!! Shorter videos are more digestible and people are more likely to click on them. Also, from a purely selfish standpoint, I find myself forgetting to return to finish them sometimes, especially if I’m at work, cuz I have ADD at times. 😉
Thanks so much for watching our videos Esther. I appreciate your feedback. Maybe in the future we’ll try to do a series of shorter videos for the busier folks, because we totally get it. But for now, we’ll probably stick to our format in order to show all the step by step instructions clearly. Thanks for joining me in my kitchen every time you watch our videos! 🙂
Hello Julie and Joe,
I am so happy you are back! I enjoyed very much hearing what you learned in Season1, particularly about working together as a married couple. I wanted to share with you an alternate viewpoint from the one you mentioned that family and friends had given about filming shorter videos. I love watching cooking videos, but I get so frustrated when the chef or host doesn’t show all stages of the prep and cooking process. I am not a chef–just a lowly dabbler in the kitchen who needs to see what “lightly browned” and “finely diced” and “1/4 inch thick” means using the actual ingredients that I will be working with. I would never have made garlic croutons from scratch, massaged oil into kale, or attempted to use puff pastry had you not shown me how to do all these things at every stage of the process. Those small touches you add in, like the footage of the leaves changing color in the Broccoli Soup episode, as well as the adorable hand-lettered ingredient board with the amusing stop action photography absolutely make your show stand out. I am so glad that you stood firm in your conviction that there was a place in the market for a longer form video cooking show.
One last thing: I really like the field trips you occasionally take–it allows me to visit other places with a tour guide. I hope you will consider taking trips to grocery stores, farmers markets, food expos, restaurants, etc. in this season or future seasons. I look forward to trying more of your recipies this season. Thank you very much for you show!
~~Tracie
Hello Tracie!
Thank you SO much for taking time to write this super encouraging comment. I’m so glad you’re one of the people who appreciate our video style. So glad you feel confident to tackle cooking techniques you would’ve otherwise felt intimidated by. That’s what it’s all about for me. I really just enjoy sharing what I know and do believe that anyone can cook… yes, like in that movie Ratatouille! 🙂 Thank you for watching our videos and trying out my recipes. Your comment really brightened up our spirits and put a huge smile on my face. We appreciate viewers and readers like you. We definitely want to incorporate more “field trips” in our videos if we can. We appreciate your input. Happy cooking! 🙂 -Julie