02 May A Guide to Faux Kitchen Sets & Commercial Productions

Whether it’s food, cleaning products, or a new kitchen gadget, you may notice that a lot of television commercials take place in the kitchen. With a kitchen set, you have a lot to work with and can really showcase your product and brand. Instead of using an actual kitchen to shoot your commercial, a faux kitchen set can provide a lot of advantages.

As you plan out your commercial, check out this guide to faux kitchen sets and how they can benefit your commercial production.

Lighting Control

With a faux kitchen set, you will have complete control over the lighting for the kitchen. The set itself will include authentic lights that look like standard kitchen lights. The kitchen set may also include accent lights. This could include track lights, small recessed lights, or under-cabinet lighting. The lights will help add depth to your shoots and make the kitchen feel authentic.

On top of the standard lights, you have a wide range of studio lights to choose from. Instead of a kitchen ceiling, a production company will provide you with lighting rigs to customize the lights as much as you need. For example, you can rely on an evenly lit shot kitchen and then change to specialty lighting.

You may want to dim all of the lights and have a spotlight appear on a specific food or product. You may suddenly want dance lights to appear. With the rigs already set in place, you can plan out and time a commercial to fit your exact lighting scenario.

You do not have to worry about uncontrolled light impacting the shots. While the kitchen may have windows, lighting rigs behind the windows can help duplicate all kinds of natural light scenarios. For example, the window lights can make it look like a sunny day outside. You could also adjust the lights to make it look pitch black out or look like moonlight is shining through the window.

If you need to go from day to night, a production crew can help you set up a seamless transition. With quick set adjustments, you don’t need to schedule shoots based on natural light and can adjust the kitchen as you see fit.

Stylized Sets

A kitchen set acts as a blank canvas to fit your needs. The set will often have clear surfaces and neutral colors for you to work within your production. On a film set, you have the opportunity to style the set how you need and can create an atmosphere that fits your brand and target audience.

For example, if your commercial involves a family at breakfast, then you can add artwork to the walls, create a slight mess, and represent a true family home. If you target an older audience, then you can rely on props and decorations that give off an older feel.

If you seek something sleek and modern, then you can leave the set bare and add your own accessories to really make the design aesthetic stand out. Many faux kitchen sets will have working appliances and plumbing to make the process feel more authentic. For example, you could turn the kitchen sink on and have access to running water.

The stylized sets can fit your needs. If you need any major changes, the sets often break down easily as well. So you can pull out major appliances and put in temporary replacements to fit the needs of your commercial. For example, if you sell a coffee maker, you could remove any other signs of coffee makers and coffee pots to focus on your product.

When you rent a production set, you will have plenty of time to set up your props, and production assistants can help with each step as well.

Shooting Angles

In a real kitchen, you may find limitations on the angles you can shoot from. You couldn’t fit a full crane shot into many kitchens. With a faux kitchen set, you have a lot of diversity when choosing the proper shots for a commercial. You can shoot directly overhead or zoom in on products.

The set allows you to film from multiple angles at the same time. The multi-angle option allows you to capture takes without the need to reset and change everything all at once. The shooting angles give you the opportunity to finish the commercial faster and cut down on costs.

A professional set will also give you access to professional equipment. For example, you may seek out macro shots for close-ups of food and products. The insert shots can help showcase product details and give video editors more options to choose from for the final commercial.

For more information on our faux kitchen production set, contact us at Big Shoulders Digital Video Productions. Along with the set, we have experienced professionals who can help you from start to finish on your commercial.