Zoom Noob Cooking Show

August 5, 2021 1:35 PM

Unlike most of ya'll, I've only used Zoom about 4 (casual) times in the past. I have agreed to lead two cooking lessons as a fun part of a conference, via Zoom. How do I make them look not like shit? I have a chromebook, two working iphones, access to a paid-for zoom account, and limited natural light in the kitchen. What tricks, programs, settings, etc can help me, especially for switching camera angles smoothly.

This doesn't need to look professional, but I want the production value to be a bit better than just me holding my cellphone in a dark kitchen. Two camera angles and the ability to switch easily between them would be awesome, or just suggestions for not awkwardly moving from prep surfaces to cook surfaces. I don't think I have access to a ring light, but have started to ask around.

I could do the whole thing outside if I have to.

posted by Grandysaur to Technology (10 answers total)

You don't necessarily need a ring light, but the more light the better. Do you have a task lamp or desk lamp that you can point/orient towards the subject, set up behind the camera? I've used a couple of floor lamps in a pinch before.

I would use the highest quality camera, which probably means an iPhone for the video. But if you need to interact with your audience, maybe you can chat from the Chromebook on a separate login?

Can you have the prep and cook surfaces as close as possible to minimize the transitions?
posted by dobi at 2:02 PM on August 5, 2021

Light, LOTS of light. A torchire that reflects off the ceiling is pretty good if you can't get studio lights (hahaha). Ring light is not strictly necessary.

Personally, I'd do this on a PC linked via cable, way off to the side. AND you need a "producer" on the PC switching videos sources as necessary.
posted by kschang at 2:09 PM on August 5, 2021

When I've taken cooking classes via Zoom, the instructor was typically logged in to the session on 2 separate devices (i.e. had two Zoom accounts, both were part of the Zoom session, it looked like "Instructor1" and "Instructor2" were both participants. Instructor1's camera was focused on their face, Instructor2's camera was focused on their bowl/cutting board/pan. That way the instructor didn't have to keep holding their bowl up to the camera and saying "Can everyone see this? How about this angle? How about this angle?"

Oh and decide how "participatory" you're going to be -- are you going to stop every few minutes and ask to look at everyone's dish? This will add a bunch of time. What are you planning on doing if one person falls way behind? It can be harder to know this when you're doing an online class.

Practice a *ton*, and make backup plans, i.e. have a slideshow with photos that you can present as a last resort. Good luck!!
posted by rogerroger at 2:29 PM on August 5, 2021

You can use mounts like these to hold up the iPhones.
posted by airmail at 2:39 PM on August 5, 2021

+1 to the two camera angles. You might consider using a microphone, too, so that your voice predominates over the sound of sizzling or blending or clattering of the kitchen.

Other tips:
- if people are cooking along, tell them what to pre-chop so that they don't fall behind.
- prepare answers for the common substitution questions (gluten free, dairy options, replacements for hard to get ingredients)
posted by xo at 2:52 PM on August 5, 2021

You could do an on-camera runthrough (or the first step or two) and record it through Zoom so you know exactly how it looks, then adjust as needed. Seconding having a mic if possible. If it were me, I'd be tempted to make a complete recording that could be played in segments in case of technical issues during the actual call.
posted by notquitemaryann at 3:01 PM on August 5, 2021

You also need to consider audio. You want to make sure that folks can still hear you over the clanking of dishes. A blue tooth headset may be helpful for this reason.

As a heads up, much like the telephone it doesn't really work when people try to talk over each other. Thus, you might want to consider how you are going to handle questions.

It will be a lot easier (and less stressful) on your end if you have someone (ideally someone who can be there in person) assist with the Zoom logistics during the event. I don't think it's realistic to expect a smooth transition between camera angles if you are doing it yourself. I would suggest you have one phone camera devoted to the prep surface and one phone camera devoted to the cook surface (or a breakdown that makes sense). Don't move the cameras during the event... folks will be able to see the video from both phones during the session. You should be aware that you can customize the video layout.

Also consider that you (and most likely your participants) don't want to get food on the Zoom access devices.
posted by oceano at 3:23 PM on August 5, 2021

Use OBS (FREE!) so you can connect two separate camera and tile them (or something else creative). You can add text overlays etc as well. I do this when I teach homebrewing classes. Can have one camera pointed at the equipment, and one for face-to-face.

If you will be doing this frequently consider getting a stream deck to switch between different things (cameras, stand by screens, recipe overlays, music, etc).
posted by Hey, Zeus! at 3:32 PM on August 5, 2021

Nthing the advice about having one device pointed at the workspace and one on you, with an additional thing to keep in mind - mute the device that's pointed at the workspace. Two devices logged into Zoom that can hear each other even a little produces a shocking amount of feedback.
posted by The demon that lives in the air at 3:59 PM on August 5, 2021

Kenji Lopez Alt makes great no-fuss videos (https://m.youtube.com/user/kenjialt). He uses a GoPro on his forehead to focus on his hands prepping, and he fixes a camera onto the pans. As a result you don’t see his face except at the intro, but you don’t miss that at all, since the prep-cam is so, so valuable. He cuts between the feeds in post, where you’d want someone to “pin” one or the other during the live zoom, or you could just trust the audience to their own judgment for which to watch. This sounds fun; I wish you luck!
posted by mahorn at 5:48 PM on August 5, 2021