Food Network And Filmmaking

I have to confess this to you my friends, I love the Food Network and watch it a lot!

I know I should be living on IFC or TCM or something like that and sometimes I watch those as well but they are a different kind of network. What the Food Network does for my taste buds is something that I have a hard time explaining.

Let me try though. I know that 50% of everything they cook probably doesn't taste as good as it looks which brings in the romanticizing of food. You can't smell it or taste it so it is really up to you to make a trip to the store with a list of ingredients to see if it really tastes and smells as good as it looks.

Here is something else, it really isn't as easy as Emeril and Bobby Flay make it look. Their kitchen is always spill free, when I prepare some of these dishes there are messy dishes everywhere and the cabinets need serious scrubbing afterwards.

These guys as well as being good cooks are also entertainers. Emeril is a master at holding my attention and making a four course meal look as easy to cook as buying oreo cookies. I know that editing plays a huge part in making these shows good and making the food simple.

But when all is said and done I have a sense of empowerment that "yeah, I could cook that!" which is a large part of why I do watch. It makes me feel good that I have the knowledge to head into my kitchen and create what I have just seen and then enjoy the fruits of my cooking!

Now what this has to do with filmmaking is that I think that the world is ripe for a DIY filmmaking show. Not the Project: Greenlight kind (That show just irks me to no end!) more along the lines of "Here is my camera, script, and actor. Watch the magic happen!" kind.

A show that would take you from the beginnings of making a no budget film through every stage. Focusing on how to improvise over the common problems you will encounter along the way when you have sunk every dime into equipment and have nothing left to spend.

Nuts and bolts filmmaking at a one paycheck price. Yeah, that is the kind of show I'd love to see developed!