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With a passion for all things culinary, Orlando-based food photographer and director Mike Gluckman is skilled at crafting stories and images for food and beverage brands. His long-standing relationship with restaurant Eddie V’s brand manager, Nicole Constantine, afforded him the opportunity to direct a commercial and create stills for the upscale restaurant.
Given Mike’s experience in both directing and shooting stills, he was asked to create a cohesive library of images that closely matched the video – providing a taste of Eddie V’s glamorous dining experience. Mike worked closely with Nicole to create the mood board for the project including lighting, framing, wardrobe, and selecting the cast. It was then a matter of building the storyboards to enable the creative vision to come to life.
The creative brief’s directive was that everything should “ooze glamour”. From talent to hair and makeup, wardrobe, everything had to feel like a glamorous night out.
The project took place over the course of three days. The first two days were in the Orlando restaurant where they photographed all the lifestyle shots. Eddie V’s is only open in the evening, which allowed everyone to come in early morning and shoot until dinner was served. The final day was at the corporate test kitchen where Mike captured scenes with the chef and close shots of the food.
Mike and his Director of Photography Elie Alakji scouted the restaurant multiple times to figure out the best areas to capture each scene and plan each setup. Fortunately, everything went as planned, other than a few wish list shots they didn’t have time to get. With such a full schedule, the crew found themselves heading out the back door as the guests were entering in the front.
Time was the biggest challenge. Since we were shooting both video and stills we needed time to shoot everything twice. Customers started walking in for happy hour even before the restaurant was open, so we were always rushing to get out at the end of the day.
Fortunately, Mike had a lot of time for pre-production and that really helped the shoot go smoothly throughout.
Walking in with a plan where everyone on the team knew where and what we were shooting really helped us get the most out of each day.
Video post-production took approximately two weeks to complete. The client loved the first edit and Mike only had to make a few minor tweaks to create the final result.
Mike enjoys collaborating with agencies, brand managers, art directors, and directly with clients to bring their vision to the screen or print. His extensive background in the industry provided the client with fresh and bold imagery and video that reflected a lively and glamorous atmosphere. For a city with an exciting nightlife, Mike captured the energy of Eddie V’s, where tourists and locals alike can enjoy a one-of-a-kind dining experience.
See more of Mike’s images on Instagram.
Credits
Director of Photography: Elie Alakji
Producer: Rob Perkins
Assistant Camera: Mike DiCarlo
Hair & Makeup: Kellie Lynn Dreher
Wardrobe: Jennifer Beverly
Food Stylist: Miki Knowles
Prop Stylist: Bert Silkwood
Gaffer: Gordy Jorian
Key Grip: Kevin Higgins