What a restaurant or cafe video shoot involves in Melbourne

A restaurant or cafe video shoot in Melbourne is usually a half day, or a full day if you want more content, and we quote it ahead of time so you know what to expect. We film the food and drinks, the people, the space and the area around you, and we plan the day around what is working in your industry.

What do we film at a restaurant or cafe shoot?

A bit of everything. These are the main things we cover:

• The product. The dishes, the drinks, whatever it is you serve. This is the end product, and showing it helps build trust and shows that what you make is actually good.
• The process. People working, the team, the smiling faces. We want to show there are real, friendly people behind the business.
• The space. Most cafes are decorated nicely and have a homely feel. We show that, including the plants and the smaller details.
• The atmosphere. People walking in, the environment, and a bit of the buzz. If your shop is nice and busy, that helps it present well.
• The surrounding area. If you are in a cool, unique area with some nice shops around, we show that off too.

Why do we film the people, and why do regular customers matter?

People do not only come to a cafe for good coffee or a bite to eat. They come in to see people. That is why everyone wants their coffee shop as a regular: the same faces every day, a good chat, a smile when they walk in and hopefully a smile when they leave. Most people visit a coffee shop as one of the first things they do in the morning, so you are helping set them up for the rest of their day, and that is what brings them back.

So the smiling faces are not filler. They are a big part of why someone chooses you over the cafe next door.

Why show the surrounding area and the businesses next to you?

If we can present the whole area well, it helps bring people to your business and it also helps the businesses around you, and that helps everyone grow. If someone is going to the business next door, can a cafe be a complementary stop? Most likely, because everyone needs to eat and people like to go to cafes.

How is a cafe shoot different from a restaurant shoot?

Restaurants are pretty much the same job, and it depends on what sort of restaurant. A high-end restaurant gets presented a bit differently, because we lean into the luxury side. A cafe we present in a more fun, cool, unique way.

Do you make trend-based and TikTok-style content for cafes?

Yes, where it suits the venue. Most cafes have young, energetic, fun staff, so we can get them doing funnier videos and more trend-based ones. That is the TikTok-style content creator side of it: people talking on camera, having fun, even doing a funny trend.

Do you film testimonials from customers?

Yes, and we think they are very important. We try to get regular customers who are already coming in to talk about why they love the place and what is so good about it. It shows you have regular people coming in day to day.

How long does a restaurant or cafe video shoot take?

It depends, but most things we can get done in a half day. If you want more content it may take a full day. Either way we quote it and let you know ahead of time, so you are fully prepared.

How do we plan the shoot day?

We plan it around what is working well in your industry. The order usually goes like this:

• Research. We look at your competitors' content and see what everyone else is doing, so we understand what is performing and working well.
• The basics. Team introduction, founder story, and the other things every venue should have.
• Fun. More trend-based videos and TikTok-style content, with people talking on camera and having a laugh.
• Testimonials. Regular customers talking about why they love the place.

We may stay a little later so we can shoot when it is quieter and do the more personal pieces without lots of customers to tend to.

What do we need from the venue?

• Regular operation, with some room for us to have fun. We want normal customers and the general day-to-day, not an empty room.
• A space that is ready to show. It needs to be clean and in show condition.
• Staff who are ready for camera. People often struggle to speak on camera, so it helps if the team who will be featured are prepared and confident. Even for B-roll, we want them to be their normal selves with a smile on, presenting the business well, and not slacking off.
• Willingness to work with us. We rely a lot on feedback. We want to hear your ideas, even the funny or silly ones, because one silly idea can spark something we can film.
• Dishes plated the way you would plate them for customers, as perfect as they look in your advertising images, so customers get exactly what they expect.

We are not making something we just find cool. We want you to be happy with it and proud of it, as well as getting results from it.

What is a food truck shoot like?

We recently filmed a food truck for a well-known Melbourne pizza business, mostly private events. The event was a big birthday party. The pizza was not served from the truck. It was taken upstairs into the venue and served there, so we did not get the usual shots of people walking up to order and collect their pizza.

Space in the truck was tight, so we worked very closely alongside the chefs. We got the camera nice and close to the oven, half inside it, showing the flames and the pizza cooking. One of our favourite shots is the cheese bubbling. We showed the whole process and added our own creative, cinematic spin to it. In those tight quarters it is also easy to have a good chat with the people making the food, which made it a fun shoot. You can see more of our work on our films page.

What does a restaurant or cafe video shoot cost?

Our hospitality pricing is still being defined, so we quote hospitality shoots on the brief. A half day covers most venues. We are a premium media agency, and video production usually costs more than people expect.

The numbers we have published are, ex GST, a content day from $2,800 and a content retainer from $2,000 a month, tailored. The best value is a monthly retainer. You get consistent, ongoing content, and on a retainer you pay lower premiums per deliverable. See commercial pricing for the detail.

If you are weighing up what to ask for, our guide to briefing a video company is a good place to start.

For more on how we work with venues, see our hospitality page.

If you want ongoing posts rather than a one-off shoot, see our social media content page.

Ready to talk about your venue? Send us a message and tell us what you serve.