Family outside dinner: shot inspiration

[Joe Cage]

Hi Guys,

I need to shoot this family dinner outside in a backyard. There is no script, just need to showcase the bond of these 12 people (family business). But I have no idea's yet what to shoot. So if anyone has any idea's on how to cover this shoot let me know.

There are the cliche shots I can take:
- Toast, drink
- Serve the food, take a bite
- Serving the wine

But they feel kinda cliche and def looking to up this shoot to something better, would be great to create a mini story (there is no audio) with some shots. Any idea's or inspiration I need to look up?

Thanks a lot!

 

[Karim D. Ghantous]

I may not be able to offer anything useful, but I am just wondering exactly what kind of shoot this is. Is it a kind of web promo video that will be on a website or something? I assume it's not a commercial.

So if I were to do it, I'd do a lot of shots of details, but from far away and with long lenses. I might experiment with defocused shots, where appropriate, to capture the nature of the light rather than the details of the scene. E.g. bubbles in champagne sparkling in the sunlight. I'd try and capture activity as much as possible. I would avoid 'shaky cam' if you know what I mean. Like, exaggerated motion of the camera to convey 'honesty' or 'intimacy' because there's no tripod. Let the camera waver but don't let it distract. I'd also think about shooting the exterior from the interior, and the interior from the exterior. E.g. shoot the table from the kitchen window, and shoot the preparation from the backyard.

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