Here the climate is a member of the crew, and it is working against you. A dish plated outdoors has a life expectancy of a few minutes.
What really converts
Four elements, and the order matters.
The sound, captured separately and close up: the grinding, the water pouring, the cup set down, the cut into a fruit. It triggers the appetite before the image does.
The preparation action in real time, not sped up. That is what proves the stated duration and what separates the format from an advert.
The context of consumption: at what moment, with what, on what crockery, outside or in.
And the place, which here is an argument in itself: the plantation, the drying, the sorting, the market. No studio can manufacture it.
Two audiences, two different briefs
That is this market's particularity and it changes everything.
The local buyer wants to know where to buy it, at what price, how to prepare it at home, and whether it keeps. They already know the product.
The export buyer knows nothing: they are buying the origin, the process and the traceability. They want to see the plot, the hands, the drying, the packing, and they watch for longer than the local audience.
So write two briefs, shoot on the same day, and deliver two edits. Plan a subtitled English version for the second audience: it is the one that pays best.
What may not be claimed
This part is settled before the shoot.
What may be said about a food in terms of nutrition, health, origin, designation, certification or composition is regulated and depends on the product and the destination market. The usable wording comes from the approved documentation and is used word for word.
Those points are checked with the competent authority and with a lawyer before the shoot, especially for content intended for export, where two sets of rules may apply.
One rule applies to the picture too: filming a plot that is not the product's, or a process that is not its own, commits you as much as a sentence does.
Which creators to hire
Two different profiles for the two audiences.
For the local market, an everyday creator who genuinely cooks, with an ordinary kitchen and window light.
For export, somebody able to film a process calmly, in long shots, and to follow an instruction to the word. The quality sought is precision, not personality.
In both cases, check the steadiness of the hand in close-up and the ability to work fast, for the reason described above.
What is filmed, in order
| Moment | What you film | Why now |
|---|---|---|
| Before cooking | The raw ingredients | The counter is still clean |
| During | The gesture and the texture | The material is moving |
| Right after | The plate served | The steam does not last |
What is prepared in duplicate
A stand-in portion for the light, a second one for the real take.
What is never said
A health promise, an effect on weight, an origin absent from the label.
The Costa Rican calendar
It follows the harvest and the tourist seasons.
The harvest and processing calendar governs the process images: they can only be filmed at that moment and cannot be made up later. Film them once a year, generously, and use them for twelve months.
The tourist season governs the rest: short formats, cafés, markets, consumption on the spot. Shoot those in the low season, when the places are quiet and people are available.
