Filming Recipes with Older Students

Summary of the digital activity:

This activity involved older students producing their own recipe films in Slovenia. It started during the Covid 19 pandemic, when learning took place at home.  Beforehand, there was an annual activity of preparing healthy meals together and presenting them to the visitors, followed by a tasting session together. However, the results of the filming activity have been very good so it is still continuing after the pandemic. 

Students prepare a healthy recipe with an explanation of the health benefits of certain foods and the aesthetics of presenting the meal on a plate. Students either film the cooking process or visit and create a film about a restaurant. They present their recipe and cooking process, discuss the characteristics of certain foods, and add music, according to their own choice.

Students got detailed instructions what to do: 

• how to prepare the whole place for filming: how to set the camera or mobile phone, reducing noise, use of tripod, use of lighting
• how to prepare place for film cooking: all ingredients had to be ready and pre-measured, all equipment at their fingertips
• their presentation had to be smooth, so they had to prepare speech in advance (although they could have notes hidden where viewer couldn´t see it)

After the students have filmed their recipes, they had to edit their film, add music, text and it was ready for the school website. All videos (together with videos from other modules) were presented at World Wellness Day. 

What are the benefits/outcomes of a digital approach to this activity?

Video is a powerful tool for communicating ideas, it is a tool of the future. Many students don´t know how to use it, they are not familiar with video production. Mobile phones nowadays are easy to use and they produce good quality videos. With this project students got familiar with this powerful tool, which they will use in the future..
The students learned about the detailed preparation required to make both the recipe and the film. As the students worked independently, they had to think about all the aspects of presenting their work. It has provided an excellent opportunity to share their work with other students and the community

Top Tips

• Prepare really detailed instructions for work with filming: position of the camera, light, tripod, background
• Prepare detailed instructions for cooking (food has to be pre-prepared and measured), cooking equipment has to be on fingertips
• Prepare notes about what you are going to say with bullet points and put them where viewers can´t see it if you are afraid that your speech won´t be smooth and you might forget the text
• There are many tutorials and free programmes for film editing on internet, use them!