Tabletop

Tabletop is by definition a photograph of small objects or a miniature scene arranged on a table, but we talk about Tabletop as a part of the commercial industry. It describes the works with high-speed/slow-motion cameras such as Phantom, special robots - motion control like Bolt and customizes rigs. Tabletop shooting is a very specific type of video shoot that can be really hard to get right. Also referred to as still life shooting, it’s very much what it sounds like. Usually, an object is filmed on top of a flat surface in great detail. Think products, tutorials, or stop motion videos. These classic examples of tabletop filming require a certain level of perfectionism to get right.

Tabletop - a special type of photography

Tabletop director is mostly associated with food but it can be all kinds of shoots including demo products and other that involve slow motion and other techniques to catch the moment of beauty that is hard to see with the bare eye. Very often tabletop director or food-film director works with special lenses like macro lenses, Frazier lenses or endoscope lenses. Not all shoot need high-speed camera Phantom (especially food-film). Some of them can be done by using regular movie cameras such as Alexa or Red. Tabletop directors are commercial artists whose goal is to create mundane foods look so irresistible that people want to eat the TV screen.