Edible Type Video - Anatomy of a Title Sequence

The Graphic Gourmand is going to geek-out now and show you how I made a title sequence using a cheap can of Campbell's alphabet soup. Normally I just use computer generated type from Photoshop in my videos, but lately I've been having fun playing around with organic typography.

I've always done art, starting out as a 9 year old copying cartoon characters from the comics. Even my high school aged Aunt had me doing her art homework. And for many years I worked as a director of photography/cameraman shooting title sequences, animation (stop motion,) and effects for movies and television commercials.

Now, during lunch, I often take a short break and walk down the street to a bookstore or library to peruse art and graphic design magazines and books (along with the latest food magazines, of course.)

The concept crystallized when I saw a type logo, in a design magazine, that was made out of twisting strands of spaghetti - I don't remember if it was a photo or illustration. Just imagine a letter form similar to these, but twice as ornate and made out of spaghetti.

While I liked the idea, it would be too much work to make a title out of spaghetti strands. Then, before I turned the page, I saw pasta letters from Campbell's alphabet soup in my mind's eye. The letters are already made - real organic type!

How do they appear as a title sequence? After mulling it over, why not use the soup, that comes in the can, and let the liquid drain away to reveal my type logo?

Well, here's the time-lapse and stop motion animated title video I shot, below.
  

Looks simple enough, just some boiling liquid that drains and reveals the title. However, what you just looked at is a movie clip that's run backwards. That is, when I shot it, I started with the type in an empty pan, and slowly added drops of soup until the type was covered. Then I turned on the heat and got the soup to boil -- that's how it was shot originally, below.

Original Footage

Well, which title version is better? I like the title mysteriously revealed.

After I shot the last frames of boiling liquid, I loaded the still frames into my computer and converted the footage to run backwards using some movie making software.

Well, if you want more details of how I made the cool title sequence with a can of Campbell's vegetarian alphabet soup, just keep on reading.

For my Campbell's alphabet title sequence I first opened the can and emptied the contents in a large bowl. Next I added a cup of water to loosen up the contents. Finally I carefully fished out the veggies and pasta letters, emptying out and reserving the liquid. I had to handle the soft-cooked pasta type carefully.

The letters I am looking for spell out the words: A 99 Cent Chef Recipe. There are a couple of problems though. First there are no pasta numbers in the can of soup. So I made "'99" out of the letter "P", turned backwards.

The other letter problem is a "C". For some reason that letter is not included in the ingredients. So the simple solution is to cut out a segment of the letter "O" -- easy enough.

Once I separated out the relevant type, including any duplicate letters (some will look better than others, or will break during handling) I clean off the type and set them out in a large wide pan.

 So, this is hand-set type and it takes some time to get everything centered in the pan. It's all organic so I'm not too worried if the kerning and tracking (letter spacing) is perfect.

For this setup a toothpick gently moves around tender pasta letters easily. Once the title is laid out to my satisfaction, I compose the image on my digital still camera and light the frying pan and type.

My digital still camera is a Canon EOS Rebel T3. (It also shoots hi-def movies.)

I place the camera on a tripod. This is imperative for the style of stop motion animation I do. Basically I compose the action with a tripod in mind. How close can I get to the object being animated, or how wide must I get to capture all the action (chopping, peeling, mixing, frying, baking, etc.)

Using a tripod for shooting keeps the animation smoother. Sometimes I even tape the tripod feet to the floor.

I also use a camera shutter release cable. This cable plugs right into the camera body. Now I don't have to touch the camera or accidentally bump it, once I start animating.

For this shoot, my still camera manual settings are: ASA 800; F8 aperture; 1/20 of a second exposure; set white card color balance; adjust manual focus; and I turn off any auto exposure corrections in the camera menu.

What I want is for the exposed still frame to have the same settings, from frame-one to the last frame. If any camera auto settings are left on, then the exposure and focus will change during the shoot, and you will get flickering and/or shifting of the image size during the title sequence.

The only thing I want you to focus on is the animation, not on jittery camera problems.

So once the camera is set, I shoot a frame, and check out on my camera viewing screen: the exposure, lighting and composition. That's the time to tweak the lighting and framing, because once I start shooting, I don't want to move the camera or light any more.

My still frame image size is captured in a medium/high resolution. My final movie output is 1280 x 720 pixels, or high definition video. By shooting still frames larger, at 3088 x 2056, I can zoom in and create camera moves in my digital editing program. I can also recompose a sequence - into medium or close up framing.

When I am satisfied with the title, I shoot one more test frame and check for spelling, alignment and final image exposure.

I'm shooting the title sequence to be viewed backwards because it would be difficult to shoot it any other way. Just imagine the work involved draining every last drop of hot soup, then trying to arrange the messy pasta letters -- ugh!

So here are the animation steps. The title is set on the frying pan and I shoot about 10 frames. Then I add a drop of soup and shoot one frame. I continue to add a little soup and shoot a frame each time -- until the letters are covered in liquid. (Also, I supplemented the alphabet soup with tomato soup, otherwise the liquid would be too thin and transparent.)

Now time to turn on the heat and get the soup to boil.

I turn the flame to high and start shooting camera frames - one frame about every 10 seconds. When the liquid starts to simmer I shoot frames quicker, maybe every second or so. When the soup gets to boiling, I just shoot frames as fast as the camera will go, about 2 or 3 frames per second.

I shoot at least 50 frames of boiling. The whole sequence is comprised of just over 250 frames total -- that's equal to about 10 seconds of running time (24 frames makes up one second of time.)

It took about 2 hours to set up and shoot the title sequence in my kitchen. And I did 5 takes to get it right, spread out over a couple of days. Earlier versions had veggies floating around, but I decided to strip it down to just soup and pasta type.

Earlier version with veggies.

When the sequence is played it goes way too fast, and of course, in the wrong direction. This is where the magic of editing comes in.

What I want to do now is put it all together in my computer. First I make and name computer folders to hold the images.

Then I load-in the digital still frames I shot. I have a computer camera card reader, so that's easy enough.

I use 2 types of software by Adobe: Aftereffects and Premiere. Aftereffects is where I make the frames run backwards, and turn all the still frames into a movie. I also stretch out, or shrink the time - that is, my 10 seconds of animation will finally be 13 seconds long. Color correction and camera moves are put in, if necessary.

And Premiere is where I add sound effects, music and do final editing.

Don't worry, I won't take you though the post production process. While it can be tedious, the stuff I come up with is fun to do, so there's instant gratification seeing it pieced together. I'll get into post-production with you in another organic title autopsy -- some other time.

All this is second nature to me. I hardly think about the process any more, it's all about making up something cool and trying to pull it off. And, thanks for reading my geeked-out blog post.

Oh, and I bet you wonder about my Cheap$kate Dining Scale rating for Campbell's alphabet soup? Well, on a scale of 1 to 9, 9 being best, I hate to give the soup -- a lowly 3!

The veggies and pasta are overcooked and mushy. While the tomato soup is thin (once you add a can of water) and bland. I'm sure there are better Campbell soup selections out there, but this is not one of them. The soup is only good for animating with, and composting.

Spicy Tuna Hand Roll - Sushi Video Series

The easiest sushi to make is a Hand Roll. And for my next Sushi Recipe Video I'll have you literally eating out of my hands.

When you dine at the sushi counter in a Japanese restaurant it can be intimidating -- all that precise assembling and slicing choreography.

Making a Hand Roll is like making a flatbread (or tortilla) sandwich roll. Just slice up some veggie and fish ingredients and pile it on a sheet of seaweed (known as Nori) half covered with cooked sushi rice -- then roll it into the shape of a pointy-end snow cone.

Japanese chefs work overtime on visual presentation, but a Hand Roll is more about what you put in, than how it looks.

For this Hand Roll I'm using Spicy Tuna. And Spicy Tuna is just mayo and hot sauce (usually Sriracha Spicy Chili Sauce, or an imitation brand) mixed into chopped raw tuna. But any hot sauce can be used.

(For a cheaper hand roll scroll go to the end of my blog post under Hindsight, and read about making one with imitation crab - I'll have a fake crab recipe, with photos and text, posted in a few weeks, too.)

If you made my Nigiri Tuna Sushi from the last blog post then you may have saved some tuna scraps. A hand roll is perfect for the small trims of tuna, any uneven pieces, and unattractive cuts. (When I make sushi I never throw away the fish scraps unless it's just too stringy or chewy.)

The only tricky thing is spreading out sticky rice and rolling the Hand Roll. And even that isn't too difficult.

For handling sticky rice just dampen your hands. And for rolling, roll the loaded seaweed diagonally, and seal it with dampened fingertips -- the ingredients will hold together in a sleek black wrap.

With a hand roll, the rice doesn't have to be perfect sticky sushi rice. You can use any favorite rice recipe. The sheet of dried seaweed will hold it all together.

You will need a good cut of raw fish (I get mine free from my fisherman neighbor Don, click here to see the video.) For this recipe, I used fatty tuna. I used a leaner cut of tuna for my Nigiri Tuna Sushi video recipe from last week. And Click here for a list of fish commonly used for sushi.

Probably the most unusual ingredient for a Sushi Roll is dried seaweed. They come in 8-inch square thin sheets; anywhere from 10 to 30 sheets to a package. I get mine at Oriental markets, but they are now being sold in some regular chain grocery stores. If you have a Little Tokyo or Chinatown nearby, then you can find dried seaweed, for a decent price. The best price I've found is 30 sheets for $2.49 -- that's less than 10 cents per sheet! Even if you have to pay twice as much, you will surely use up the whole package trying out everything in my Sushi Recipes Video Series.

I was intimidated to try making sushi for a long time, but now I do it frequently. The main thing is to do it a few times -- with a couple of mistakes under your belt, you will get better. I have.

So do check back for more sushi recipes, including a cheap, easy-to-make, California Roll, that's made with krab, cucumber, and creamy avocado.

  Spicy Tuna Hand Roll- VIDEO 

Play it here, video runs 2 minutes, 30 seconds.

My YouTube video link for viewing or embedding, just click here.

Ingredients for Spicy Tuna (2 to 4 rolls)

• About 6 ounces of tuna - skinless and no bones. I used fatty tuna for this recipe.
• 3 tablespoons mayo - I used light mayo. Add more or less to the desired creaminess.
• 1 teaspoon Sriracha Chilli Sauce - can also use a favorite hot sauce, grated horseradish, or a pinch of cayenne pepper. Okay to add a little at a time to reach desired spicyness.

Other Ingredients

• About 2 cups cooked Sushi Rice - for my Sushi Rice recipe, click here for text with photos, or scroll down to the end for video only.) You can use any type of cooked rice for a hand roll.
• 1-2 sheets of dried seaweed - sliced in half
• Favorite thinly sliced veggies - carrot, green onions, cucumber, or avocado. For a hand roll, fill it up with any favorite sliced veggies, raw or lightly steamed.

Directions for Spicy Tuna Hand Roll
Have Sushi Rice at the ready, room temperature. To see my Sushi Rice recipe, click here.

Mix mayo and Sriracha Chilli Sauce (or your favorite hot sauce) in a bowl. Add a little hot sauce at a time and taste, to bring up to desired spiciness.

Roughly chop raw tuna into small pieces. Mix chopped tuna with spicy mayo. Cover and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Thinly slice favorite veggies such as a carrot, green onion, cucumber, and avocado. Slices can be long or short. You can use packaged shredded carrots or peel and slice your own.

For whole carrots just peel off skin and chop off ends. Split the carrot in half across the middle, then split one more time lengthways. Finally, slice carrot segments thinly.

For cucumbers slice in half lengthwise and spoon out seeds. You can peel some of the cucumber or not. Thinly slice cucumber.

For green onion slice off the green stems and give the stems one more slice lengthwise. (While the green stems are tasty they are tough to bite through, so slicing them thinly makes it easier.) You can sprinkle in some of the chopped white onion pieces too. (Discard green onion root and any wilted stems parts.)

Next, slice the dried seaweed in half. It's kind of brittle so handle carefully. Please note that dried seaweed is super-absorbent, so make sure the cutting surface, your hands, and the knife are dry.

Time to bring it all together. Place the halved seaweed section, lengthwise, on a dry surface. Dampen fingers and spread on a layer of Sushi Rice over about one-half of the seaweed. Just enough rice to cover the surface, no need to pile it on too thick.

Now add spicy tuna on the rice side of the seaweed. It's up to you how much fish to add - a thick or thin layer. Again, once you've made a few Hand Rolls then you will get better at figuring out the amount of rice to fish you like.

 Okay, let's wrap it up! Lay your veggie slices diagonally over the spicy tuna and rice. Next, roll the seaweed in a diagonal direction: bottom left side to upper right side. (I'm right-handed, but if you're left-handed then make the hand roll filling on the right side of the seaweed, and roll it bottom right to top left.)

Finally, seal the Hand Roll with a bead of water. When you have rolled it up moisten your fingertips and wipe the seaweed end-edge and press it together. It should seal up and stick together easily.

The end result will look like an ice cream cone with a pointy end. You can make Hand Rolls one at a time or all at once.

Hindsight
If you don't like raw carrot, it's okay to seam for a few minutes to desired softness. This pertains to any veggie you like to use.

It's up to you how much veggies, rice, and fish you add to each roll. You can be generous or skimpy doling out the spicy fish.

I know sushi-grade raw fish is way expensive. A cheap seafood substitution is krab. You've seen the small frozen packages in seafood deli cases and even laid out with fresh fish. It's tasty and you don't have to pry it out of a shell. Sometimes the quality is suspect. It can be a little dried out from freezing for too long. An easy way to reconstitute, after defrosting, is to sprinkle on a little water, loosely cover, and do a 30-second microwave (take out pieces as they get warm and soft, and continue to zap in 10-second increments, if krab pieces are still cool.) The krab will soften and plump up perfectly. Finally do a rough chop and mix it with some Spicy Mayo.

Hand Rolls work well with imperfect rice, too. Since the rice is in a wrap, you can use reheated cooked rice from another day, or even defrosted from the freezer. Just make sure the rice is heated to room temperature.

You can easily use brown rice, just follow my Sushi Rice directions. And after the rice is cooked, let it set for an extra 10 minutes. Brown rice is toothsome with an extra nutty flavor and is more nutritious.

Sushi Rice Recipe Video

Tuna Nigiri Sushi - Video Series

My experience with sushi goes way back, to the mid-1970s. Little did I know that when I moved to Los Angeles, an explosion of sushi dining was underway. My first job in the "biz" was as a video editor for a Japanese-owned post-production company.

I was lucky enough to eat out almost every week at a different sushi restaurant -- on the company's dime! Growing up in the South, we did not eat raw fish, just raw oysters. Everything else was fried and I liked it that way. I was quite wary when my first plate of raw fish was placed in front of me, but I knew it was a test to get along with everyone at work -- I just dived in.

My workmates knew this and so they started me out on milder cuts of raw fish like tuna and salmon. While the first bite was more fish-tasting than I expected, it was not objectionable. I immediately liked the sensuous tender texture. And watching the sushi chef in action, I knew there was care and expertise at work behind the refrigerated glass counters -- displaying clear plastic-wrapped filets of beautiful orange marbled salmon, rosy red tuna, and chilling cuts of seafood I'd never seen.

I quickly moved on to musky silver-skinned mackerel and pungent creamy sea urchin. It was literally love at first bite.

For my first sushi stop-motion animated video, I prepared Tuna Nigiri Sushi. It's a gateway sushi that most novices start with. But it's also sushi that's highly prized when done right. I was spoiled in my first sushi dining experience, but I won't let that stop me from cutting corners, and getting seafood cheaply wherever I can.

I can only make this video because of the generosity of my neighbor Don. He goes out to Baja, Mexico once or twice a year deep sea fishing for bluefin (maguro) and yellowtail (hamachi) tuna. And, I am the sometime recipient of his largess. He'll knock on my door and say: "Come on over with an empty bag, we had a good catch this time." And he hands out 4 or 5 of the most beautiful vacuumed packages of freshly caught tuna -- for free! To see what I am writing about, just click here to see the video post I did last month.

It pays to be friendly and chat with your neighbors. But if you are not as lucky as I am, don't worry, I have plenty of sushi recipes coming up that anyone can afford, like a California Roll recipe that's made with fake crab (which is priced cheaply at any market.) And if you are not a pescatarian, then do check back because I have another vegetarian sushi option: Portabella Mushroom Sushi.

The thing with sushi is what a big deal the Japanese make of it. Now I'm all for perfection, but they take it way too far. The rice has to be short-grained sushi rice and the fish preparation is way too convoluted. (Just check out the documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi sometime - click here to see the trailer.) If you can find fresh fish from your local grocery fishmonger or a fisherman friend that's good enough. As for rice, I use regular long-grain rice, it makes a decent sushi rice and the average person will not know the difference. My Sushi Rice video recipe is here.

Making Nigiri Sushi is not that hard. You will get better after a few tries at it. The hardest part is dealing with Japanese-style sticky rice. You want to make small 2 1/2 x1 1/2 inch ovals of rice that the raw slices of fish rest on. But if you keep your hands moistened with water, even that becomes easy to do. I would recommend steaming some Sushi Rice using my recipe and practice making a dozen or so ovals of rice - before you defrost and slice the raw tuna. That way you don't waste any expensive fish. And practice with a cheap topping like my recipe from a couple of weeks ago of Nigiri Carrot Sushi (click here to get the details.)

As for the raw fish you want to make blocks that are 1 1/2 x 2 1/2 inches wide and as long as the tuna steaks come. Then you just slice them across the grain into individual sushi pieces that fit on the sushi rice ovals. The tuna slices and rice ovals don't have to be a perfect uniform size. The tuna slice can be larger than the rice oval. And the rice ball can be square or longer -- it will taste delicious no matter how it looks. Is the rice oval lopsided and the tuna slice crooked? Don't worry about it; you'll get better with practice. Just go for it!

If you've had sushi before, you'll notice there is a slight heat that follows the cool tuna and sweet rice. That comes from a small smear of wasabi hidden underneath the tuna slice. Wasabi is a spicy root that is shaved and turned into a green paste. It is very similar to grated horseradish. Oriental and specialty markets carry it frozen. But I've substituted horseradish, and if you don't tell anyone, they will not notice the difference. Of course, you can leave it out completely and go for a mild sushi-eating experience.

The final accompaniment to eating sushi is soy sauce. I like to use low sodium, as soy sauce is too salty and overpowers the mild flavor of some fish. For Nigiri sushi you normally dip the fish side into soy sauce, not the rice side. You don't need to soak the fish either, just a thin coat of soy sauce is all that's needed. Since you have wasabi in the assembled sushi pieces you don't need to mix wasabi into the soy sauce (as many sushi bar patrons mistakenly do.) Click here to see a video about how to eat sushi.

Well, that's a quick rundown on making and eating Tuna Nigiri Sushi. Just check out my fun stop-motion video below to see how simple and quick it is to do.

So, make sure to wash your hands before handling raw fish. And check back for more tasty and cheap$kate sushi recipes.

Tuna Nigiri Sushi  - VIDEO 

Play it here, video runs 2 minutes, 14 seconds.

My YouTube video link for viewing or embedding, just click here.

 Ingredients (about 6-8 pieces)

• 4-6 ounces of raw fish - I used tuna. Okay to use any fresh seafood like salmon, red snapper, yellowtail, halibut, seabass, flounder, sea urchin, fish eggs, and scallops. Cooked seafood includes octopus, squid, mackerel, shrimp, eel, and crab or fake krab. For a typical sushi restaurant seafood list, click here.
• 1 cup of sushi rice - depending on how large you make the rice ovals for the sushi slices, you may need a little more. Click here to see my Sushi Rice recipe with text and photos, or scroll down to the end of this post to see the video only.
• 1/4 cup of soy sauce - I like to use low sodium for dipping the prepared sushi. Mix in a little wasabi or horseradish for heat, optional.
• 1/2 teaspoon grated wasabi - okay to substitute grated horseradish. Usually, a pinch is applied between the fish and rice oval.
• Small bowl of water - to moisten hands during the making of rice ovals. Sushi rice is very sticky, so you need to keep your hands wet to make forming rice easier.

Directions
You want to break down your raw fish into slabs that are cut about 2 1/2 inches long and 1 1/2 inches across. It can be as long as you want it. It's up to you how generous each piece of sushi you are serving will be. Each slice doesn't have to be exact - with practice, you will get better at measuring. You just want the rice oval and sushi slice about the same size.

And make sure your knife is sharp. An easier way to slice soft tuna steak is to firm it up in the freezer. Just put the plastic-wrapped steak in the freezer for about an hour until semi-firm. It doesn't need to be rock hard, just firm so slicing is easier. Remove, unwrap, and slice the tuna.

The main thing is that each fish slice matches your formed rice ovals. If some fish slices are too big, that's okay, I'm sure your guest or partner will not complain. Any small scraps of tuna can be set aside or frozen and used for a Spicy Tuna Roll (recipe here.) Or, since you are not at a sushi restaurant, where perfection is emphasized, you can combine irregular tuna pieces on formed rice ovals.

When slicing raw fish you want to cut across the grain, so each slice will hold its shape and not split apart when handling. Again, with practice, you will get the hang of it. It's similar to slicing a slab of steak.

On a small plate half add a teaspoon of grated wasabi or horseradish. Set out a cup of sushi rice at room temperature. Also set out a small bowl of water.

Now time to bring it all together. Dampen your hands and grab a ping pong ball-size of rice in your hand. Gently roll it around in your palm to form a ball. Lightly squeeze in your fist and roll the rice to form an oval. Press harder toward the end, when the shape is about right. You can use the moistened fingers of your other hand to help press and shape the rice oval.

The end result is an oval of rice that is about 2 1/2 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide. It doesn't have to be perfect -- a little larger is okay. The main thing is to squeeze the rice together hard enough so it holds together when eating sushi.

Finally take a pinch of wasabi, or horseradish, and smear it on one side of the fish. Then place the fish wasabi-side against the rice. Now it's ready to eat. (It's okay to leave out spicy wasabi or horseradish.)

You can make a couple of sushi pieces at a time, or all at once.

Set out a small plate or bowl of soy sauce for dipping sushi. You can stir a pinch of wasabi into the soy sauce instead of under the tuna. It's optional -- taste the mixture for desired heat. (Sushi chefs will spice the pieces of sushi with wasabi, so normally you will just use soy sauce straight from the bottle.) Of course, you can leave out wasabi or horseradish for a mild sushi-eating experience.

It's best to dip the sushi fish side into soy sauce. If you dip sushi rice oval into soy sauce it may fall apart before it reaches your mouth. And your bowl of soy sauce will fill up with grains of rice.

Normally you eat sushi in one bite, that's why each piece is small. My video has sushi eaten away in small bites, that's just for fun -- don't eat it as my video shows.

Sushi Rice Video