Ugly Delicious.
Ugly Delicious is a docu-series following David Chang as he tries different staple foods from around the US and the world whilst learning the history behind it and trying different versions. I have seen almost all of the episodes, but I will be talking about the episode "Fried Chicken". Ugly Delicious has 1 season and is exclusive to Netflix.
David Chang is a restaurateur, and goes on the journey to discover the best versions of food and most traditional restaurants in the US. In "Fried Chicken", you may have already guessed that Chang is learning about fried chicken, and while trying to get an idea of how fried chicken should traditionally be served, he taste-tests chicken and discussed the history behind it.
I found the show very interesting, as often you don't consider where food has originated from. It's informing the viewer about the food that they regularly eat and don't really think about eating. Other episodes focused on fried rice and pizza, which many people will know where it's from, but they won't know the history, traditions, or why it exists.
In "Fried Chicken", Chang is joined by Aziz Ansari and Eric Warenheim. These familiar faces allow the viewer to see another viewpoint on the food, as Chang is a food critic but Ansari and Warenheim are actors who can maybe supply more of an understandable dialect about the food. Saying this, Chang is able to maintain an informal approach to the show which helps the viewer feel more comfortable about watching the show. The opposite of this would be Masterchef, which is a game show, not a documentary, however, the approach to the food and the dialect is much different and less comfortable to watch.
What I take from this show is the presenting. As mentioned, David Chang is able to maintain a relaxed, informal approach to the information that he's presenting, which particularly fits the format of Netflix (since people tend to watch Netflix in more relaxed situation). They have a lot of sequences of the food being prepared which slows down the pace, and prepares the viewer for the next conversation between Chang and the chef. Chang's conversations with the chefs are informed but not strictly about the information- you get to learn about the emotion and effort that also goes into the food, and exactly why it's being done, which makes the show more personal, as though we are seeing Chang talk to his friends (which we sometimes are). I think this works well in the docu-series format, but if this was a stand-alone documentary it wouldn't work. This is because it focuses more on watching Chang and his friends try food, and you learn more from watching multiple of the episodes. But if it were a stand-alone, it would work better to be more facts-based, as you would need to get the information into a shorter space of time. This would likely lead to the show being more formal.
I think it's worth thinking about when shooting actuality and it will be important to get the right balance of fact and action, especially as we're limited to 10 minutes.
I found the show very interesting, as often you don't consider where food has originated from. It's informing the viewer about the food that they regularly eat and don't really think about eating. Other episodes focused on fried rice and pizza, which many people will know where it's from, but they won't know the history, traditions, or why it exists.
In "Fried Chicken", Chang is joined by Aziz Ansari and Eric Warenheim. These familiar faces allow the viewer to see another viewpoint on the food, as Chang is a food critic but Ansari and Warenheim are actors who can maybe supply more of an understandable dialect about the food. Saying this, Chang is able to maintain an informal approach to the show which helps the viewer feel more comfortable about watching the show. The opposite of this would be Masterchef, which is a game show, not a documentary, however, the approach to the food and the dialect is much different and less comfortable to watch.
What I take from this show is the presenting. As mentioned, David Chang is able to maintain a relaxed, informal approach to the information that he's presenting, which particularly fits the format of Netflix (since people tend to watch Netflix in more relaxed situation). They have a lot of sequences of the food being prepared which slows down the pace, and prepares the viewer for the next conversation between Chang and the chef. Chang's conversations with the chefs are informed but not strictly about the information- you get to learn about the emotion and effort that also goes into the food, and exactly why it's being done, which makes the show more personal, as though we are seeing Chang talk to his friends (which we sometimes are). I think this works well in the docu-series format, but if this was a stand-alone documentary it wouldn't work. This is because it focuses more on watching Chang and his friends try food, and you learn more from watching multiple of the episodes. But if it were a stand-alone, it would work better to be more facts-based, as you would need to get the information into a shorter space of time. This would likely lead to the show being more formal.
I think it's worth thinking about when shooting actuality and it will be important to get the right balance of fact and action, especially as we're limited to 10 minutes.
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