{"id":92573,"date":"2017-07-18T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-07-18T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/?p=92573"},"modified":"2017-07-18T10:30:07","modified_gmt":"2017-07-18T15:30:07","slug":"behind-the-scenes-binging-with-babish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/behind-the-scenes-binging-with-babish\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview: Behind the Scenes with YouTube’s Binging with Babish"},"content":{"rendered":"

We talked to Binging with Babish’s Andrew Rea about shooting his web\u00a0series and reaching 1 Million YouTube Subscribers.<\/h2>\n

All images via Andrew Rea\/Binging With Babish.<\/em><\/p>\n

One of my absolute favorite YouTube channels is Binging with Babish<\/em><\/a>, a cooking show dedicated to recreating dishes from television shows and movies. Each week, the series\u00a0tackles a new dish. The show’s success is due to\u00a0many factors, like\u00a0consistent quality, mouthwatering food, good humor, and a rabid community fanbase.<\/p>\n

I reached out to Andrew Rea (aka Oliver Babish) to learn more about his successful YouTube series.<\/p>\n

\"Interview:<\/p>\n

PremiumBeat:<\/strong>\u00a0Can you tell us a little bit about\u00a0yourself? Who are you? Where are you from?<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Andrew Rea:<\/strong> My name is Andrew Rea. I’m a YouTube creator from Rochester, NY, now living in Harlem. I shoot, edit, and star in a weekly cooking show called Binging with Babish<\/em>, where I endeavor to accurately recreate foods from movies and television.<\/p>\n

PB:<\/strong> What is your background? Can you talk about some of your previous jobs, and have\u00a0you gone full-time as a YouTube creator?<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

AR:<\/strong> For the past seven years, I worked as an Autodesk Flame artist<\/strong> at SwitchFX<\/a>, a boutique commercial finishing house. Before that, I interned and worked part-time gigs to grow my knowledge of the post-production world. I attended Hofstra University<\/a>, where I majored in Film Studies and Production<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 all the while, my passion for cooking remained an insatiable hobby<\/strong>. I’ve since made the channel my full-time career.<\/p>\n

\"Interview:<\/p>\n

PB:<\/strong> So you have more of a production background?<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

AR:<\/strong> I have more of a background in film than food. I don’t have any formal culinary training<\/strong>, but have fifteen years of neurotic self-teaching under my belt. I got a chef’s knife and whisk tattoo on my forearm about five years ago \u2014 before I was a halfway decent cook \u2014 as a way to “hold myself hostage” into becoming a better one.<\/p>\n

\"Interview:<\/p>\n

PB:<\/strong> Who is Oliver Babish?<\/em><\/p>\n

AR:<\/strong> Oliver Babish<\/a> is an ancillary character from The West Wing<\/em><\/a>, portrayed by Oliver Platt<\/a>. I was trying to come up with a fun Reddit handle<\/strong>, and liked the idea of an obscure character name that’d give me an inside joke with other West Wing<\/em> fanatics. My show, which was intended just for Reddit and just for one episode<\/strong>, was named arbitrarily after my handle, and now I’m kinda stuck with it! I’m hoping Oliver Platt hits me up one day.<\/strong><\/p>\n

PB:\u00a0<\/strong>So that’s how you started\u00a0the YouTube channel?<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

AR:<\/strong> I started the channel almost by accident \u2014 I had bought a camera and a light to do some freelance interview work<\/strong>, and decided to experiment with food photography. I realized I had a good setup for a show, and decided to make one episode for fun. People responded positively, I kept making it, and it kept growing<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 now I’m lucky enough to have made it my full-time job!<\/p>\n

PB:<\/strong>\u00a0Where do you go to find inspiration for new videos?<\/em><\/p>\n

AR:<\/strong> For the most part, I go to my audience for inspiration. I’m constantly getting comments about what viewers want to see recreated on my show. I’ve put a huge effort into constantly and reliably interacting with my audience, and I think it’s been helpful in the growth of my channel \u2014 both in building a fanbase and finding new ideas I hadn’t considered!<\/p>\n

\"Interview:<\/p>\n

PB:<\/strong> Can you tell us about the gear you use to shoot each episode?<\/em><\/p>\n

AR:\u00a0<\/strong>I shoot on a Sony a7S<\/a> with a Zeiss 35mm 2.8<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 I’ve got a single Aputure LS 1c<\/a>, a reflector, and a little bargain LED panel to fill on the bar. (Revealed in the video below, Rea also uses an Atomos Ninja Flame<\/a>\u00a0monitor\/recorder.)<\/p>\n

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Special thanks to Andrew Rea. I highly recommend checking out his YouTube channel<\/strong>, and supporting his page if you are a fan. For more on Binging with Babish<\/em>, check out these pages and sites.<\/p>\n

Binging with Babish:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n