TV Commercials & Dumplings

Much to our joy our latest project here at Silverpoint Media once again dealt with great food and great people. On a Friday evening as I was about to leave the studio I received a call from Keith – he asked whether I could join him on Saturday for a production meeting and lunch, at a new and tasty Northern Chinese restaurant located just north of Yonge and Bloor called Lee Chen Asian Diner.

I couldn’t say the reason I agreed to work on Saturday was completely due to the fact that I love what I do for a living, nor was it completely because the head honcho told me to go, and it definitely wasn’t only because Keith and I occasionally enjoy going on dinner dates together without our significant others – however, it may have been in large part due to the fact that frankly I’m a sucker for steamed dumplings. Yummy.  

Getting back on track…Turns out Fred Lee, the owner of Lee Chen, had stumbled upon our work through mutual acquaintances, and just in time I might add. Having only been opened for a week, his marketing campaign was beginning to push forward with a quick release date for both a website and a couple 30 sec television commercials which were to air on Fairchild Television. The task for us within the short production schedule of less then one week, was to do the photography, design the promotional flyers, design the outdoor light panel menus, and of course create the 30 sec commercials, one in Mandarin and one in Cantonese.

However with production full steam ahead and our bellies full of dumplings (steamed + fried), wontons, beef noodle soup, almond fish, crispy tofu, black pepper beef, sesame paste rice balls, bubble tea, and Lee Chen’s famous Nutri 28 shake (stuffed) – the guys at Silverpoint pulled through and helped kicked off what will surely be a successful restaurant in the downtown core. 

If you get a chance make sure to visit Lee Chen Asian Diner at 832 Yonge St., Toronto, Ontario. And try all the dishes I named above and more – you definitely wont leave there hungry. 

Josh Chan

Marcy Cooks it Real - Steak Diane

Having been on many shoots and in a variety of settings the opportunity to eat well on-set does not always present itself. However, typically this isn’t a problem. Whether filming a mine site, a heart attack surgery, or a CEO’s quarterly report, we as cinematographers are so engulfed in the subjects; hunger is often the furthest thing from our minds. But what happens when your subject becomes a delicious Steak Diane with a side of roasted potatoes and green beans? Well, you can only hope that the grumbling in your stomach doesn’t ruin the audio.

Recently the guys at Silverpoint Media had the opportunity to once again work with Marcy Mihalcheon the founder of MeMeMe Inc. on her new online cooking show Marcy Cooks it Real. The idea was to create webisodes that not only taught viewers a new recipe, but also inspired and showed the busy moms, dads, businessmen, students, and/or anyone who typically has no time to cook; that home cooked meals could be done on a busy schedule and could be done delectably.

Therefore the dilemma presented itself – how could we do a show that portrays a real working mom’s challenge of cooking a hearty meal while juggling issues such as, kids, social events, time constraints, etc.? Well, the answer was within the question itself. With a crew of 3 cameramen and a soundman, we went and filmed a typical evening at the Mihalcheon home - following Marcy from the time she came home after picking up her daughter, to preparing the food, to feeding the pets, to having the entire family (Marcy, Alan, and Evan) sitting down for a delicious home cooked meal.

But what was the best part about Marcy Cooks it Real? Having the absolutely tastiest on-set meal to date. 

make sure you subscribe to the Marcy Cooks it Real's youtube channel, and give the video a thumbs up! 

Cheers, 

Josh Chan