Tabletop & Food Cinematography
Tabletop is a Hundred Films specialty: macro food work, sizzle reels, and brand spots for Publix and others, shot with high-speed and macro packages. If it needs to look delicious at 120 frames a second, this is the page.
WORKED WITH: PUBLIX
Pete Gill is a 4x Emmy Award–winning director of photography based in Florida, shooting documentary, branded content, commercial, and tabletop food work for clients including ESPN, NBC, CBS, Netflix, Prime Video, Disney, Coca-Cola, and American Express.
More about tabletop and food work
How tabletop food work is shot
Tabletop is its own discipline. The subject does not take direction, it degrades on camera within minutes, and the whole shot lives or dies on light, timing, and a repeatable camera move. Getting a pour, a pull, or a sizzle to read on screen is a matter of building the shot around the moment the food looks best and being ready before it gets there.
Hundred Films treats tabletop as a specialty rather than an add-on. The work on this page was shot with macro and high-speed packages for Publix and other brands.
What a tabletop day looks like
A food day is usually a small crew, a locked-off or motion-controlled camera, and a lot of iterations of the same shot. Working with a food stylist, that means shooting a hero take, resetting, and going again until the frame is right — then moving to the next shot before the light setup goes cold.
The package matters more here than on most jobs. Macro glass, high frame rates for pours and sizzle, and precise control over highlight roll-off are what separate a spot that looks appetising from one that looks like documentation. Hundred Films owns the Arri Alexa 35 Xtreme and Alexa Mini LF, Atlas Mercury anamorphics, and Arri high-speed setups used for this work.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Q. What is tabletop food cinematography?
It's specialized cinematography for food, beverage, and product close-ups — pours, sizzle, steam, and hero product moments — using controlled lighting and precise camera motion to make a product look its best on camera.
Q. Do you travel outside Florida for food shoots?
Yes. Pete Gill is based in Florida and shoots worldwide for brand and agency clients.
Q. What kind of clients do you shoot tabletop for?
Regional and national brands including Publix, plus the broader client roster Pete shoots for across specialties: ESPN, NBC, CBS, Netflix, Prime Video, Disney, Coca-Cola, and American Express.
Q. Do you shoot high-speed and macro?
Yes. High-speed and macro packages are core to this work — pours, sizzle, and hero product moments are usually shot well above 24 frames a second.
Q. How do I book a tabletop food shoot?
Text Pete directly at (352) 223-1908, or use the contact page to send project details.