The television producer who spent more than 11 years in the booth for Oprah Winfrey is currently scouring Michigan's Great Southwest for guests eager to either learn how to cook or those seeking to improve their culinary skills to record television videos with professional chefs from Sur la Table and Bon Appetit.
Tracey Carter is a Producer for JohnsonRauhoff and she would like to hear from everyday people who would like to play the role of students in video cooking classes for the joint venture between Sur la Table, Conde Nast publications, and Bon Appetit magazine. Not only will those who are selected for the video taping sessions learn one-on-one from professional chefs, you will actually be paid anywhere from $300 to $500 for your role.
JohnsonRauhoff recently completed a new 3,000 square foot soundstage inside their Benton Harbor photo studio, and it houses the professional set for video products being created there for Sur la Table and other clients of the St. Joseph marketing and production house.
Rob Regovich is Vice President of Photo Services for JohnsonRauhoff. He calls this "an exciting time for JR," adding, "We've made a complete commitment to quality video and audio." Regovich says the agency's upgrades, "allow us to run a multi-camera setup 'live-to-tape' in 4k video." He says that his talented crew is "thrilled to connect our existing creativity and capabilities to the growing demand for promos, training videos, vines and commercials."
Tracey Carter is recruiting cooks from beginner to intermediate skills for 8 sessions to be produced for the joint venture between Sur la Table and Bon Appetit. Those sessions will be shot on the new sound stage between July 18th and July 26th. Potential students can apply to be considered by clicking the link below, but you must do so by the close of business on July 12th, which is next Tuesday. Those who are selected will work either half-a-day and be paid $300 or a full day shoot and be paid $500.
Here's the link for the casting call: http://Casting.JohnsonRauhoff.com
Carter knows her business well, having been with Oprah for more than 11 years at Harpo Studios in Chicago. She is a Lakeshore High School grad from the same class at JR President Mason Johnson. She studied film at NYU in the Big Apple and started working for a small video production facility that was doing some work for Oprah, and that became the connection that led to working for Harpo as a Production Manager and later Producer for the popular show.
Eager to return to her roots, Carter signed on with JohnsonRauhoff and is loving her role there. The new full-service JR Soundstage includes three BlackMagic Design 4k studio cameras with a wide variety of lenses, 30' by 30' bicolor overhead light source, a 12' overhead crane on a rolling dolly, teleprompter, and a control booth with remote access and the ability to switch up to eight camera feeds.
JR also custom-built an insulated drop ceiling for ideal audio capture and added two new editing suites for all post-production needs in the house.
The Sur la Table client project entails production of videos for that leading-edge retailer billed as the ultimate place for kitchen exploration and discovery. In March the new JR Soundstage was used for seven programs ranging from 60-to-90 minutes each, and the next flight of shows will produce 8 new programs in that same time range. Culinary and cooking fans interested in taking their knowledge base to the next level have a unique opportunity through the student roles being offered up by JR.
JohnsonRauhoff continues to impress major league clients with the skill base and talent of their army of people on staff. In fact, it was the outstanding work JR continues to produce for The Home Depot that attracted the interest of Sur la Table who hired on as a client, moving the video production projects from a studio in Denver to the new JR Soundstage.
JR has been doing smaller scale short-form videos and top-flight still photography for clients nationwide, but the new soundstage is a true game changer.
If you're interested in playing a student cook role but not available during the July 18 to 26 project shoot, don't despair. The next round of production will likely take place in October, and I'll gather that information and application process for you when the schedule is officially on the books.
