Restaurant Video Content Plan for Los Angeles

A restaurant can get a month or more of usable video from one half-day shoot if the day is planned around the menu, not around the camera. Pick six to eight dishes and drinks that you want to sell, film each one in a small set of repeatable moves, add the room and the people who work in it, and cut that footage into short reels, story clips and one longer menu video. This guide walks through the day, the shot list, how to split reels from stories, and how to run a menu launch.

Plan the shoot before anyone arrives

The footage is only as good as the decisions made the week before. Build a one-page plan.

1. 1Choose the hero list. Pick the six to eight items that earn money or tell people what you are: the signature dish, a new menu item, a cocktail, a dessert, a shareable plate. Do not try to film the whole menu.
2. 2Pick the window. Shoot between lunch and dinner service, or on a closed day. Plated food holds for a few minutes, so a kitchen that is busy with real orders cannot also feed a shoot.
3. 3Pick the light. Window light looks best for food. Note where the sun falls in your dining room at the time you will shoot, and set the hero table there.
4. 4Tell the kitchen the order. A one-line schedule on the pass saves arguments: which dish comes up when, who plates it, who is on camera.
5. 5Decide who appears. Staff on camera should say yes in writing. Guests should not be in frame unless they have agreed (see the release section below).

A half-day schedule that works

The shot list for every dish

Shoot every hero item the same way so the edit goes quickly and the feed looks consistent.

• Overhead: straight down on the plate, clean table, one hand reaching in at the end.
• Three-quarter angle: the way a guest sees the dish when it lands on the table.
• Close detail: the surface that sells it, such as a crust, a char, a drizzle, steam, a cut cheese pull.
• The action beat: a pour, a slice, a crack of a shell, a squeeze of lemon. This is the clip that usually makes the first second of a reel.
• The reveal: the dish arriving at a table, filmed over the server's shoulder.

Also get these once: the exterior and sign, the pass during plating, a wide of the full room with and without people, the bar, the chef's hands at the station, and a few slow clips of ingredients being prepped.

Film some clips vertical and some horizontal, or shoot wide enough that a vertical crop is safe. Sound matters: sizzle, ice, a knife on a board. Record a few seconds of room tone and kitchen sound so the edit has real audio.

Reels, stories and posts: what each one is for

Our view, based on how the formats work, not a promise of results:

• Reels are for people who do not follow you yet. Make them 10 to 30 seconds, open on the action beat, and show the dish within the first second or two. Instagram says Reels can run up to three minutes (announced in January 2025, rolled out gradually), but a restaurant clip rarely needs it.
• Stories are for people who already follow you and are deciding where to eat tonight. Use them for today's special, a table opening up, a last-minute event. They disappear after 24 hours, so they can be rough and fast.
• Feed posts and the profile grid are the permanent record. Put your best plates and the room there.
• Google Business Profile is where hungry people check before they book. Google's help page says Business Profile videos can be up to 30 seconds, up to 75 MB, and 720p or higher. Cut one clean 20 to 30 second clip for it, and upload it with your updated dish photos.

For a deeper look at the formats, see Instagram Stories vs Reels.

Run a menu launch in three beats

1. 1Tease (about a week before). A close detail clip with no name, or the chef at the station. Ask people to follow, not to book.
2. 2Launch day. The reveal clip, the full dish, price in the caption only (so you can change it without re-editing), and a story set that ends on how to reserve.
3. 3Week after. Staff favorite, a guest reaction filmed with permission, and a behind-the-scenes cut of how it is made.

Keep captions accurate: dish names, allergens you want to flag, whether an item is seasonal or limited.

Four weeks of content from one shoot

• Week 1: hero dish reel, two story sets of the room, one grid photo.
• Week 2: cocktail or drink reel, the chef spoken piece cut into a short clip, Google profile video uploaded.
• Week 3: a behind-the-scenes prep reel, a second dish reel, a story poll asking which item to feature next.
• Week 4: a recap of the month's best dishes, a reservation reminder story, and a holdover clip saved for a quiet night.

Our social media content library guide explains how to organize the footage so you can find clips months later.

What to check before you post

• Alcohol. Alcohol advertising rules differ by state, platform and audience. In California the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control sets rules for licensees, and each platform has its own alcohol ad policy and age targeting. Check them before boosting any post that shows drinks.
• Guests on camera. Put a sign at the door if you film during service and ask anyone who is clearly visible for a yes. Someone's face in your promotion is a use of their image, so get a release for any person who appears prominently.
• Music. Music in the app's general library is meant for personal use. Business accounts have a separate pool, such as Meta Sound Collection on Instagram and TikTok's Commercial Music Library. If the footage is reused on another platform, check that the track is licensed for it.
• Prices and claims. Do not burn prices into the video. Do not call something "the best" unless you can back it up.
• Location permits. Filming inside your own restaurant does not usually need a city film permit. A tripod on a public sidewalk or street may, so ask your city or FilmLA before you plan an exterior shoot.

What drives the cost

We do not publish prices in articles because they depend on the job. The main factors are the number of hero items, how many people are on the crew, whether you need a stylist or a chef on set, how many cuts and formats you want delivered, and how long you want to use the footage. Our pricing guide for Los Angeles video production explains how quotes are built.

Want a person to help?

If you would like a production day built around your menu, our team can plan it with you, shoot it and cut it into reels, stories and a Google profile clip. See our video production service, the page for restaurants, or get in touch and a real person will reply.