“On July 9, 2010 two men created a pizza more disgusting than we ever thought possible in an attempt to take their tastebuds on an incredible journey” -Epic Meal Time
Those words, imposed over an image of space, are the first frames of Epic Meal Time (EMT). In these words we get an understanding of the original concept of these projects. Two men, Harley Morenstein and Alex Perrault, attempt something remarkable. They describe their creation as “disgusting” which is a far cry from the confidence that would be developed in their future works. It should be noted that three years before the first EMT release, a video of Morenstein was uploaded in which he consumed a Wendy's Triple Baconator to the tune of the Terminator theme. The response to that video most likely drew attention to the possibility of a market for extreme eating videos but to actually create a YouTube channel dedicated to something like that would cause anyone to reconsider. Luckily, their reluctance does not appear in the footage itself. Instead what they create is the groundwork for various tropes, segments and editing techniques to be build on in future episodes.
Format
The ingredient listing was solid and efficient. The calorie counter is probably one of the more successful aspects of the show. The text choice, animation and sound effect stick with the audience and adds a sense of uniformity to each EMT project.
The average time of all 36 EMT episodes (October 17th 2010 – July 5th 2011) is 3 minutes and 48 seconds. This episode comes in 52 seconds less than the average. 43 seconds were spent on the gathering of ingredients, 23 seconds on ingredient list, 14 seconds spent on cooking and 1 minute 16 seconds spent on feasting.
What this means is that a majority of the video run time is the feasting footage. It appears that the importance of actually eating the food is one the EMT team took seriously. In truth it serves as a sign of integrity. It fights against the idea that EMT creates food that they would not actually eat and this dedication brings more credibility to their work. Such realism and earthly grounding juxtaposed against food creations of epic proportions causes an experience that previously had no proper place.
The Food
Fast food pizza is quite self explanatory. You take various fast food items, place them on a pizza, then unite them with melted cheese. There may not be much complexity in this food but the concept is sound. In a small way, every future creation of theirs stems from elements in this dish. Something else to note is the presence of Heineken. While it's no Jack Daniels, the green Heineken bottles acknowledge the existence of alcohol in the EMT psyche.
Characters
In this very first video we meet EMT co-creator, Harley. We also meet Alex, who would later become known as Muscles Glasses. Harley, being the host, is the most audible character. He speaks respectfully to the restaurant staff which is quite different from the boldness his character would develop in time. We do, however, also get a sense of his party nature when he delivers his hyped up cheer: “Gonna hook up some Big Mac, Baby. That Big Mac Baby!”. Much of Haley's personality can be insinuated in this episode when (a) he begins his Wendy's order with “It's me. I want the Baconator again” which means he has been frequenting the restaurant and (b) he provides proof of his fast food expertise by declaring the A&W onion rings as “...the most underrated fast food item there is out there.”
Alex on the other hand is mostly quiet for the pre-feasting parts of the video but makes his true character debut during the feast as he stacks rogue onion rings on his pizza and declares the completeness of his pizza slice. In the end, Alex raises his arms up in the pose of victory. His claim to victory is very appropriate as Alex soon goes forth to become the most aggressive and consequently the most interesting personality during the feasting phase of future videos.
Creativity and Humor
By virtue of their work with food, EMT is naturally creative. However they are also making creative leaps in their filmmaking process, narrative and character development. The most obvious creative leaps come from Harleys monologues. This episode is very light on the humor, but over the course of 5 episodes, Harleys narrative had developed profound humor, creativity, and organic delivery. His advancement in the area is one of the most important detail in EMT. To recreate EMT without Harleys attitude, vocal characteristics and word play would most likely be futile.
Visuals
EMT is filmed on a Canon EOS 7D by Sterling Toth, the Co-creator. He and Harley had worked together previously on a winning entry to the John Tesh Contest. Sterling shoots the entire episode handheld and while the camera shakes often the effect is never rapid enough to draw attention to itself. The footage shows proper exposure, creative us of focus, and good camera control such as the precision of his quick zoom onto the McDonald's arches (0:17).
The editing of the video is excellent. The cuts are appropriate and the pacing is fantastic. Sterlings instinct for b-roll and close ups is fantastic and serve as another key aspect of EMTs quality. There was not much color correcting in this episode but the quality of the 7D still let warm colors shine through.
Sound
Part of EMTs charm comes in the music. The music used are created using Video Copilot Pro Scores, a popular program amongst filmmakers. The music is used during the preparation and the feasting; a tradition that will permeate through subsequent episodes.
Another point of interest is how clear the dialog is. There is no visible lavalier microphone on Harley so we're left to assume the audio is caught by the on board microphone of the 7D. Some background noise is evident yet unobtrusive. However they did it, the audio of EMTs first episode is solid.
Summary
On this first episode, we get accustomed to the format of EMT. This format will be the start of a visual and creative maturing process that would lead to great things. The opening text of the video gives an accurate feeling of mightiness to come.
Memorable Phrases
“That Big Mac, Baby!” - Harley (in an exaggerated tone)
“Fresca” - Harley (in response to being asked what drink he would like at the Wendy's drive through)
“Are you ready?!” - Harley (in an exaggerated tone)
“But then I remembered that I had a giant piece of Crunch-wrap that I put in the Burger, ...so nothings missing.” - Alex
Additional Information
The green terminator shirt Harley wears could be a homage to the 2007 video of him eating a Triple Baconator to the Terminator theme.
The most common three comments on the videos YouTube page: (a) refer to the insufficient amount of bacon, (b) exclaim the shock of Alex sans shades (muscles without glasses) and (c) demand that Jack Daniels be retroactively inserted into the video.
In this Episode, Harley Sports medium an average haircut with a light full-beard.
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