Opinion Piece - Making Angling Videos

Excellent piece Jeff.

I have to agree, it irks me greatly when thepublishers of videos made20 years ago seem to think thatit's allright to charge £16 for a 45min presentation. In the days when it was made, itwas that length to save money on the media onwhich it was produced. In the DVD era, they should be getting four of these on one disc.

Also re presenters... It always annoys me when I see people running down Matt Hayes for notbeing a "great" angler. His skill is in presenting tv, which I happen to think he does very well. I was bought a pike fishing DVD for christmas which hasDes Taylor as the presenter and frankly he's a bit rubbish. Not at catching fish - he does that very well and lands several double figure fish. However, his communication skills to camera frankly leave a lot to be desired, and as soon as he hooks a fish he becomes to excited to speak properely! That's only human - 99% of anglers are incapable of speaking when playing a fish, perhapsmumbling a few expletives and a surpressed "get in" as it roles over the net. Matt on the other hand is a true professional who manages to communicate effectively throughout... this is why he's doing what he's doing - I'd dearly love to see some of his detractors get in front of a camera and try to get his results!

It's not just the quality of angling film that bothers me, it's the quantity. What is being shown on Discovery Real Time is years old (rather giving the lie to the 'Real Time' moniker).

But I go along with everything Jeff says about the quality - really amateurish. Old Charles Rangely Wilson is quite good, Passion for Angling was the best non-instructional film, and Matt Hayes/Mick Brown give it their best shot. Steady Wilson's OK, but he made his last film years ago - where's the new stuff?

I had a soft spot for The Fishing Race, done years ago, but despite persuading Hugh Fearnley W to try to sell it (he'd already beenlooking at it) he can't get the TV companies to bite.

Angling has always been a pastime that just falls off the list for TV companies - a symptom, I suggest, of every man jack of them being full-on townies.

Oh, and Henry Gilbey gets null points - what's that all about?

We should get a video camera going at a fish-in or two. Would prob make quite interesting viewing for others on here. May even encourage others to join in who may have never been on a fish-in before!

A great article Jeff and sums up what I've been thinking about fishing videos and programmes for a few years now. As you quite rightly state, thelack of good directors, cameramen and presentersmeansamatuerish productions that are not worth a tenth of the prices being charged.I haven't bought an Angling Video for about 8 years, the last being one of Bob Nudd's which sent me to sleep after the first 5 minutes.

The only recent TV fishing progamme worth watching was Nick Hancock's whichfeatured our own lovely Wendy Perry.The atmosphere captured by the cameraman and Nick Hancock's professionally delivered commentary and ease in front of the camera showed just what can be achieved if producers put their minds to it. I hope he makes a few more series on other branches of angling such as coarse and sea.

With top chef's such as Rick Stein, Gordon Ramsay, Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnly- Whittingstall extolling the virtues of line and rod caught fish the potential is there for Sea Fishing videos and programmes to be acceptable to the general public and, perhaps encourage more people into our sport,just so long as they are professionally made and presented.

I get my fishing dvd's of the old tv shopping channels. Some of the packages I bought work out at just over £2 a dvd and for that I can not complain.

I will hopefully be doing a DVD this year....Seriously!

I believe that it will be fun and educational...A few of todays presenters come across a bit wooden.

The best I have watched recently was Bob Roberts white sturgeon DVD...Very good first attempt!

Hmm...

Some very interesting points raised and a lot of sense spoken.

Having been behind a movie camera for three years now and selling 6 titles via my website, I would hope I can speak with a little authority.

Not everyone wants to watch an entertaining DVD. John Wilson would, no doubt win an entertainment contest, but there must be other people who could do a better job.

Question is: would it be worth their while doing it?

The DVDs we sell are aimed at a very specific market, ie people who want to see exactly what Will Raison and Neil Machin do. We cram as much information into a minimum 75 minutes as we possibly can.

While Daiwa, for instance, want Will to offer up some alternatives to the top of the range gear he uses, the simple fact of the matter is, we are showing exactly what Will uses. There is no point showing the alternatives, that is not what we are about.

To put one of our DVDs together takes around 8-10 hours of footage to make a 90 minute film. I expect a more seasoned director could cut that ratio down, but again, can we afford it?

And if the film were very tightly directed, we would probably miss the most important bits out of Will's because they all tend to come from off the cuff asides.

To misquote someone: he's forgotten more than most of us know.

If anyone saw the bits of film that the Angling Times put on their website a couple of years ago, you will know what a difference it makes to Will if he is given free rein and is working with a team he trusts.

I certainly agree with the comment about Matt Hayes' shades. Having had a lifetime working in entertainment, you are always taught to remove them before talking to anyone.

If he is actually fishing at the time then I don't have a problem with it, but for a prepared piece to cam, he should always take them off.

So grab a camera or two or three, get some filming done and then get behind the computer for a couple of months to pull it all into a decent package. Couple of grand to get your first discs printed and Bob's your uncle, anyone can do it.

But leave aside any thoughts you might have about your own fishing.

As a serious match angler, I think I fished around 10 matches last year.

But you will get to know your computer very intimately...

I look forward to your dvd Lee...will you be shooting anybody, or is it mainly fishing and stuff? /forum/smilies/big_smile_smiley.gif

(if you especially dont like blokes with little fat legs (who does?) I would like you to take a pot shot at Granville "gravy train" Marsdinn, and if you film it I will definitely buy your dvd!).

So do I Lee ./forum/smilies/smile_smiley.gif/forum/smilies/smile_smiley.gif

Lol,

Pons

Lee you crafty git! You kept that quiet!

Can I have a signed copy? /forum/smilies/wink_smiley.gif

Mark, I do like Henry, he hasgot passion and obviously loves fishing, glad he got rid of that stupid pony tail though!

Frank, I don't like Hancock! Ask Wendy!

As with everything, making professional quality videos (inc DVDs, etc) revolves around the budget available, and that budget will depend ultimately on what sales you expect to make.

And the simple truth is that sales of angling videos very rarely justify the size of budget needed to make the kind of professional video that most seem to think we should be seeing. Yes, putting a big name TV star, a chef or whatever, as presenter will attract a lot more sales/viewers, but that star will also demand a fat fee that immediately pushes the budget beyond what most angling video producers are prepared to invest.

Making professional, broadcastquality video involvesa bit more than askingyour mateto pointa camcorder while you sit there and catch fish and provide a running commentary. The bigger and more professionalthe end product the more crew and equipment are involved with all the expense that entails. Professional presenters demand a professional fee. The more famous the presenter the bigger the fee.

There is no point in repeatedly quoting the quality of 'Passion for Angling' as that was a whimsical angling adventure that took several years to make and what you actually saw was very far removed from what actually happened. Making an educational ('how to') video, that has to be completed over several months is a different project entirely.

It's all relative; you can't have big budget movie quality unless you expect the product to attract big budget movie audiences. We have low budget angling videos because that is the niche that angling occupies.

The good bit about doing it with me is that I am so bloody vain....I will do it for nothing more than an Indian take away delivered to the bankside.

I just want to watch myself on the telly

Just make sure you`re wearing a clean pair of pants and i`m sure you`ll be ok !

NO pants!

I was told it would be a fishing naturalist DVD so I suppose it will have to be done in the buff...

".... the quality of 'Passion for Angling' as that was a whimsical angling adventure that took several years to make ..."

Hugh made it, I understand, from his love of the sport on the back of his successes with Kingdom of the Ice Bear (and the like) and it was already sold to the BBC. Even then I don;t think he made much out of it if anything at all. I think the comparisons should be restricted to the quality of it, photographic technique, narration and sound effects.

"I just want to watch myself on the telly"

You will cringe, Lee, believe me and don't you mean a "naturist DVD"? If so, keep it on Dicovery Real Time and I'll pass on the option to view it, if you don't mind.

/forum/smilies/smile_smiley.gif

I did get one term wrong in the article (damn the editing process) it should be a Dolly Grip not Best Grip. And that doesn't mean grabbing hold of Ms Parton, the dolly is the mobile mount for the camera and when they put it on rails the dolly grip has to move it along at the right speed. There, you've learnt something now.

I think I will be fine...After all its not like I have never been in a film before...just this time it doesn't have the sub-title

" bigtime bangeroo"....." Return of the monkey man!"

whos the crumpet looking at me Woody

Jeff going back a few years we had the CH4 crew down the lake. It was for a cooking program and they had a guy dressed up as Issak Walton with a cane pole and Jan Leming doing the chat work.

He could not catch a thing so we caught a carp and he stuck it on his pole. I have never seen so many people and they had to drive down to the lake with the gear plus a rather nice and large marque appeared. Iwent into SAS mode and kept clear lol but it was interesting watching it take place.