Opinion Piece – Making Angling VideosI don’t know whether “video” is still the descriptive name for a TV film these days since the format is now on DVD. Although one description of DVD defines it as “Digital Video Disc” so “video” might still be the term to use after all. Whatever it’s called now, you get my drift.How was it that, just after the new year I reviewed the Fox video on lure fishing at the same time that Kevin Perkins, in his usual inimitable way, wrote his own cynical view of the same and some would say his was far better and funnier than mine. I’d go along with that. The point is, why should we put up with this sort of poorly produced material any longer. For years, anglers have been sold off with videos from every half-famous Joe who fancies making a name for himself in the job of TV presenting. Most don’t suit and many should stick to their day jobs (I say this not having seen Mr Marsden’s presentation of chub fishing which may be quite brilliant – cheque’s in the post). The PresentersI have to say now that the best of all, love him or hate him, is John ‘Chuckles’ Wilson. Some of his very early stuff looks to have a handmade feel to it, but from around 1990 onwards all the programmes and videos he has put out have been absolutely incredible. Well produced, well photographed, and well scripted (if you’ll excuse the odd “It’s a clonker.” … “Well, it’s not as big as I first thought.” … “It’s tiny.” … “Look at that, would you? Predation in miniature.”).
Truth be told he entertains, he educates, he enthrals, he encourages, and he amuses. If there was an annual prize for TV angling presenter of the year, old ‘Chuckles’ Wilson (that name might stick now) would win it deservedly every year. And believe me, I have seen lots of others to know the difference. Gabby Hayes (sorry, I know he’s called Matt, but he does go on a bit) is pretty good too, but one of the aspects that lets him down a lot is his talking to camera with sunglasses still on. Kevin made reference to this practice too and it is irritating. You never seem to want to trust someone when you can’t see the whites of their eyes (or other facial expressions, for that matter) and the wearing of sunglasses is a definite taboo. I bought the first set of three Fox videos on carp fishing featuring Matt and Max Cottis. I learned a few things from it, but when you stood back and thought about the presentation even that was a little ham-fisted. However, it was produced around 1994 if I remember and Matt was still developing his skills then. He has got better since, but still trails Chuckles.
I have watched some of Dave Harrell’s videos, which are a 100% guaranteed cure for insomnia for sure and yet he’s a nice bloke and cracking angler. Even the delightful Bob Nudd can send me to sleep in a video although one of the best and naughtiest is “Tickle My Tackle”, which should carry a “XXX” rating for those who don’t like smutty humour. I bought it for £ 1.50 out of a bargain bin at Birmingham North Services on the M6. The best lure fishing video by far, but showing it’s age now, is Barrie Rickards’ – “Success With The Lure”. He never sets out to catch monsters and he doesn’t fish privileged waters with all the latest “named” tackle. The lures he recommends (and I use them also) come from different manufacturers and they do work. If I have any complaints it is the fact that it’s old now and is still being sold for around £ 16 and from memory it is only about 1 hour in length. Here’s a thought, do you need a top angler to present an angling video? I remember some years ago attending a software trade show at the Ramada Hotel and one company took out the main theatre there. Who was presenting their software? None other than the satirical comedian and impressionist, Rory Bremner, who knew absolutely nothing about software, PCs or operating systems, but he was certainly entertaining and promoted that company’s products really well. I wonder if he’d be into fishing? The CostIt always seemed to me that angling videos cost between £ 10 and £ 16 and their viewing times were always around 1 hour, although I had a Bob Nudd one on Pole fishing and I’m sure it was only 45 minutes. I could be wrong though because I returned it as not what I wanted at all and I got my money back.Angling is no different to other specialist interests in this respect. I have a few art videos (teaching you to paint better, not nudie titillation vids, you mucky minded lot) and they are about the same. Costing around £ 13 or £ 15 and being around one hour in length. They are reasonably well presented, although some of those have sent me to sleep, but even they sometimes skirt around certain techniques, such as…
You’re watching the artist putting a nice painting together then all of a sudden he says “I’m just going to add in the middle distance trees now by first adding some wet brush strokes to blend the colours.” The next shot he says “Well, that’s the middle ground completed now ….” WHAT! Where? How did he do it? Where did he put the wet brush strokes? What I am saying is, why do they cut out those little bits that seem so unimportant to the presenter, but what the viewer would find so invaluable? Is it a matter of how much you can fit on a tape or DVD or how much it costs to cover the cameraman’s wages? Why spoil the ship for a ha’perth of tar? That original Fox video with Matt Hayes, 3 hours, is still being sold at around £ 20 and although some information will still be useful, surely a lot has been superseded since. Don’t we have new bits of end rigs, materials, hooks even? Of course, it can’t be updated because Matt and Max are no longer with Fox so any rethink would have to be a complete restart. Or is this the way forward? Korda recently introduced their video, around 3 hours and containing lots of useful information on baiting and rig tying. Okay, it did a lot of product promotion, Korda stuff, Daiwa, Bait Tech baits, amongst others, but it was nicely presently, lively even, by Danny Fairbrass. I’ll forgive all the product promotion too for one very good reason – IT’S FREE! That’s right, gratis, no charge. You can pick it up off your dealer’s counter, take it home, play it, and if you don’t like it, sling it in the bin. It has cost you not one cent! I don’t have any idea what it cost Korda and the other sponsors to produce, but surely the benefits will be when viewers actually buy their products. If I were to have one complaint about the content of the video it is that a lot of time is spent on the expensive rods and reels of Daiwa and when it comes to the cheaper end, the ones you and I can afford, it a matter of – there’s these other models, which are fine of course.
A kind of matter of fact way of getting it on the film, acknowledging that there are reels out there for us, but the better models are for the more discerning (and wealthier) anglers amongst us. I don’t know why, because even if I had millions in the bank I would still look for a reel (or rod) that did just what I wanted it to do without any frills. But I guess promoting the quality end of their range justified the investment in the production. The Future?I just wish that when any tackle company, or maybe a top angler, was thinking of making a video, they consulted a proper TV/film producer first of all. This would result in one of two things happening. Either a) they would be frightened off by the cost of doing a decent video or b) what they did eventually come up with would blow your socks off and you would want to watch it again and again.If you are going to go in a boat on the water for example, then for heaven’s sake hire a proper marine filming company. One that I know have two 30 foot ex-army assault craft that are fixed together with all manner of clamps as if they are then one boat. You can jump up and down to merry hell in them and not rock them, they are solid. But these companies charge. The other thing that the producer will do is hire a good director and script writer. It may not be important for the presenter to follow the script verbatim, but with so many angles and takes that the director will make, he’ll pick out the best in the editing process. The whole event will be planned into scenes and scripted long before any cameras are hired. It’s all part of planning and preparation. I can tell you from my own experiences that some scenes you see on TV that only last 30 or 40 seconds, you can be working on all day and there may be an hour of film or video tape used to edit that 30 or 40 seconds from. Filming is hellishly expensive, but good planning and preparation can cut it down enormously.
The cameraman? Only one choice if it ever came to it, Hugh Miles, who filmed the classic ‘A Passion For Angling’. The problem with that series is it took four years to film it, but doesn’t that illustrate the fact that there are no quick fixes? So where to start? With the producer of course and strangely enough, there is a top TV producer who is a member of FishingMagic and has been for a number of years, producing such shows as ‘The Jonathon Ross Show’ and ‘They Think it’s All Over’. No names, but I’m sure he’d be available for a fee. I wouldn’t mind making myself available either, but only as ‘best boy’, ‘dolly grip’, ‘focus puller’, tea boy or sweeper up. The point is, we cannot go on accepting rubbish videos just because they carry a brand name or feature some up and coming egotistical angler. If you refused to buy them, they’d have to change.
|
Welcome!Log into your account
