As part of Fishing World’s ongoing commitment to running informative, practical videos on our website, this week we hit the water on the NSW South Coast to film a series of videos on Rapala and Storm lures. These short but info-packed videos are aimed primarily at the international market but will also feature on our site and be featured on our weekly e-newsletters.
The brainchild of Fishing World editor Jim Harnwell, this shoot proved no easy feat to complete. For this challenging project, Rapala’s international marketing director, Teemu Makela, flew out from Rapala’s headquaters in Helsinki, Finland, to supervise production and provide valuable design info for each and every one of the 75 (yes, 75!) lures to be filmed on HD video. The cameraman/director was Nat Marsh of Punch Productions, whose filmic handiwork will be familiar to regular Fisho readers via his work on the popular free DVD series given away on Fisho’s Summer editions over the past few years.
Presenting the Rapala/Storm videos were seasoned video presenter and long-time Fishing World writer Patrick Brennan, accompanied by Greg Reid, a fishing guide and operator of Bay & Basin Sportfishing and Chris Beldon, the marketing co-ordinator for Rapala Freetime Australia. Fisho’s Jim Harnwell also presented a few of the vids.
For the uninitiated, producing lure presentations so that they are both slick and polished – while also providing all the required info – is an extremely time consuming and complicated process. When things don’t go smoothly, there is usually plenty of material for a blooper reel … which is certainly the case with these vids!
With an extensive lure range like the one we filmed during the past week, with so many different types and features, it’s not hard to stuff things up. The pressure even got to “one-take” Pat Brennan, who uncharacteristically fluffed his lines on a couple of occasions. But like a pro he soldiered on. While it might have looked easy from the backstalls, it clearly wasn’t.
For this production, each lure has to be individually filmed in a makeshift studio (this involved an empty beer carton balanced on a table acting as a light stand) as well as filmed underwater (in this case in Jim’s brother-in-law’s pool). Then comes the PTC – the “piece to camera”, where the presenters describe the action, tips and techniques and so on.
Late afternoon on Thursday, the second last day of scheduled filming, the pressure was on with still about 40 on-water lure presentations to be filmed. On board Jim’s mate Wes Murphy’s boat, DadsBoat, a 40 foot Caribbean, on loan as a camera boat, Greg Reid provided a break in filming by announcing he was “on”. He produced a 78cm flattie that ate a Rapala Shad Rap he’d been casting quietly from the front of the boat.
With light fading fast we had to call it a day around 5pm. With about 30 lures yet to film, today (Friday, the last day of filming) is shaping up as a very busy one …
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Stay tuned for more!