If you are an avid, or even a casual fisherman, you occasionally like to kill some time and watch fishing videos. I like them because they expose me to water and scenery that I might never experience in person. And, with technology now available, everyone can be a videographer. Cameras that can be mounted to your body, selfie sticks, and phones all make it easy to capture “the moment”. Then, social media allows you to share these moments almost immediately. Unfortunately, there is no guidebook that someone can use to help them make a quality video. I’ll be the first to admit I’m no expert, but I know what I like and more importantly, what I don’t like. So, I’ve put together a list of areas that could act as a guide to making videos a little more pleasing to watch.
But first, if you want to see a quality video do a search for Todd Moen. He is, in my opinion, the standard for top shelf videos. Sure, he is a professional with high quality equipment but it is his technique that makes his videos easy to watch. He captures the location, the hunt, and the take better than anyone.
So, let’s take a look at ways to improve fishing videos.
Get away from mounting cameras on your body. There is nothing more aggravating then clicking on a video and seeing nothing but a close-up of a rod, reel, hands and arms. Most of the time the viewer is not shown the strike, which for me is the most exciting part of a video. Secondly, if the camera is mounted on your body there is no stability. I suffer from vertigo so watching a video where the camera moves all over isn’t any fun. So, if you are by yourself invest in a small tripod, and set-up the camera on the bank with a view of the water you are going to fish. Turn on the camera, step into the shot, and fish.
Fishing videos are about fishing not about driving or talking. I’ve watched more than a few six minute videos where the first three minutes is devoted to driving. Same with talking. Keep it short. Introduce yourself to your audience, let them know what your fishing for and what lure or fly you’re using. It’s a fishing video. Show the action.
Watch where the sun is. Filming into glare makes viewing difficult. I know this isn’t easy to control but if you can minimize the effect of glare your video will be easier to watch.
Longer fishing videos are not always better…unless there is a lot of action. Ten minute fishing videos with very little action are not as good as a three minute one with a lot of action. Edit, edit, edit.
Keep the quick cuts to a minimum. I am not a fan of quick cuts where the scene is on screen for a second or less. For some videos these cuts go on for a minute or longer. I want to see the scene not guess what I just saw.
Whatever you do when making a video remember you have an audience. Think of your audience as a customer. A customer won’t buy (watch) if they don’t like it.
Go out and fool a fish!
