right. I have a belief that if you are pas- sionate about something, then things will work out. It’s also very important to me to be doing the kayaking—not just film- ing it. While it can be rewarding to make films about other peoples’ adventures, I really do this job so that I can go kayaking and exploring more. I don’t have aspirations to make films
for television. I’ve done that in the past and I would do it again if an opportu- nity arose, but I really like being my own boss. [With TV] a lot of energy goes into jumping through hoops and keeping peo- ple happy, whereas all my energy goes into making the films.
Tell me about the challenges of making the very first This is the Sea film back in 2003.
I don’t think I found the actual making of the first film that difficult. I was a trained TV journalist and program maker so I applied the skills that I had to a subject that I really enjoyed. The hardest thing was making that commitment to do it and having the belief that it would be well re- ceived and commercially successful.
It didn’t cost me that much money to make it because I filmed almost everything while I was at symposiums where I had my expenses covered. Apart from a lot of time, the camera, computer and the edit- ing software were the biggest outlays, but I had already invested in them as I wanted to ‘make it in adventure filmmaking’. I don’t think I even did a back-of-the-
envelope calculation to see if it would make me money. I just figured I could probably sell 2,000 copies based on how many sales whitewater kayaking DVDs made. Besides, I didn’t have a job so I fig- ured I might as well do something produc- tive and hope it worked out. This is the Sea will almost certainly re-
main my biggest selling film—with over 9,000 copies sold so far. It’s still selling as a digital download, or as part of the This is the Sea box set ($59.95 for 4 DVDs).
What are some of the biggest changes that have occurred in filmmaking?
The accessibility of really cheap, high qual- ity cameras has changed filmmaking from a more elite activity to something that ev- eryone is doing. Small action cameras like the GoPro, Contour and Oregon Scientific cameras make every kayaker a film star! Professional filmmakers can also get
new gadgets and toys so the standard of commercial kayaking and outdoor films has also really gone up in the last 10 years. Shots from cranes, helicopters and track- ing devices are now pretty common and
DIGITAL EXTRA: Watch a film teaser from This is the Sea 5 and read a review of the DVD in the Spring issue of Adventure Kayak.
www.rapidmedia.com 21
was sometimes frustrating working closely with Cheri and Turner as the whole pro- cess took a lot longer, but the end product was better than if I’d just done it myself. I also struggle to keep up with all the
technological changes—your Mpeg-2s and H264s and 1080i versus 1440p. I’d love to have someone take care of all that for me, but it’s pretty expensive to hand it all over to an outside company.
What films have been most rewarding for you personally?
A DECADE OFTITS. PHOTO: COURTESY SARAH OUTEN
CURGENVEN (R) AND ROUND-THE- WORLD PADDLER SARAH OUTEN REVEL IN A SUCCESSFUL CROSSING OF THE ENGLISH CHANNEL—AND
some whitewater paddling films look more like Hollywood productions! It’s fantastic for the development of the sport. Cheap or free editing software and the
prevalence of Facebook, YouTube and Vimeo provide a platform for every bud- ding filmmaker. A slightly negative side- effect for people like me who are trying to make a living from filmmaking is that kayakers are buying less DVDs. Having said that, download sales are on the rise and the fact that I now have seven DVDs in my library means I can still make a liv- ing from it.
What do you find the most challenging part of the filmmaking process?
I work mostly by myself when filming, editing and creating downloads. While it means that I can make decisions pretty quickly, I sometimes wish I had a colleague to bounce ideas off. On This is the Roll it
Every film is pretty rewarding as I am al- ways trying something a bit different. The films I find hardest to make are the big trips that I am a part of. It’s hard to film yourself and edit yourself objectively. But those trips also mean a huge amount to me personally so I usually find them very rewarding.
Any upcoming projects you can tell us about?
I’m finishing filming This is the Roll 2 in May in Wales. I hope to get that edited and for sale by Christmas 2013. It will cover the more advanced rolls and maybe some traditional strokes. I will eventually complete an instructional DVD that will help people wanting to go on expeditions, with tips from a range of expedition pad- dlers. I’ve been working on that on-and- off for several years but I’m not sure when I will get it finished—maybe 2014. The idea I am most excited about is Hur-
ricane Riders—The Movie. I met some of the Hurricane Riders this winter and we’re talking about getting together in October to collaborate on a film about them. That feels like the right path to take at the moment! —Virginia Marshall
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