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John's Journal...
Entry
105, Day 4
HOW TO KEEP THE HUNT OF A LIFETIME
WHAT'S THE TOUGHEST AND EASIEST HUNTS TO VIDEO
EDITOR'S
NOTE: We don't have to depend on our memories to relive the best hunts
of our lifetimes. Modern technology enables us to capture the essence
of great hunts, good hunts and even enjoyable, non-productive hunts through
video. But how do you film your hunt and try to take game at the same
time? Which cameras will serve you best? What's the best technique for
getting top-notch footage? Where and how can you get a hunting buddy to
shoot footage for you instead of trying to take a deer or a turkey for
himself? Can you make a living shooting hunting videos? To learn the answers
to these questions and more, we've interviewed some of the best videographers
in the outdoor industry. These people use video cameras to tape television
shows and to create the best-selling videos in the nation. Follow their
advice to make the kind of videos your friends will lean out of their
chairs to watch instead of nodding off to sleep when you turn on the VCR.
Ronnie
"Cuz" Strickland, the senior vice-president of media and television
for Mossy Oak in West Point, Mississippi, directs the department that
produces "Mossy Oak's Hunting the Country" and "Remington
Country" TV shows plus 10 hunting videos each year. Strickland entered
this field in 1986 as a part-time cameraman for Will Primos of Primos
Game Calls. At that time, he had to lug a huge camera around that shot
¾-inch tape.
While Strickland has filmed hundreds of hunts in the past 15 years, he
considers a white-tailed deer bowhunt in the South the hardest video to
film. "In the South, your best chance to see deer moving is early
in the morning and late in the evening when you don't have enough light
to video," Strickland explains. "The South has very thick and
heavy foliage; so, seeing the buck before he's in bow range is extremely
difficult. Warm temperatures keep the deer from moving frequently, and
the high temperatures will cause you to sweat. The deer are much more
likely to smell you than they are in other places at other times. I believe
that getting good video footage of a Dixie white-tailed deer bowhunt is
as tough an assignment as any videographer can have."
Strickland overcomes these problems by getting other people involved in
the hunt. He uses guides and local hunters to help him find the most-productive
places to hunt and the best spots to set up his tree stands. He often
asks his friends to put the stands in place before the Mossy Oak video
team arrives.
"The best way to overcome most of the problems with videoing deer
hunts in the South is to involve a lot of other people who know what you're
trying to do and will help you accomplish those goals," Strickland
emphasizes.
What's
The Easiest Hunt To Video
Strickland names a turkey hunt as the easiest hunt for him and the Mossy
Oak crew to video. He says videoing turkey hunts remains his favorite
form of outdoor recreation. "Turkeys are vocal, and you can keep
up with their locations even if you can't see them," Strickland remarks.
"By knowing where the turkeys are, you can point your camera in the
right direction and prepare to shoot the video long before you see the
bird.
"We seem to have more encounters with turkeys daily than we do any
other game animals. But more importantly, I love to film turkey hunts
because I love to turkey hunt. Turkeys do so many things that are pleasing
to the audience and that cause a videographer to really appear as though
he knows what he's doing with a camera."
If you video your hunts, then you don't have to depend on
your memory to relive those exciting experiences. Too, you
can share that adventure with family and friends after the
hunt. On a cold, bad-weather day when you...
*can't go hunting;
*have had to work overtime and don't get to hunt;
*have had an illness that keeps you from hunting;
*or find old age has put you permanently in a rocking chair,
you can visually document those whopping-big hunting tales of great adventure
and unforgettable friends with your videos.
TOMORROW:
TOP 15 SECRETS OF VIDEOGRAPHERS TO GET GREAT HUNTING
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