stbmldcgrvs
New member
- May 4, 2013
- 30
I have watched Elk hunting videos/calling videos for years. I find that there is a real gap between the two as people learn to hunt and call elk. I appreciate the Elk 101 university videos. I think they are great. They disseminate a lot of really good information and made me review a few things that I do/don’t do. Experience is the overall greatest teacher and I wouldn’t want to rob any bow hunter of that learning as I really value my past experiences, even the unsuccessful ones. Having said that, I would love to see a video/show out there that bridged the gap between the how to calling videos (largely out of context at a park or in front of an audience) and the elk hunting videos (lots of post-production commentary, staged humor or conflict, predictable sequences that become boring after a while). Do you ever feel you have watched basically the same show but with an interchangeable face and or interchangeable game animals? This drives me nuts to watch.
Here are a few elements that I would love to see.
1- The elk calling video made from the perspective of the caller instead of the shooter. There would be a dedicated video on the caller and what he is seeing and hearing. This would necessitate better audio equipment and possibly a parabolic mic (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvP0OlfXaSU&safe=active) so we can actually hear the elk and the caller interact. Many videos/shows out there don’t allow us to truly hear the elk or the surroundings very well let alone know what the caller is doing. This footage would also have the caller tell us live what he is thinking about. Examples of thought would be his hunting partners position, how the elk is responding, adjusting for wind position in order to pull the bull closer to the shooter, decoy implementation and when, moving forward or backward, commentary on the shooter doing something the caller may think is good or even something he isn’t so excited about (provides drama and humor), raking trees, and a host of other thoughts that the caller has run through his mind in the encounter. Let us into your head. I know as the caller I feel responsible for the outcome of the situation and end up almost serving as the guide to the shooter. Let us get a feel for this.
2- Second camera on the shooter and live narration of the situation from his perspective. Everyone wants to see the shot but it doesn’t need to be the focus as I believe that the vast majority of the hunt itself is back with the caller rather than the shooter. Again, let us in your head as you hear the caller and tell us what you are thinking about. It would be fun to go back and forth between their narrations to see how much teamwork or lack thereof there can be. (drama and humor). Tell us what you are thinking live. Not post production as it takes away from the emotion of the moment. Save the follow-up evaluation of the encounter for later. Please remember that the shooter takes the backstage to the caller in all of this. Can you imagine a big outdoor trigger man being upstaged by his guide/hunting partner? That is so backwards from the thinking of the outdoor channel that it would be awesome and something fresh for a change.
3- Show failure to harvest but success as a call in. It is a part of the hunt and learning. Something doesn’t necessarily have to die. This is bow hunting and our lower harvest rates are what set our opportunities to hunt apart from other weapon choices. Show multiple callers experiences as they pertain to no harvest but successful call-ins. Do a caller-shooter switch, again from the perspective of the caller. If a harvest is a must, which I don’t think it is in a calling video/hunt sequence, and you are pressed for time in the video then I don’t think you have to show the entire clip of the failure but if you have 5 failed set-ups in a row I think in your editing process you can allude to each one without all of the details. Maybe an evaluation clip after the 5 failures to bring the audience up to speed and share the learning that the calling/shooting persons get. Maybe tell us what they think they should have done. I know that is a regular conversation I have with my hunting partners. Those are some of the funnest moments of the hunt because we truly re-live it together.
4- No staged humor/drama. That drives me nuts every time I see it on the outdoor channel. It makes people look silly/selfish/and un-respectful. Bow hunters have higher class than that.
These are just a few ideas of my ideal elk calling video. Feel free to chime in and add what you think would make the best production for a calling video. Who knows, maybe we can convince Corey to make such a show/video. I think it would be a “classic”.
Here are a few elements that I would love to see.
1- The elk calling video made from the perspective of the caller instead of the shooter. There would be a dedicated video on the caller and what he is seeing and hearing. This would necessitate better audio equipment and possibly a parabolic mic (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvP0OlfXaSU&safe=active) so we can actually hear the elk and the caller interact. Many videos/shows out there don’t allow us to truly hear the elk or the surroundings very well let alone know what the caller is doing. This footage would also have the caller tell us live what he is thinking about. Examples of thought would be his hunting partners position, how the elk is responding, adjusting for wind position in order to pull the bull closer to the shooter, decoy implementation and when, moving forward or backward, commentary on the shooter doing something the caller may think is good or even something he isn’t so excited about (provides drama and humor), raking trees, and a host of other thoughts that the caller has run through his mind in the encounter. Let us into your head. I know as the caller I feel responsible for the outcome of the situation and end up almost serving as the guide to the shooter. Let us get a feel for this.
2- Second camera on the shooter and live narration of the situation from his perspective. Everyone wants to see the shot but it doesn’t need to be the focus as I believe that the vast majority of the hunt itself is back with the caller rather than the shooter. Again, let us in your head as you hear the caller and tell us what you are thinking about. It would be fun to go back and forth between their narrations to see how much teamwork or lack thereof there can be. (drama and humor). Tell us what you are thinking live. Not post production as it takes away from the emotion of the moment. Save the follow-up evaluation of the encounter for later. Please remember that the shooter takes the backstage to the caller in all of this. Can you imagine a big outdoor trigger man being upstaged by his guide/hunting partner? That is so backwards from the thinking of the outdoor channel that it would be awesome and something fresh for a change.
3- Show failure to harvest but success as a call in. It is a part of the hunt and learning. Something doesn’t necessarily have to die. This is bow hunting and our lower harvest rates are what set our opportunities to hunt apart from other weapon choices. Show multiple callers experiences as they pertain to no harvest but successful call-ins. Do a caller-shooter switch, again from the perspective of the caller. If a harvest is a must, which I don’t think it is in a calling video/hunt sequence, and you are pressed for time in the video then I don’t think you have to show the entire clip of the failure but if you have 5 failed set-ups in a row I think in your editing process you can allude to each one without all of the details. Maybe an evaluation clip after the 5 failures to bring the audience up to speed and share the learning that the calling/shooting persons get. Maybe tell us what they think they should have done. I know that is a regular conversation I have with my hunting partners. Those are some of the funnest moments of the hunt because we truly re-live it together.
4- No staged humor/drama. That drives me nuts every time I see it on the outdoor channel. It makes people look silly/selfish/and un-respectful. Bow hunters have higher class than that.
These are just a few ideas of my ideal elk calling video. Feel free to chime in and add what you think would make the best production for a calling video. Who knows, maybe we can convince Corey to make such a show/video. I think it would be a “classic”.
