Want TV Quality Videos Of Your Hunts? Tips & Tricks Part 1!
FDO Producer Adam Carter filming mule deer hunts in the Sonora Mexico desert.
Lots of people think filming hunts is easy! Just hit that little red button, kill the animal and you are done! WRONG!!! Not even close! No matter if you are wanting to be on a TV Show staff, filming for a YouTube Channel, or simply wanting to make great videos of your hunts for yourself, these tips and tricks are a must! You have to tell a story through the lens so here is some must know info to make your hunt the best it can be!
Shooting Your Hunt
Establish the Mission Interview: Tell us where you are and how you got there! Give us some back story on why you are hunting where you are hunting! Walk us through where you are and what you are there to hunt and setup any other potential people we might see on the hunt as well.
Setting the Location: But don’t just tell us, show us! Show us state and city signage, landmarks, and shots of you driving, flying, etc getting to the location.
Hunt Spot: Remember you are telling a story through a lens so show yourself walking into your hunting spot. Setting up in a blind or stand. Settling in, hanging gun or bow on a rest or bow hook. Show us your view from your spot as well. Let us see and hear what you see and hear from your vantage point!
Establish the Hunting Site Interview: Once you are settled in do a short interview about where you are, what you hope happens, and any other info about your setup. Remember when it comes to footage…more is ALWAYS better!
Passage of Time: While you are patiently waiting…that’s a great time to get some awesome b-roll! sunrises and sunsets (that phone in your pocket has an incredible time-lapse mode for this…use it). Get shots of other wildlife, birds, squirrels, and interesting landscapes or plants. Remember a good story teller lets people experience what they are experiencing without saying a word.
Establishing shot from the blind as we pass the time!
The Hunt: When we say more is better footage wise, this is where having lots is crucial! Get multiple shots and angles of these following things! Yourself: Get shots of you calling, looking around, looking in bins, etc. More is better! Remember to BE CREATIVE! Use different angles, give the editor lots to work with!
The Kill: This is the hardest aspect because you got one chance at it! You can’t go back and do it again and that animal didn’t read your script! So…don’t screw it up! But trust me you do this long enough…you will and you just have to get over it and move on. With that being said, be steady, remember it’s better to stay wide than to tight on the animal, and after the shot is taken follow the animal but then get back to the hunter to capture that raw emotion! Good or bad, people want to see real!
The Recreates: Ever watch a hunting show and see them jump back to the hunter drawing his bow, looking through he binos and saying “big buck!” “Here he comes!” Well…its 98% of the time fake. Yep! Totally Recreated! But it is important! This is what makes your kill more interesting, suspenseful and professional. From our experience though, these shots are often the most under-produced and lacking. Be Creative!!! Get those pulling back bow, release on string, aiming profile, aiming OTS, aiming down the barrel/arrow, finger on the trigger, turning off the safety, dialing in the scope, loading the weapon, focused eyes, placing the weapon, positioning to fire, binoculars etc. Use your acting skills! Act as natural as possible, remember these are RECREATES!!! Getting these shots is important! I know you have a dead animal you want to go get you hands on but you HAVE to get this for your footage to be top notch!
Adam setting up for the post hunt interview in Florida with a 10ft gator.
Post Hunt Interview: Film yourself getting out of the blind or stand and film the blood trail and recovery of the animal. Then set the animal up, clear of grass or sticks in front of the camera. Get behind Animal, make sure it is presentable. I carry a bottle of water and paper towels (for multiple reasons LOL!!!) in my pack to clean up and wipe off as much blood as possible. And no tongue hanging out! Use a knife to just cut the tongue out so you don’t even have to worry about it! Trick of the trade! When you actually do your hero talk with the animal remember, don’t retell the whole story, we just watched it! Reference the highlights, what you saw, heard, how you got the kill If you have history with the animal, tell us about it! Do the hero talk at least THREE TIMES! Trust me. And try and do each take of it under a minute!
We hope these help and we hope you have a great time capturing your next outdoor adventure!
This blog was written by Adam Carter. Adam has been in filmmaking since he was young. He grew up in Oklahoma City, OK making videos for his local youth group. Years later he would graduate from Oklahoma City University with a Bachelors in Film Production. He has worked as a vocational minister for two churches as a Media Director, made numerous short films and produced an all Oklahoma made feature film, Hollis, in 2012. He was a producer for SkitGuys.com from 2015-2017 and has worked on many commercials for clients such as Foot Locker, Orange Leaf, and Oklahoma Tourism. He is the Vice President and Co-Owner of Full Strut Media and has been the producer for Final Descent Outdoors since Season 4.