Nick Clement of Reel Escape Films has a nice trailer (4:33) of his In the Land of the Cutthroats (this is the link to the HD version on Vimeo).

This is what fly fishing for cutties is all about: the scenery and the fish. If this doesn’t get you ready for the upcoming fishing season…well, may the fishing gods take pity on your angler’s soul.

“Full Trailer for ‘In the Land of the Cutthroats’ a short film that tells the story of three native trout species that evolved along the Continental Divide in Colorado.

The film is an official selection of the 2010 Fly Fishing Film Tour”

Music by Drew Goldstone www.reeltoreelrecords.com

Dean Bell, one of New Zealand’s premiere guides, is filmed fishing Fiordland of New Zealand’s South Island. If you aren’t familiar with this part of the world, it is truly beautiful: fjords with their lush landscape and plunging waterfalls; glaciers; the towering mountains of the Southern Alps; and lacing their way through it all are clear, pristine rivers bearing large trout.

If you are interested in a travel DVD, or in any way hope to see the natural wonders of New Zealand (with the exception of beautiful rivers), this is not the DVD for you. I was slightly disappointed because it has been over 20 years since I lived in New Zealand, and visited these places, and I really wanted to revisit them through the DVD—but that is not the purpose of this DVD. If you are planning a trip to NZ to fish, and you want that kind of DVD, there are lots of others out there for that purpose.

If you like watching large brown and rainbow trout caught on large dry flies in incredibly clear water, then pop this DVD in, turn off the volume, and watch 65 minutes of High Definition footage as Dean catches and releases over 20 of these big boys. It looked great on my 50” widescreen, putting me right into the action as if I were there, at Dean’s side.

If, however, you are interested in learning some (mostly) dry fly tactics suitable for not only New Zealand, but anywhere with clear water and picky trout, then turn up the volume and listen in as Dean instructs on not only the “dead drift,” but pre-casting analysis of the conditions of the lie, the cast, and playing the fish to bring it to hand.

He revolves each of these aspects around reading the structure of the water: the rocks and the hydrology of the water caused by those rocks. The lies created by the hydrology dictating where to cast to get the drift that is needed to 1) get the fly to the fish and 2) present the fly in the most natural way possible. And then how to best use the current to play the fish and bring it in.

Dean does an excellent job talking through his immediate thoughts right there on the water. There is the occasional voice-over done in post-processing where some additional analysis goes on as he talks through the different aspects of fishing for a particular fish he caught. (I’m not sure why, but this voice-over was done in Dean’s best “golf commentator” voice. I found this slightly bothersome because when he was on the water, he typically used his regular voice and the fish certainly would hear him better there than in post-processing. It’s not a huge issue, but a non-modulated voice would work a little better for me.)

Steve Couper’s Stealth Films Ltd. did a fine job in filming and editing the audio and video of the DVD. The only suggestions I have for future DVD’s is to change the voice-overs and to add a little extra content at the end. Dean does a nice job summarizing at the end of the DVD, but maybe another section of the DVD accessed through the menu with these points in text format (a bulleted list kind of thing), as well as some of the other salient points made throughout the DVD, would be nice.

This is an enjoyable DVD to just sit back and watch to get your fishing fix (especially during the off season). It also has excellent information to help you improve your sight-fishing skills. Dean is a delightful host who keeps things interesting and exciting without showboating his successes or haranguing his failures.

Purchase the DVD through Stealth Films http://www.stealthfilms.co.nz (go to this link to purchase directly) for $25 + shipping (I thought well worth the price). Check out the 1 minute 16 second trailer here. Steve Couper of Stealth Films was prompt in answering a couple of my questions (see previous post here). The DVD was shipped promptly and arrived quickly.

I do have to apologize to Steve: I wrote the review last August, but never typed it up (I do many of my first drafts on a yellow legal pad, and there it sat). So here it is, a bit belatedly.

We are very proud to announce that at last night’s awards ceremony for the 10th Annual Sacramento Film & Music Festival, Rivers of a Lost Coast took home the Jury’s Award for Best Documentary Feature. Thanks to the Sac Film & Music Festival for 10 great days of films and thanks to all the members of the Capital Film Arts Alliance who helped with this year’s festival.

Congratulations gentlemen!

They also announced that they planned on releasing the DVD from their website sometime in October. I have not yet seen the film and have been anxiously awaiting the DVD.

You’ll notice the question mark in the title of this post. That’s because I’m not actually reviewing the DVD, but rather the promotional efforts of the website that produced and markets the DVD.

Steve Couper’s Stealth Films is mainly a producer of hunting trips: your hunt will be recorded then can be turned into a documentary or promotional for clients or just enjoyed by an individual. They have two commercial DVDs, the first being a hunting DVD.

Stealth Films’ latest video, “The Dead Drift,” is now available (about $23 US). (The link also has a link to a trailer of the DVD.) The brief blurb on the site states the following:

Join Dean Bell – one of New Zealand’s best Fly Fishing Guides – as he fishes the wilderness waters of Fiordland and gives an in depth analysis to the fly fishing techniques he uses. Filmed in the the rugged Fiordland mountains we experience the best wilderness fishing waters that New Zealand has to offer.Stunning scenery, beautiful footage and spectacular fishing.

A little poking around on the site brought up this additional blurb:

Stunning scenery, beautiful footage and spectacular fishing with many ‘gems of wisdom’ from one of New Zealand’s top fishing guides. The result is a film that any fly fisherman – young or old, inexperienced or a veteran – will gain knowledge from.

That’s all I can find on the website concerning this DVD.

A blurb should entice the buyer to want to purchase the DVD for a particular reason. In this case, it sounds as if the DVD will have “in depth analysis,” “gems of wisdom” and something to “gain knowledge from”—in other words, an informational/instructional DVD.

A trailer should also entice the buyer to purchase for a particular reason. This brief (about 1 minute) trailer shows fishing in some crystal clear water (which could actually be about anywhere in the world that has clear water—for those of you who have been to the fiords of New Zealand, you’ll know this is some of the most beautiful scenery on the planet, and it would be nice to see a hint of some identifiable geography in the trailer). If it is just an eye candy DVD, then this trailer might be enough to convince those who like eye candy to purchase it.

But the promotional words used leads me to believe the DVD contains more than just eye candy, it also has some instruction. I believe there should be a match between a trailer and written promotional descriptions. So I want to know how the “analysis” is given: in voice-overs, sit down interviews, talking through the actual fishing, etc.? I’m sure putting together a trailer is not the easiest thing in the world, but this problem between words and trailer could be resolved if there was a ten second snippet within the trailer of these “analysis” portions to give the buyer an idea. I’m also curious what the ratio of  “stunning scenery, beautiful footage and spectacular fishing” to technical information is? In other words, when I read “in depth analysis,” I’m under the impression that there is quite a bit of technical information. Is that the case?

Other, smaller issues deal with the length of the DVD (I can’t find it listed anywhere)  and if the instruction is valuable only to fly fishing New Zealand, or is it general instruction that I could use in Montana as well? I’m not sure the DVD is even intended for an international audience in the first place. If so, what would someone from outside NZ get from it: Eye candy? Instruction? PR to get me to fish in NZ?

My major concern about the promotion of the DVD: the trailer and words should match and compliment each other.

As I said before, Fiordland is a beautiful place. From the trailer, the filming and post-production looks to be of great quality. I’m sure the DVD is top-notch. And although $23 US is not a lot of money, I’m hesitant to pay for something that I have questions about. I have left an email with Steve Couper of Stealth Films asking if he would like to reply to this review and/or provide any additional information concerning the DVD which I will pass on to you.

Steve Couper kindly replied to my email. Here is his reply:

This is not an instructional DVD but one for the more experienced angler that would like to enhance their skills – reading water, types of casts needed, obstacles in the river are some of the points mentioned. Methods are universal in their application.

Analysis is given throughout, as voice over where needed to get a point across, and during the fishing sequences as well.

Technical insight is given throughout the movies 1 hr and 10 min length. There are more than 25 fish landed – both Rainbows and Browns taken with dry fly and nymph.

The scenery is stunning and you will just have to purchase the film to see it all !!! Filmed with a High Definition camera it should be viewed on a 42 inch plasma TV to get the best from the footage. As mentioned this has to be one of the best fishing locations on the planet.

The DVD is intended for an international audience and I believe it will be enjoyed by all that view it. It has something in it for all fisherman.

Regards Steve