Double awards win for kayak film

So delighted for friend, meeja colleague and fellow fan of Scotland's great outdoors, Simon Willis, for his exciting double film awards scoop. Willis, who runs Sunart Media, won the "Best Instructional Film" awards at two separate Canadian film festivals for the full-length production, Sea Kayak - An Instructional Journey along the coast of Skye.

The film was honoured at the 5th annual Reel Paddling Film Festival in Toronto, as well as Paddle Canada’s Waterwalker Film Festival in Ontario.

Following news of the accolade, Simon, a former BBC newsnight correspondent who seems to have achieved an idyllic work-life balance at his home in gorgeous Strontian (I'm too jealous!), said: “Whether it’s teaching people to kayak or helping businesses produce a cost-effective training video, the principles are the same. Mind you, it helps that I’m passionate about sea kayaking”.

Released on DVD, the film features exciting and practical instruction from one of the world’s top coaches. Gordon Brown (not our PM! Obviously!) delivers coaching sessions designed for beginners and intermediate sea kayakers. These are mixed with a beautifully shot four-day voyage along the west coast of the Isle of Skye where Gordon lives and from where he runs Skyak Adventures.

You can take a look at extracts from the DVD at SunartMedia.com

Video-tastic

It's amazing what you can learn in a day. Even if you sometimes feel as though your brain is over-the-hill. Thanks to Simon Willis (he of former BBC reporter fame) I am now capable of shooting video for publication on the internet. 

There is a lot more to it than you'd ever imagine but Simon made it seem quite simple. This example video was my first effort and obviously, being fionaoutdoors, I will now want to take my camera outdoors. But it does go to show how it's possible for a total beginner to film, cut, edit, overlay and produce a reasonably good looking video.

Now all I need to do is go out and spend a lot of money on shiny new technical kit such as proper pro camera, a tripod, a furry mic, a radio mic, a lighting thingy etc etc... and then pratise a lot!

Simon offers all kinds of video training for all kinds of people. He even came to my house to teach me. (And he's very patient if technology is not your thing. It isn't mine!) See Sunart Media

My first video: