Trip Clips
Trip Clips from Dry Fly Media
Trip Clips is a Dry Fly Media service that sprouted from a small seed of demand planted during the winter of 2008-2009 by an ever growing number of our friends who love to fish the Yellowstone country and the storied waters of Montana.
Here’s what we wrote about the concept back in the spring of 2009:
We’ve talked to and corresponded with a growing number of fly fisher folk from around the country who aren’t going to make that trip to Kamkatchka or Patagonia this season and instead are finally going to make that long awaited trip (or return trip) to the Big Sky country.
We’ve been astounded at the number of folks we’ve talked to this year who would love to have a high quality video record of their time on one of the amazing fisheries in the neighborhood.
They’ve asked for more than just a ‘home video’ shot by their fishing buddy as he or she stumbles down the river having consumed more than his fair share of artisanal Montana beer previously sunk in the cold, clear waters of the river. They’ve asked for more than their buddy offering ‘not safe for home or work’ commentary about their clothes, fishing skills, and eating habits on the road.
Though the best videography and still photography is never quite the same as being on the river, they’ve asked for a professional quality video to make it easier to recall those memories of a day shared with friends on the fabled waters of Montana.
To be brutally honest we were more than a bit skeptical about the idea at first. Gentle pressure and coaxing from friends and customers prompted some more serious thought, disputation, and planning over the winter. We have a number of projects ongoing year round, and will be busy with several features and commercial commitments over the late spring, summer and fall seasons.
After thinking through and around the concept and running a few early season Trip Clips outings through the routine, we’re convinced it’s a useful and viable offering for our fly fishing friends visiting the area.
The Ideal Trip Clip Day
As to the ideal Trip Clip day, here are a few thoughts from our perspective.
We’d much prefer to get started well before the day of your outing with our team by having you complete a simple questionnaire to help us understand the key elements you’d like to include in your video.
For us to do the very best work that we can for you, we need to know what you and your group consider to be the most critical features you’d like to see included.
Most people of course want perfect video of everyone in the party heroically casting tiny dry flies on gossamer tippets to 24 inch rainbows that execute a perfect take and fight valiantly for 20 minutes before surrendering to the net. Think about your time on the river, though, there’s much, much more to the experience than ‘the big fish’.
Some folks have asked for an emphasis on the river and surrounding mountain and valley views; others have asked to emphasize narratives from different members of their party, describing how they’ve felt being on the river, away with friends and family, and what the experience has meant for them that very day.
Others have wanted to emphasize the time that their group is together, such as meals on the river, the times before and after the day’s fishing, or even driving from location to location. The key principle is obvious – we want to capture the activities, scenery, and interaction that you and your group feel is most important.
Because the essence of your trip is so much more than ‘standing in a river waving a stick’, it’s our overwhelming suggestion that we film your Trip Clip day on one of your wading days.
Our rationale here is simple – we’re able to interact much more personally with you and your party on foot, no matter what the size of the water you’re fishing, as compared to a day in the raft or drifter with your guide. It’s much easier for us to slip into the background, become a shadow of your group, and be much less intrusive on foot.
We can float along with you as you fish from a drifter, and have remote mic /transmitter capability to record your voices with ease, but in our minds it’s simply not as up close and personal as most folks are striving for when they picture themselves as the lead in their own fly fishing video.
Our charges for a float trip project are by necessity higher as we have to commit a second team member to row our cataraft. Most of our team are very experienced in handling boats, and understand well how to ‘dovetail’ our float with your guided boat so as not to interfere with your guide’s hard work or your fishing, and yet get us close enough to shoot intriguing and quality film and pics.
You can choose between full day and half day blocks of film time, and we’re willing to travel to most if not all of the vast array of waters in southern Montana, northwestern Wyoming, and northeastern Idaho pending our schedule.
Our team member will record the outing using an HD video camera, though will also likely shoot several hundred (full day) still photos using a professional quality DSLR for inclusion in your completed video. Remote mics allow us to record your voice commentary while fishing or more intimate interview settings. Underwater still photograph and videography shots are available as well.
Dry Fly Media has the ability to incorporate background audio / soundtrack from the river or utilize a broad array of royalty free music from a variety of sources. We also are developing new relationships every week with local artists and have an ever increasing array of music and soundtracks to incorporate in your video.
At this point in time we’ve found that one of our team members can adequately cover three fishermen for the day; we’re happy to cover larger groups though will need to have a second Dry Fly Media guy or gal come along (for a nominal additional charge) to make sure we collect the raw footage and pics that we need to produce a quality product for you.
Trip Clip Scheduling and Pricing
For those who book their Trip Clip day with us directly (not through a guide or shop) we’re offering a 15% discount from our standard pricing.
If you’ve already booked a trip through a guide or shop, have them contact us directly with your dates.
We’re more than happy to work with your favorite guide or shop, and our program has been very well received so far. In fact, most guides and shops are very pleased to have their skills and services recommended by happy fisher folk in a video record.
The kicker is this – we have a fairly busy schedule during the fly fishing and river season – we fish year round, but it starts to get busy in March, really busy in May, and doesn’t slack off until late October or early November pending the weather. We have a limited amount of time available – the sooner you book your event with us the better.
Unfortunate circumstances happen now and then and trips get cancelled. Let us know up to two days before for a full refund of your deposit.
You’ll have your completed project on DVD in your hands within two weeks of your trip. We can burn extra copies for a nominal fee; the custom labeling, DVD case and shipping is on us.
Dry Fly Media asks for the privilege to use any footage or still photos acquired in preparing your Trip Clip in other projects we’re working on now and in the future.
To inquire about a date and/or for a PDF of our price schedule and options, email Jake or Mark.
