Its been a while since we announced the results of the film comp and I have had a bit of time to reflect on the whole process and the judges verdicts and comments. For me, the original point of the competition was twofold. Firstly to generate some interesting material, and secondly to give an opportunity to some paddlers to win some worthwhile prizes.

The films that placed all had a couple of things in common. Firstly they all had some kind of narrative so they focussed on a particular day or theme. Secondly they all used the audio track constructively to comunicate this narrative. There were some good entries that used music over tightly edited kayak footage, but the judges overlooked them in favour of the ones that attempted to portray a little more about the sport.

'A Day in the Life' by Tim and Dave Burne placed third and strongly demonstrated that it wasnt all about getting some awesome kayaking shot, but about creating a strong storyline. It scored well with some judges, but missed out with others. Humour is notoriously difficult to convey to all people. A consensus emerged that it was well constructed but that the films theme of taking the piss out of sponsored boaters could have been pushed further. Huge credit is due for an ambitious and effective storyboard and for creating something geniuinely different.

'Dogumentation' by Danny Brown scored more consistently with the judges and nudged into second place. It blended some tight kayaking sequences with a nice little cameo story of an unusual event. Those who know the Cannobino canyon will know that getting a dog out of there would take some doing! The film again used this incident to indirectly comment on kayaking's culture. The audio was captured during the events and although this reduced the quality it gave a nice a nice spontaeneous feel. Those who have done some filming will recognise that thinking ahead and getting this soundtrack can be vital, and this film probably wouldnt have worked as well without it.

Our winner 'Cold Hands' had two strong elements,  some amazing footage and a clear, honest theme. Ando and Seb managed to represent some of the trials and joys of hand paddling in a succinct way. At its heart though the theme was about overcoming barriers, which is a great one to go at. From a technical perspective both some of the camera shots and the audio track could have been sharper. However, a clear message from the voice over that ties in well with some nice eye candy, produced consistently high scoring.

So in a nutshell, if you going to enter in 2010 get a clear message or narrative that your trying to convey, and use both pictures and your audio track carry it. The more honest you are the more it will ring true to others. So if your a club paddler who gets kicks from watching others develop - use that. If you enjoy solo baoting above everthing else - use that. If your learning and wondering how to get down some grade fall or pull a certain move  - use that. If your having a dither about wether something 'goes' - use that.

A big shout to all the entrants again. They are the ones who put themselves up there. All the films had some strong elements and are worthy of more comment but I have resisted going through each. Briefly though, it sworth mentioning some nice editing in 'Live and Let Fly', a nice atmosphere in 'You/Me Scotland' and true dedication to the cause in 'Anti static', Progress also placed on many judges score sheets with its nice simple narrative and feelgood approach.

Hopefully these notes explain a little about the judges thinking.

Good luck for 2010 ;-) !!

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