\u201cIf the hype is as big as we think it is, there are a lot of paddlers out there, and they\u2019ll probably all want to download this movie,\u201d said Kowalski.<\/p>\n
Stakeout<\/em> features nine kayakers, including Kowalski, riding some of the world\u2019s tallest river waves, in Quebec. These waves and well-known kayakers gained the film a lot of attention, said Kowalski.<\/p>\n <\/em>The film premiered internationally to an audience of 400 at a kayaking competition in Switzerland in September 2009.\u00a0 But the film\u2019s trailer on YouTube has been viewed nearly 16,000 times.<\/p>\n Stakeout <\/em>proves that short, fast-paced, free films can attract the attention of sponsors and fans.<\/p>\n \u201cUsually you end up skipping to the part you like,\u201d said Ben Marr, who also helped to create the film. \u201cYou watch Stakeout<\/em> and it’s pure, it\u2019s free, and you just watch it and ‘go kayaking,’ and you\u2019re super excited.\u201d<\/p>\n Since Stakeout<\/em> is a shorter film, Kowalski said he wanted not too many companies as sponsors.\u00a0 One was Ottawa Kayak School and Tribe, a kayak-themed clothing company.<\/p>\n Stakeout <\/em>proves that short, fast-paced, free films can attract attention of sponsors and fans.<\/p>\n To sponsor a film or a kayaker means that the company provides gear and helps finance the film, or paddler, explained Tyler Lawlor, who co-owns Level Six, a kayaking gear and apparel company. In return, the sponsor\u2019s gear, replete with the company logo, gets exposure every time someone watches the film.<\/p>\n Typically, kayakers approach the sponsor with a proposal for their help. However, Marr and Kowalski said that Stakeout<\/em>‘s popularity has brought would-be sponsors to them<\/em>, to inquire about their next project. \u201cThey see it\u2019s free and they want to be a part of that,\u201d said Marr. \u201cEspecially because it\u2019s brand new, no one\u2019s done this before. Sponsors want to be a part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n Let’s make a movie<\/span><\/p>\n The filmmaking is no easy process. Stakeout<\/em> took over two years to make. Of that time, Kowalski said, only four months was dedicated to filming.<\/p>\n The average kayaking movie costs between $10,000 to $15,000 to create. The costs come from cameras, computer software and travel expenses, said Kowalski.<\/p>\n \u201cThe hard thing about kayaking is it\u2019s not that big a sport, so you don\u2019t get sent cameras and videographers,\u201d said Marr. \u201cIf you were, they might not be able to get down the same rivers.\u201d<\/p>\n The kayakers need to be knowledgeable in every aspect of filmmaking, said Marr. This poses a learning curve for most kayakers, reasonably enough.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n Stakeout<\/em> is not Marr’s only film this year. Marr also had a segment in Valley High<\/em>, a kayak movie that premiered in Ottawa last November.<\/p>\n Valley High<\/em>, co-produced by Tyler Fox and Blake Mahoney, is a 40-minute kayak film featuring rivers from all over the globe. It was the first time either kayaker had made a film.<\/p>\n \u201cWe learned as we went,\u201d said Mahoney. \u201cThere were some pretty painful processes and some pretty hard times, but we managed to get through it.\u201d<\/p>\n httpv:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=lg0gR95iLiU<\/p>\n Valley High<\/em> sells for about $30 online and in kayaking stores, said Mahoney. The films don\u2019t generate any profit from movie sales. The sales income simply helps cover production costs, such as travel and printing DVDs, said Mahoney. As of November 2009, Fox said they had sold about 300 copies of Valley High<\/em>.<\/p>\n Getting the right exposure<\/span><\/p>\n Kayakers aren’t into filmmaking for the money. They create movies to get exposure for themselves and their sponsors.<\/p>\n Once the films are finished, the kayakers involved send their footage to current and new sponsors. If the companies like what they see, they send the athlete gear, and occasionally the money, to enable future exploits and filmmaking.<\/p>\n Kayakers sending their videos to sponsors is a new trend, which has emerged in the last two years, said Lawlor. He said the footage is used on the company’s website to promote their gear.<\/p>\n \u201cVideos are good; videos are fun,\u201d said Lawlor. \u201cIt brings the kayaker to the community.\u201d<\/p>\n Another way for kayakers to gain exposure is to enter their films at extreme-sport film festivals.<\/p>\n httpv:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=WVPsqk_Nqf8&feature=related<\/p>\n Meagan Stewart works with the Banff Mountain Film Festival. She coordinates two tours call Radical Reels and the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour. She said these festivals take the best sport films submitted and play them for audiences around the world. The tour helps filmmakers, because it increases their exposure and connects them with commercial opportunities, said Stewart. She looks for films that are shorter, and she shortens longer films, because shorter ones succeed better.<\/p>\n With the Internet and YouTube now essential as film venues, more kayakers are bound to follow Kowalski\u2019s lead, making videos that are shorter, faster, and, most importantly, free.<\/p>\n \u201cI was inspired by the movies I had seen,\u201d said Kowalski. \u201cI hope people who watch my films get the same feeling I did when I was watching kayaking movies growing up.\u201d<\/p>\n Related Links<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/capitalarts\/wp-content\/uploads\/Kayak-1.jpg\")
\nEnthusiasts watch Stakeout<\/em> at its Ottawa premier, at Bank Street’s Corner Bar and Grill.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/capitalarts\/wp-content\/uploads\/kayak-41.jpg\")
\nAn equipment raffle enlivened Stakeout<\/em>‘s Ottawa premier.<\/p>\n