African Hunting Videos! |
| Fire & Ice | ||
By Darren Blake
Safari hunting videos aren`t known for great camera work and storytelling. Grainy video and shaky kill shots are more so often the norm. There are a handful of good ones that provide the viewer with a quality collection of kill shots, insightful information about guns and ballistics along with a dosage of laughs and entertainment.
The newest release from Sable Trail Productions has boldly tried to break from the rest of the pack. It`s the first hunting video ever that examines the sometimes rocky relationship between professional hunter/guide and the client. In Fire & Ice: Zimbabwe`s Perfectly Shot Dangerous Game, Marc Watts has gone issue oriented but it`s not a complete diversion. He offers the usual assortment of breathtaking cinematography and captivating kill shots, but he`s stirred it up with something we can now actually sink our teeth into.
Marc was introduced to Andrew Dawson of Chifuti Safaris by their mutual friend Craig Boddington (who makes a special appearance in the video and makes a phenomenal shot on a running cape buffalo.) It`s clear that Marc and Andrew wanted to hunt with each other. It`s also clear that neither of them knew completely what they were getting into with this partnership.
The personality clash is evident from the outset: Marc the charismatic, never at a loss for words, well-pressed hunter versus Andrew, the no-nonsense drill sergeant like PH.
"Marc is quite a charismatic sort of guy and I didn`t know how I was gonna be able to handle that in a hunt," Andrew says in a clip from the video. The icy nature of this pairing first comes to light on day three of the safari. Marc fails to pull the trigger on a world-class cape buffalo. On the screen you can clearly see the buff, (which means his cameraman could see it fine because he has the animal focused in full frame) but Marc says he couldn`t see the buff through his scope because the rising sun that was positioned at the same angle as the buffalo blinded him temporarily. "I could feel the look of disgust from my PH. I don`t even want to look at him and he better not ask me what happened," Marc says in the video. You empathize with both men as the hunt continues. Andrew, who supposes the 44-incher has melted in the thick jesse gone for good and Marc, who so desperately craves for a shot at redemption. And redemption is exactly what Marc gets ten minutes later. It`s actually a more difficult shot than the original presentation. From 117 yards Marc drills the buff through the heart and "Fire and Ice" are all smiles.
The video never comes clean with exactly which man is "Fire" and which one is "Ice", and vestiges of the conflict continue to the end. But PH Andrew is to be complimented for his honesty regarding his issues about Marc. It`s somewhat inescapable that Marc would confront a race issue somewhere along his safari travels in Africa and it`s presented in this DVD in the opening montage. "I`ve never hunted with a Black hunter and I didn`t know what to expect," says Andrew.
Marc handles it quite cleverly and humorously, allowing his narrator to do the dirty work of responding, which distances Marc from any such racial conflict, downplaying it s well.
Marc also accepts some of the blame for the tension between him and his PH, realizing that it`s not just his race, but his hunting style, production values, stubbornness, shooting reputation and television background that make him an oddball client to any PH.
The man known now throughout Africa as "Bwana Moja," for his one-shot shooting skills, relies heavily on his editor to subtly reveal the conflict instead of stating the obvious in large doses. Slow-motioned video clips accompanied by the usual tasty assortment of Sable Trail production music present this compelling drama in big screen movie like fashion.
It`s rewarding to watch something such as a safari hunting DVD in such detail and high production, which have always been hallmarks of the Sable Trail line. The feel reminds you that Marc`s career for eighteen years was that of a TV news correspondent and he`s always shown us he`s big on presentation, which even caught the media-savvy Zimbabwean PH off guard.
"I didn`t understand the depth of this video. I didn`t know it was going to be so involved and in such depth...We did no staging throughout the entire video," Andrew said.
The differences between client and PH seem to get all ironed out by day eight when Marc shoots his leopard. How the big cat arrived in the tree is a phenomenal story based on a tactic rarely utilized by hunters in Africa. "A masterful plan by my very innovative and creative PH is how Marc described it," touting Andrew.
Yet it`s not all "Sugar and Spice" from there on evidenced days later when Marc shoots his hippo in the very spot where Andrew told him not to aim. Then two days later he disobeys his PH once again on shot placement, as they chase a 44-inch sable.
Both men seem to be on edge at different times throughout the safari, but not lost is a boatload of record book trophies they harvest. In all there are three buffaloes, a leopard, a hippo, a stunning crocodile, a sable, kudu, waterbuck, grysbok and a handful of other plainsgame taken.
There`s plenty for viewing here. With special features the DVD runs nearly three hours and from an informational, filming and breaking ground standpoint, Fire & Ice is first rate, easily the finest offering from Sable Trail. Over the last year Marc has cultivated a following of online critics for shooting, albeit accurately, from long distances. (Can I say 500-yard zebra in Tanzania?) Everything in Zim is shot from relatively close distance and it`s warming to watch how Bwana Moja continues to capture the hearts of so many on the Dark Continent.
There`s a procession of saddened locals who wave goodbye to him as he heads to the airstrip for good after day fourteen. Those types of sendoffs are normally bestowed upon dignitaries who partake in scripted photo opportunities walking through African bush camps, but here such respect was being paid to a safari hunter! Now that`s respect!