 |
| DVD Review-Flying the Fish - 25th February 2006 - View the entire paragliding news archive |
| Flying the Fish
|
What I liked...
This film combines stunning aerial footage and well narrated ground sequences into a travelog style account of the adventures of a group of friends as they embark on a two week trip from Cape town to the Fish River Canyon in Namibia. Until now I had not realised just how mountainous parts of Africa can be (only seeing the great plains on TV). This film gives a real feel for the vastness of the African continent and demonstrates that you don`t need big bucks to make a decent film with modern technology. The music was well suited to the mood of the piece and there were some nice flying shots, but for me the interest was really on the ground when the group are just chilling out or messing about, meeting new people and even trying to bake bread in the sand.
The DVD arrived professionally packaged in a smart DVD case. An added bonus is the selection of high quality stills photos set to music, which is accesible through the DVDs easily navigatable menu screen. | What I didn`t like...
One small criticism of the film would be the sound quality of the aerial footage. The sound levels varied between narration and aerial shots, which detracted a little from the overall effect. These particular shots could easily have been improved by redubbing the speech or at least subtitling them. The whole film is 48 minutes long and probably could have lost five minutes from the first ten minutes (which is a bit slow to get going).
Would I buy it? I would say yes, but it would not be right at the top of my flying video collection. Definitely something I would watch again though.
All opinions expressed are the sole responsibility of Mark Andrews (that`s me!) - this is my unbiased view. | What others have said about `Flying the Fish`
3 Words to describe your DVD `Flying the Fish`: Excellent, outstanding, positively beautiful & inspirational ... did I say 3 words?
The narration is superb too as too are the great quality background music tracks.
I also like the way, as viewer, one becomes part of the adventure. Being with you guys when you eat, play the fool, deal with mech probs, enjoy the moment, baking bread in the desert sands (loved that!), shaking hands with the security chap at the gate, etc ... all adds up to the joy of involvement in the adventure. People need to see this. I hope that you plan to get it broadcast.
Good luck with your plans. You`ve got a winner on your hands.
Two thumbs up to Mark Becker and the gang for an excellent dvd. I watched it last night and can truly recommend it to all. The camerawork, commentary, sound and overall quality of the DVD is of a highly professional nature, not to mention the truly awesome scenery. These guys have made an excellent movie and I would like thank them for sharing their experience with us.
I have been meaning to drop you a line and tell you how much I`ve enjoyed the DVD. Must have watched it 4 times already. My wife and daughter also found the cooking parts entertaining, specially the bread episode!
The footage you`ve managed to capture is outstanding, the images so clear and graphic, makes me want to pack up my job, family etc. and hit the Namib.
Well done, keep me informed on any further expeditions or action DVDs.
Finally got to watch the DVD today, on the sofa with the wife. Really enjoyed it - some fantastic scenery, excellent camera work and plenty of microlighting - looks like an excellent trip and a fair bit of beer as well result. Don`t think you could have done it much better - perhaps it would have been cool to have had some kinda comment on costs, etc for people that might aspire to similar adventures.
Glad the bread worked in the end, was interested to see how that would go - although I`m still not convinced you didn`t edit that in when you got home.
I have watched your DVD 10 times now (5 times while being off sick at home). Please can you return the mielies back to the farmer! My wife thinks you are sneaky! :-) Just kidding! Wow...what a trip! Your dvd inspired me to take an intro flight at a microlight school in Oxford. I took, what ended up to be a 45 flight in a Pegasus GT-450 trike around Enstone. Weather was freezing but clear and it was great fun. I would like to take up the sport and become an instuctor in a couple years. Being an expat from Fish Hoek,I wouldnt mind moving to Cape Town and working as an instuctor. While I concentrate on passing my NPPL,please can you let me know what the climate is like in Cape Town regarding opputunities as an instuctor.
Cheers and thanks to you and `Mr Been` for a great video and insight to the adventure of microlighting. PS Glad to see South Africans making the most of this beautiful country.Hope to back soon!
Want to get your Flying DVD reviewed on this site? Each review will be my impartial assessment of the film. All reviews will contain a link to the original website. Reach 6000 visitors/month (average visitor figures for 2005-www.statcounter.com). Contact me
| Next month`s review: Performance Flying (See video preview)
|
|
(Back to top) OR - - View the entire paragliding and powered paragliding news archive |
|
|
|
The content of this site is � Mark Andrews 2005-12, mandrews1973@gmail.com
|
|
 |
