Content Production - What and How to Present?

[Pucky Freak]

The content I enjoy the most is OTC, hunting with family, local hunts, 1-3 person hunts, and archery. Probably the least appealing are coveted tags hunting with 10-12 friends in camp helping out, etc. although I’m sure you have such a fun time doing that. Hunting locally and having close encounters with game archery hunting makes for great watching, but maybe this isn’t the most popular among other viewers. Maybe have more self-filming this year by you, Marcus, Michael, etc. There’s a lot of superb self-filming talent among your team. Archery MT elk and deer, ID elk deer bear, and WY pronghorn are all within relatively short distance of Bozeman. Add in WT + doe and cow tags, you could have a fall archery extravaganza with multiple tag holders filming solo or in small groups close to home. I know these are just OTC and/or easy to get tags, and maybe not a lot of excitement on your end, but I bet you could fill a film season with it.

I think there are many convincing cases to be made by moving forward with an aggressive filming schedule:
-help the economy by proving jobs for your crew
-gathering food with minimal disease exposure/transmission
-modeling fun, positive, healthy ways to spend your time during a pandemic as a counterweight to all the doom and gloom.
-showing how you can hunt and travel locally while supporting COVID-19 mitigation efforts.
-Content to promote the tough times ahead for conservation groups.

 

[MThuntr]

Where are the videos of jumping that new Raptor?!

 

[2rocky]

.... If it comes to it, socially distanced elk season. Every employee films their hunt and you turn out 8 elk hunting episodes based on everyone's solo season?

+ 1 here. Concurrently Daily live hunts Episode 1 Week 1 of MT elk season

 

[Big Fin]

Where are the videos of jumping that new Raptor?!

The jump I completed over the East Gallatin was something Bo and Luke Duke would have been impressed by.

Seriously, we have pulled every video about the Raptor. Just seems that talking about a new vehicle purchase is too indulgent and superfluous for these times. An example of how these times are influencing what we are scheduling for content.

 

[lodgepoleJoe]

How about the earlier archery hunts with a strong emphasis on donating meat to food banks. Hopefully by fall rifle we are over this but maybe take people hunting that have never hunted before. That might give non hunters the idea that "yes I can do this if I had to" .

 

[Deleted member 28227]

I made a vision board of everything so far... hope this helps.

 

[JLS]

The jump I completed over the East Gallatin was something Bo and Luke Duke would have been impressed by.

Seriously, we have pulled every video about the Raptor. Just seems that talking about a new vehicle purchase is too indulgent and superfluous for these times. An example of how these times are influencing what we are scheduling for content.

That's a good choice I think.

 

[JohnCushman]

A wall tent grouse hunt
How about a first aid episode with your med kit sponsor...? I know a fat retired Army medic that would help out with that

 

[Deleted member 28227]

How about a first aid episode with your med kit sponsor...? I know a fat retired Army medic that would help out with that

Seriously though... do this

Ever year I find myself digging back through the forum for John's posts on med kits when I put mine together.

 

[Big Fin]

A wall tent grouse hunt
How about a first aid episode with your med kit sponsor...? I know a fat retired Army medic that would help out with that

We were scheduled to film me taking the Wilderness First Responder course, but that has gotten cancelled. First Aid is such an important topic, I want nothing but the pros presenting on that, not some "bean counter with a band aid."

This one will get put back on our content list, for sure.

 

[Irrelevant]

These are really good comments so far. As mentioned, we have a WHY that directs our content and mission. And, with eight people getting bi-weekly paychecks and another handful of small independent contractors doing other work for us, the responsibility of their financial security falls to my ability to pull off our WHY within those financial constraint and my personal marital harmony.

Lots of good stuff to think about. Looking forward to more of it.

To this point, every sponsor positively responded to my email three weeks ago that until this passes we will go very low on any marketing or new product. The amounts from YouTube and Amazon don't even cover tags, trip costs, and film permits. So, the economic reality is that I have people depending on me to walk that fine line between doing what runs a business from which they depend on for a livelihood and not being insensitive to the situation at hand. I am thankful for the sponsors we have who completely understand this and want us to do what is right, hoping it shows who they are as companies.

I also have to balance all of this with what people will watch. We've been at it for twelve years. This will be our thirteenth season. I know what people like to do versus what they like to watch. We all like to fish. But, fishing is something people watch in far less quantities than hunting. We all love to hunt small game. We do rabbit hunts and quail hunts, yet they are only a fraction of the numbers of people who watch our least compelling elk hunts. Folks would rather wash their vehicle than to watch some content that they might enjoy immensely while doing it themselves. I'm a perfect example; you can't get me to watch a walleye fishing show (or any fishing show for that matter), but I get really excited about doing it myself. Just the nature of who we are and how we prefer to spend our time.

I would love to do more conservation content like Rain Deer, Dam That Never Was, etc. Those are where my heart lies. And I have a whiteboard full of similar stories I want to tell. But, Dam That Never Was took two years of work and about $80K, without a single dollar of sponsorship to help fund it. Rain Deer was about $60K and fortunately was covered by sponsors, but the results of views were lower than a run of the mill elk we might air. That is hard to convince sponsors to fund; just the reality of how they have to allocate their marketing dollars. And as much as I don't take any money from the operation, I cannot personally fund many more Yellowstone River stories from my own pocket, as much as I want to and as much of a financial leash Mrs. Fin gives me.

We are doing some smaller conservation pieces that are not as expensive or as time consuming. You saw it with the recent WMA piece. Marcus and I did the filming for a video about how access is created, just before I sent everyone home to work under the SIP rules. Those will be low cost and hopefully interesting. Yet, if one measures the results by views and engagement, people like to talk about conservation and a handful of people are super engaged in such. Yet, no matter how well it is produced, conservation does not engage the audience to a degree that elk hunts do.

I guess sorting all of this out is my challenge. I am thankful to have the Hunt Talk audience here as a sounding board.

I think a short video interview where you discuss this with your viewers would be worthwhile.

 

[hank4elk]

I can't honestly remember any content you have shared with us that I have not enjoyed one way or another.
Would be happy with vid-podcast talks with the many experts in the outdoors,conservation,science, authors who you have rubbed shoulders with or would like to. Love the huntalks!
Catch up with folks who have been fortunate to make the cut on other episodes ,discussions and how they are doing now huntwise, lifewise since.
I for one was very happy talking with your crew when we met and you were busy getting the show on the road ,as it were.
I'm sure Marcus and you can come up with editor floor vids of discussions on plans, stalks, BS sessions etc...

 

[Big Fin]

More good stuff being suggested. Helpful to me.

How about the earlier archery hunts with a strong emphasis on donating meat to food banks. Hopefully by fall rifle we are over this but maybe take people hunting that have never hunted before. That might give non hunters the idea that "yes I can do this if I had to" .

As to the post above, I personally like that idea. But, with some disclaimer explained below.

You'd be surprised about how many negative comments I get when I talk about donating quality whitetail doe meat to the Food Bank. I pay for it to be commercially processed so the Food Bank can accept it. I then go tip over a few does. When I mention game donations on social media or the podcast we get more negative feedback than positive. It is usually is something paraphrased as, "You just wanted to kill more things for the camera." or "Donate some of what you already have and let others shoot these does."

I get it. So this last season I went out to do my thing for the Food Bank and left the cameras in the truck. Ended up with a wolf that day, instead.

This is just one example that until folks got to read my emails and messages, it would be hard to predict some of the surprises that can put people "on the rant" about what we produce. I could have picked some topics mentioned earlier and they would have been similar examples about how audiences react to certain topics and content.

 

[hank4elk]

Have you ever interviewed Dr. Valerious Geist? I'm sure you must have ...

 

[nrpate05]

Lots of good thoughts here that could certainly make for good content. As others have said, It would be cool to see more local "meat" hunts where perhaps a youth or first time hunter is involved. Going through the process of planning a hunt, getting gear, organizing/packing for a hunt and seeing it through. This has all been done before, but it would be neat to see a total newbie involved and the entire process from start to finish. Also, I liked Marcus and Kara's elk hunt where they slept in their truck. I do that quite a bit, so maybe some really simple hunts like that.

The MeatEater guys have been going through their garages and how they organize them. This is something I've been putting off so seeing the Fresh Tracks crew do something similar would be great!

 

[JohnCushman]

How about a blooper episode?

 

[hank4elk]

Gear gutting, why that does not work for you or your crew. No names be mentioned,just why it is not working....zipperflaps that catch water, raingear that works & why. What does work and why?
What would be on a stock rig if you were Henry F.....

 

[Deleted member 28227]

You'd be surprised about how many negative comments I get when I talk about donating quality whitetail doe meat to the Food Bank. I pay for it to be commercially processed so the Food Bank can accept it. I then go tip over a few does. When I mention game donations on social media or the podcast we get more negative feedback than positive. It is usually is something paraphrased as, "You just wanted to kill more things for the camera." or "Donate some of what you already have and let others shoot these does."

I get it. So this last season I went out to do my thing for the Food Bank and left the cameras in the truck. Ended up with a wolf that day, instead.

This is just one example that until folks got to read my emails and messages, it would be hard to predict some of the surprises that can put people "on the rant" about what we produce. I could have picked some topics mentioned earlier and they would have been similar examples about how audiences react to certain topics and content.

I loved the donation thread and the discussions, I mentioned it to a couple of friends and I was really surprised by their negative reactions.

I suppose HTer's have a pretty myopic perspective and what appeals to us may not be widely popular.

 

[LopeHunter]

When I lived in the Midwest and was the depths of cold winter with the days short and I flipped through the TV channels (less than 10 back then) and would see the Rose Bowl game with people in t-shirts or a golf event in Hawaii...I was in Heaven for a few hours. I was not jealous it was not me in Pasadena or Honolulu. I was enjoying seeing those people not in the frozen cold. I was inspired. Similar to how I would imagine it was me doing all the things John Wayne did in the movie. I did not hate John Wayne for doing those things.

Please, go on hunts. Especially if you and your team are antibody-positive by then. Even if are not antibody positive, go. I may be stuck at home for health or economic reasons but knowing I can see a handful of your adventures from this autumn will keep the passion burning in me for hunting. We need good content. You create good content. Go create. Go hunt. Be safe.

 

[Addicting]

Can you go down to West Yellowstone and still rent a snowmobile? Take a trip on those exploring.