how to make: kiteboarding video

first of all the name of the video: do not try anything smart, target audience is not really sophisticated.
name surname in blank (eg cumbuco, tarifa, grand bahama, mui ne etc, the more tropical the place name the better) will do

avant scene: principal character wakes up early in the morning in the two or three stars hotel room. there is evidence of character just moving in and party previous night everywhere. principal character moves to the bath room while scratching him(her)self everywhere. mandatory scenes: teeth brushing and/or urinating with different degree of nudity

next scene: moving to the kitespot. car or scooter to the beach. note! cars for transportation must be: classic us origin (option nr1), strange looking third world production safari cars (option nr2), undefinable origin pickup truck (option nr3). european, japanese and other countries sedans, hatchbacks, station wagons(bad choice) allowed only if filmed from inside the car. way from the hotel to the kitespot filmed in fast motion usually, accents on the palms, non-urban animals (chicken, donkey, buffalo, snakes and giant cockroaches)

next mandatory scene: pumping the kite. shortest scene, meant to make us believe that pro’s pump up their kites for themselves. pumping scenes with the female principal characters are often used to show the sponsors credentials

next scene: longest scene, moves, tricks, ambient. make sure there are palms and/or cabanas, gazebos, umbrellas made from reed or palm tree liefs everywhere. sunshine is crucial. also make sure during the shooting there are no other major kite brands visible on the back plan. best shooting time early in the morning, less crowd. frames must be taken only on rider, kite movement stays outside of their frame. moves itself are not of the much importance really. 100% of the non kiters don’t give a shit about the moves. 80% of the kiters don’t recognize or don’t know the names of the moves. 97% can not do or don’t intend to do these moves ever. note: old style moves are more attractive to the non kiter audience. again, it is useful for the appearing on the screen some exotic animals or eccentrically dressed local inhabitants from time to time. all the moves in the scene must be perfectly executed without the imperfect landings. for human touch at the end of the scene one or two moves have to be shot with real crashes and wipe outs.
at the end of the movie it is always good to show some shots of principal character’s minor ijuries, scratches, x-ray pictures or some damaged equipment. spice it up with some hard language or pain screaming. video makers with more substantial budget will use helycams, i'm sure

now, soundtrack: don’t use superstars songs for the soundtracks, use some unknown for the general public teenagers band songs for it. they will be happy for free advertising and you will not be shut down from youtube by sony or smb else. always stay away from disco, eurotechno and classic rock music

at last sponsors titles: even (and especially) if you don’t have a sponsors or contributors make sure at least 20% of the clip time goes to the sponsor titles (imaginary or not). it makes your video more credible.



now, this guidance is not copyrighted, so feel free to use it, copy it, edit it or update it!

Haha perfect guide

You just described 95% of all kite videos. We need some originals like when Aaron came out with mimic thus. He started the whole trip with kiters waking up in a hotel etc... At least the edit was new

haha thanks.... some of my videos have some of those characteristics but I try to steer away from those "big production" style videos. I enjoy them, but like making home grown videos... Gopro style

LOL, too funny!!!

My 5 cents...
If you want to show 30 seconds riding, DON'T do a 2 minute introduction regardless of the music...those works if it is a full movie..not if it is barely any riding there....

Actually, the less I see of the lives the better... I like to see riding. So for me overview shot with a short title, short image of the rider (maybe add name)...then riding riding riding...I think there are a few exceptions...but those are few...if the intro is long, and the riding meh....then the let down is just too much...

Also, the location should be intentionally wrong to misdirect anyone who wants to go there; e.g. if you're kiting Lakey Pipe, put "Somewhere in Thailand" in the title.

here is the fresh good example, it has all the mentioned ingredients:

http://vimeo.com/21134909


don't get me wrong, i don't think those videos are bad. but, come on, use some imagination, guys!

they all the same! videos like this is the reason i skipped the middle parts so far and i will quit watching whole clips if this trend will continue!

you do still want people watching your videos, don't you?
other wise why do you keep posting them on youtube, vimeo and kiteforum?



winds

Very important: at least two minutes of the title in in some wired animation back and for and upside down! Show the People what your animation-program can do!
It is good to show some minutes out of an Airplane-Window! (Makes everybody lucky: nobody of us has after all ever been to an Airplane befor...)

Thanks, very accurate description! Found 90% of my next kite video script here

Anyway, these videos are meant to transmit the vibe of some special place. How you can do this without small details like weird ways of transportation to spot? On Boracay they use tricycles and I want to use them in the video.

I have finally figured out why the music is so crappy in most videos.. Nice writeup!!!