Archive for the ‘dvds’ Category

Today’s thud on the doormat didn’t bring any bills! Instead the postman brought a magazine all the way from Hong Kong with a review of “This is the Roll” in it. It looks very pretty and the words that I understand look relevant! If you understand Chinese, perhaps you can let me know what it says! Hopefully it’s another good review!  The magazine is X Life, an Adventure travel & exploration magazine published every 2 months.

A few more reviews are appearing on “This is the Roll” DVD.…. most comments I’ve seen have been on Facebook which is a very easy way to leave feedback. This has all been really positive – many people are impressed with how thoroughly we have covered the roll, as well as the pace & the filming.

One comment simply said, “Your Rolling DVD is the best ever. Clear and concise“. Another said, “It’s entertaining as well as extremely clear and informative.”

Simon Willis – creator of sea kayak podcasts & the filmmaker behind the “Sea kayak with Gordon Brown” DVDs – has written a review as detailed as “This is the Roll”. You can read it here. It’s the most comprehensive review I’ve read so far so if you want to know more about the DVD from an outside perspective then please take a look.

A shorter, positive review from Denmark can be read here in English – or here in Swedish.

In separate news, David Johnston, an kayaker and blogger from Canada recently interviewed me for a series on him website called “I want your outdoor job”, asking me about the business side of making paddling films. You can read the interview here.

Other filmmakers have also been busy. Nick & Matt at Kayak Essentials – makers of the popular ‘Sea Kayak Essentials’ DVD – have just introduced digital downloads of the individual chapters of that DVD. If you prefer your movies instantly delivered to your computer then check out this page on their website. There are short previews of all the chapters so you can try before you buy. And if you prefer to buy the whole DVD then we sell it in the Cackle TV store – click here for our US / Canada/ Japan store. Click here for UK/ Europe/ Australasia store. Don’t forget we have special offers – if you buy more than 1 DVD you can save money…. Or check out our inspirational digital download films.

Finally! We have the cover of “This is the Roll” AND the subtitles are ALL done!! I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

Thanks to everyone who has pre-ordered for your patience. Making a DVD is already a long process but having subtitles in 3 different languages added a huge amount of work. This is the first DVD that I have subtitled, & is the first paddlesports DVD that I know of to be subtitled in 3 languages.  I am forever indebted and hugely grateful to Gianfranco Liotta who translated 150 minutes of video – close to 20,000 words –  into Italian & French and created the subtitles for all 3 languages. He did all this while studying, changing nappies of his young daughter Sara, being a husband to Claudia & drinking strong Italian coffee or fine Sicilian wine! Gianfranco – along with Francesco Petralia – offers seakayaking trips & kayak hire in the warm turquoise waters of Sicily. If you fancy a relaxing seakayaking holiday then check out Maremotu (otherwise known as Seakayak Sicily). I’ve been twice! (so far!). Gianfranco (amazingly) also says he would consider other subtitling jobs in the future if anyone needs his services.

I’m also really grateful to Iván Lamas, who emailed me at exactly the right time to ask if I would consider putting subtitles on my DVDs. When I told him we would have French & Italian subtitles on “This is the Roll” he immediately offered to translate it into Spanish. Iván has translated everything quickly and with great attention to detail. He responded gallantly to my desperate email last night when we realised we were missing a Spanish translation of ‘the standard greenland roll with a euroblade’ chapter! Thanks to his quick work – everything is complete on schedule!

On the other side of the Atlantic in Canada, Beth Kennedy, the very talented designer for ‘Rapid Media‘ & ‘Adventure Kayak’ magazine has been creating our DVD artwork. I’m delighted with the result and I hope you like it too! Look out for an article by Cheri & Turner about the 3 rolls we feature in “This is the Roll” in the next edition of ‘Adventure Kayak‘.

And of course huge thanks to Cheri & Turner, the stars of the DVD, who are not only excellent at performing all the rolls, but are fantastic teachers. It’s a pleasure to be able to share their skill & grace, and their unique style of teaching with so many people through “This is the Roll”. It’s the first time I’ve collaborated with other people so much on a DVD & agreeing on the best way forward has sometimes been challenging for all of us. However that dialogue has created a better product and ultimately been very rewarding!

We hope to have the PAL DVDs ready to ship in the first week of April (for the UK, Europe & Australasia). The NTSC DVDs (for America, Canada & Japan) may take a week longer as we need to ship a master DVD from the UK to America – but we will have the first “This is the Rolls” in the post, and in shops as soon as possible. You can pre-order from us, or make sure your local shop has put an order for some!

Finally… “This is the Roll” is edited! It’s taken myself, Cheri Perry & Turner months to put together – it’s been shot in the clear waters of Sicily, with the backdrop of Vancouver islands snow capped mountains, and in Wales & Scotland. We’ve worked hard to explain how to do the 3 most important Greenland style rolls – 3 rolls which work in real situations and will help you recover from a capsize, no matter how you capsize. Shown with both greenland paddles and ‘euroblades’, with plenty of examples of Cheri & Turner teaching students and correcting common mistakes. We really hope this will be a great tool for anyone wanting to get their first roll, improve their roll or learn forward finishing rolls.

Excitingly, the DVD will have French, Spanish & Italian subtitles.. we are very very grateful to Gianfranco Liotta and Ivan Lamas for doing the translating, and to Gianfranco for putting the subtitles in place. The DVD is long — two and a half hours packed with information, so it’s a big job. It means the DVD won’t be released until late March or early April, but it will make it a great tool for thousands more people by having these optional subtitles.

You can read more about the DVD here – and if you want to be sure of getting your DVD as soon as it’s out, then you can preorder.

Happy rolling!!