Project "VELA"

[sportsmansaddiction]

September 2010

The Project "Vela" video we shot with Castaway Films is making its way through the press arena. It started with Catch Magazine in July and yesterday it was featured on MidCurrent. Below, Producer, Grant Wiswell gets into more detail about the filming.

MidCurrent is an independent provider of fly fishing news, literature and advice. They are experienced anglers, guides and authors who enjoy sharing the excitement of fly fishing.

Producer Grant Wiswell talks about his new film "Vela:"

"One of our pre-production goals was to focus on underwater photography. The majority of our subsurface 'take shots' were obtained with a pole-cam setup, whereas our releases were done with the cameraman in the water. Having shot mostly flats and freestone projects, I must admit that at first filming in a place with no bottom was a bit nerve-wracking. In spite of my initial trepidations, I'm sure glad we overcame it and jumped in.

Free swimming with these beautiful pelagic creatures was, in a word, 'Awesome.' I'll never forget witnessing for myself their brilliant lit-up colors as they approached the boat. Equally impressive was their sterile underwater world. For lack of a better description, the Guatemala offshore was an azure desert, even a beautiful blue wasteland. Other than the occasional jelly, sea turtle, or a pod of spinner dolphins there was absolutely nothing to be seen. Truth be told I felt small, even insignificant, in the vastness of the open ocean.

Experiences such as these for me are as worthwhile as the fishing. I can't wait to return, and return soon, to the Guatemalan BLUE...

Quick Facts:
Project Name: "Vela" (short for Pez Vela or Sailfish in Spanish)
Location: Pacific Coast of Guatemala with Sailfish Bay Lodge
Length: 3 minutes 10 seconds (Instrumental)
Sponsors: Sailfish Bay Lodge, Simms, Smith Optics, Rio Products, Targus Fly and Feather, Aquatech Underwater Imaging , Cliff Outdoors, Equinox.
Time of Year: April 2010
Production Company: CastawayFilms.com
Producer and Director: Grant M. Wiswell
Duration of Shoot: 6 consecutive days

[Seth]

MJ, is the entire video only 3 minutes or is this just a clip? I watched this on midcurrent and it is an interesting piece. Did you work with Sailfish Bay Lodge on this production?