Progression : Kiting Films 2001-4

Robert Evans of Treborsnave Productions (that's Robert Evans spelt backwards if you haven't yet worked it out) has been filming power kiting since 2001 and has finally brought together all his videos into one commercially available DVD, "Progression : Kiting Films 2001-4".

The DVD describes itself as "...a journey that covers 3 summers of adrenaline, fun and excitement..." and a handful of images give you an idea of what to expect. Lasting 34 minutes the DVD contains 8 short kiting films each linked together by a neat menu.

To start with I did have a problem trying to play the DVD on my three year old domestic DVD player, for some reason it just wouldn't play. Later I emailed Rob and he replied "I've had problems on some players - the whole dvd-r thing has been a minefield, and although the media was apparently the best they could get their hands on it doesnt seem to be the most compatible

on a video front. I have used another DVD media type ( benq ) and it seems almost 100% - shame as it reduces my confidenece in the product, but i have been totally upfront with anyone who's bought it, if they do get problems, i'll ship out another copy on benq media, if that fails they can have a full refund." I put it into the DVD drive on my computer which picked it up no problem.

After a short intro the DVD moves into the main menu which has three sections: Middle Wallop, Rider/kite focus & Daze series.

Middle Wallop

August 2003 (6 mins) - For me this video has to be Rob's defining moment. I remember seeing this when it was first released on the Internet & I was blown away by it. To put it in perspective Middle Wallop August 2003 was the weekend when the temperatures in the UK reached the highest ever recorded at 38 degrees Centigrade. Doing anything, let alone filming, was hard work due to the heat. I know because I was at the other side of the field filming for Flying Techniques. There are some superb boarding & buggying action moments and it's great to see so many familar faces. There is a backing music track but unfortunately it isn't the original trailer music (music copyright?) which I can still remember from the opening scene as the fluttering banners start to slow down...

May 2004 (7 mins) - A brilliant opening. Lots of action shots (including cuts between two cameras), a few sound bites from people and some particularly nice shots of a couple of banners. This is a very creatively edited video and there are outtakes at the end - we like outtakes :-)

Rider/kite focus

Frenzy 04 (1:40 mins) - What I imagine was originally used as a promotional video for the Frenzy '03 9.5 and '04 9.5, with Jon on landboard using a bar to demonstrate his skills.

Rasga@Crabtree (4:10 mins) - Neil aka Rasga giving it some on a landboard on a fairly windy day with a 15m Peter Lynn Phantom. There's some unusually placed shots thanks to a bullet cam on the kite. If you are into landboarding then this is an opportunity to see how it's done and sometimes how it's not done ;-)

Daze series

Daze (2:52 mins) - Unfortunately this just wouldn't play at all on my computer & locked up my DVD software until I ejected the disc.

Daze2 (1:44 mins) - Mainly buggy action including a few tumbles. Some of the highly zoomed camera shots are too shaky for my liking and unfortunately the video stuttered all the way through & crashed the DVD software a few times. Despite the skills of the pilots this is probably my least favourite video. Looks like the action was filmed at the Uxbridge showground with the A40 in the background.

Daze3 (4:10 mins) - An artistic introduction gives an idea of the wind speed but again this video suffered with stuttering at the start. It is a mixture of shots of kites, buggys and landboarding. There are some totally original shots with the bullet cam mounted on the helmet of someone who's landboarding & then buggying. Also included are a few soundbites from known faces explaining what it is that they get out of powerkiting.

Daze4 (6:40 mins) - This gets us back to raw action again. I like this one. A superb soundtrack, creative editing & unique camera positions and angles. We even get to see landboarding from the perspective of people's feet and also UNDER the board! The action is shot on a beach and also on grass.

Progression : Kiting Films 2001-4 has a running time of 34 minutes, it is UK PAL, 4:3 aspect ratio & DVD-R. The soundtrack is by Concept7 and a short preview trailer is available here.

If you want to know more about pricing and ordering see Rob's homepage at http://www.treborsnave.com.

A lot of work has gone into this DVD and it shows. The only problem with watching a DVD like this in winter is that it makes you wish it was summer again so that you could get out and fly in warm weather and loooong days...

What next for Rob & Treborsnave Productions?

Hopefully the Middle Wallop festival will be on again this year and Rob & Louise will be able to organise another evening's Film Festival and repeat the success of last year.

In the meantime however Rob has already decided to go ahead with the next DVD release, "Evolution : Kiting Films" which is expected to be "properly glass mastered to DVD5" and is planned for an April 2005 release. Runtime may be over an hour so there is lots of work to do. A trailer is already available to download here showing excerpts of The Camber sessions, Tales from the X-Zone & Kite Hebrides.

For further information go to http://www.treborsnave.com.