Scott Linden Outdoors

A sneak preview from behind the camera

Raw footage? Check.

Network deals done? Check.

Sponsors committed? Check, check, and double check. (Though if you’re an advertiser who wants to reach bird hunters and dog owners, feel free to inquire as to remaining sponsorship opportunities on Wingshooting USA.)

So now the real work begins: Writing, planning, laying out the format for the show, for example. Pity the poor editor who must watch every minute of every disk and tape, logging the good stuff for use in each episode. I figure about 10 hours in the office and editing suite for every hour of field work (hunting). No glory there, until you consider that’s where the real education and entertainment takes place. (For a more complete rundown on the show, go here.)

You see, anyone can carry a camera, hold it relatively steady, and probably get a few good shots. But getting more than a few birds in the air, shots taken, and hitting the dirt, literally, to get excellent dog work on tape take more effort. Then, translating it digitally to the small screen so that you’ll watch it becomes the challenge. I’ve just given Tad, my editor, a rundown on what material should make up what episodes. While he’s logging it all in and turning it into bits and bytes, I’m drafting scripts for the “Buddy & Me” segments that were so popular on What the Dogs Taught Me, my last series.

We’re both looking at music options and Tad is working up examples of a graphics package (the colors, design and overall look of identifiers, credits, even the show logo need to be fully defined down to the exact frequency/wavelength of each color).

As things firm up, I’ll try to keep you posted, here.