As we began the Fox River Kayaking project we knew a few videos would be needed to spread the word. This is the story behind our first video, which introduced Fox River Kayaking Company.
The idea to shoot our first video came in response to an entrepreneurial small business competition held annually by FedEx! The only problem was that we needed to submit this video in early March, meaning a video shoot had to take place in February. Every Wisconsinite on the planet knows our summers our beautiful, but our winters are nothing to mess around with!
Side note: Check out the FedEx Small Business Grant Contest. If you are working in a small business you should definitely enter for an opportunity to win a grant to support expanding or improving your gig! We received over 9,000 votes, but sadly did not win – we will be trying again next year! We also recommend searching for other local grants in your area as there are usually opportunities provided by local organizations!
Back to the story…
If you remember, there was a miraculous 2 or 3 day heat wave in February, which gave us an amazing opportunity! We didn’t think twice, running to get the necessary gear together to shoot the video and win the grand prize [plus a little paddle down the river to remind us that, yes, a summer would soon arrive]!
We dipped in at Appleton’s Lutz Park with no set script organized for the shoot. We were just excited to go kayaking again after months of snow shoeing, snowboarding, and other activities that start with SNOW!
With two people in the water and two on land we kept it simple and stated what we do – we offer guided kayaking & SUP excursions, gear rentals, and stand up paddle board yoga. Keeping it short and sweet! Even the simplest thing sometimes isn’t easy – it took more than a few takes to get a decent take.
Once we got all the video footage needed we wrapped up and headed to the library! We love our local libraries and we work post production in their technical labs. For all you aspiring videographers we highly recommend checking out your local library to use their free software and equipment! After a few hours of editing, the video was complete and ready to be shared with the world!
We have a great time making videos, and we got lucky with the timing of the heat wave for our first one!
Check out the introduction video here.
We’ve made several other videos since then, including one in which we interviewed locals about kayaking on the Fox River and one in which we discussed kayak fishing. Interested in watching more? Subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the action!
There are more exciting Fox River Kayaking Co. videos currently in the making! Stay tuned!