Kokkaffe is where those great movies "Only The River Knows" and "A Backyard in Nowhere" come from. Here's a talk with Peter Christensen, the man behind the Conglomerate.
Fd: How did you get started with fly-fishing videos?
PC: I started out as a fly-fishing writer and photographer, but quickly realized that it was cost more money to buy cameras and lenses than I made on selling the articles. Then I thought: fly fishing films! That will make me a fortune, or at least rich enough to be able to ask out girls. It has been 5 years now and I still spend more than I make. It is actually a pretty stupid idea.
Fd: What spots have you fished while making your films? Which one surprised you the most?
PC: I've been very lucky to film in some great countries like the States, Argentina, Greenland, Siberia and New Zealand. I think my biggest surprise was last year when I spent six weeks hiking across interior Siberia to catch taimen, but there turned out to be no taimen there. Lots of grayling and rocks though! New Zealand is a place that keeps surprising me, some days are like fairy tales and when you go exploring rivers, you find places that seem almost too good to be true.
Oh my God! Very bad fly fishing by Peter in New Zealand from Kokkaffe Media on Vimeo.
Fd: What kind of camera system do you use when you go filming outdoors?
PC: Right now I film with the Sony FS700, which is a pretty expensive set-up and the main reason I can't afford to go on dates. I also film a lot with Canon D-SLR cameras.
Fd: How is the pre-production process? Do you think ideas, stories and particular sceneries or do you let stories emerge in each fishing trip?
PC: That depends a lot on the project. It is definitely good to spend as much time as possible on pre-production, but I'm really into online chess, which tends to take up a lot time. Also I think it is often a 50/50 deal, where you go into the field with an idea, and then change it fifteen times before the day is over based on what actually happens in front of the camera. But yeah, I try to think about the story both before and during filming. The film I've made that I'm the most proud of is called Only the River Knows, and the reason I like it is that me and Rolf Nylinder (main character and camera-man) put a lot of work into the story. If a film's duration is only a few minutes, you can get away with just good shots and a nice song, but I think there is a big potential in more narrative-driven fly fishing films, and I think the future of fly fishing films will go in that direction.
Fd: Do you have any personal influences regarding filmmaking?
PC: I think filmmakers look at films a little differently from a normal audience, and try to figure out how shots are done and pick up a few special tricks. I love many kinds of films, from tragic comedies like Life Aquatic to all the cool stuff HBO is doing these days, but it is hard to translate that to our little universe of fly fishing. Making good fly fishing films I think is more about capturing things as they happen, and make sure to film before and after the actual fishing, rather than just the action-packed moments.
Fd: What can you tell us about your film "A Backyard in Nowhere"? Where can we watch the whole movie?
PC: A Backyard in Nowhere was my first real film, that I made back in 2010 with my buddy Mathis Eskjær. Looking back on it, it has some weaknesses, but also a pretty crazy plot and some insane pike on the fly. It was a hairy scary whisky trip, as people can see if they watch the trailer.
Fd: What about Only the River Knows? How was that experience?
PC: Only the River Knows was a lot of fun to film. It is an attempt at telling a story about fly fishers, the fish they chase and the madness that sometimes overtakes the minds of people like us. Rolf Nylinder and I filmed in New Zealand for a couple of months to get the footage. The most challenging sequences were a part of the movie that takes place in the 1980's, where the enigmatic main character and douchebag fly fishing hero Lars Lenth experiences some insane fly fishing and writes it down in a journal. Our work with translating the epic stories of the diary to beautiful images was a wonderful experience. In our trailer you can catch a glimpse of some of the monsters we managed to get on film, but Only the River Knows is about much more than catching big fish.
Fd: What kind of message do you want to give through your films?
PC: If there is any message, I guess it is to take the “sport” a little less seriously than is normal. I just try to mix humor and fun with a few good shots if I can get them.
Fd: Nowadays, most fishermen can film and edit a fishing video; what aspects do you think should be taken into account to make a good one?
PC: I think most of us fly fishing filmmakers struggle with the fundamental question: when to fish, and when to film? But that aside, I think the key to making good fishing videos is to find ways of communicating the excitement, failure and other feelings in a fishing trip. I think most people talk too little in most fly fishing edits. You don't really get to see anything but casting and high fives. But that can be good too. Maybe this one Rolf Nylinder and I made some years ago is a good example:
Peter & Rolf on Aitutaki from Kokkaffe Media on Vimeo.
Fd: What’s next? Any upcoming material?
PC: Yes, there will be an edit out from Northern Norway and Greenland pretty soon. I leave to Bahamas in a couple of weeks to film big bonefish and I've heard there are some fly fishing guides there that are treated like Gods, so I look forward to get some stories out of them. Later this year I'll film in BC, Alaska and Mexico so next winter there will be a lot of material out.
Fd: Finally, what does fly fishing mean to you, and what do you enjoy the most from the whole process of making outdoor productions?
PC: I'm a big nature addict and don't really thrive in the city. Getting out to fish, paddle, ski or film is what makes me happy, so I enjoy all of it. But a newfound passion of mine is to fish alone, leaving cameras and everything at home, and just enjoy making fires, drinking tea and that nobody can laugh at my bad casts. Recently I spent a couple of weeks alone fishing in New Zealand and I think it is the best time I've had fishing since I was 11 and caught carp on bread in the local lake. Which brings me to my standard theory about why I (we?) fly fish, which is that it takes us back to childhood, when the world seemed a lot bigger and a lot more magical. Of course, adult brains are not as good at dreaming, but sometimes I still feel that child-like wonder and the mystical attraction of water and the creatures forged in it. I wouldn't say that I like editing movies as much as I like filming them, but there is a moment after a big project is beginning to shape up and the first attempt at a final cut is ready to see. That is probably the moment in filmmaking I enjoy the most, seeing the first cut with a few friends and beers, and try to decide if it is any good.