Bear Luke Outfitters and 3DMI Team up for a 3D Pheasant Hunt

On February 27 Bear Luke Outfitters and 3DMI out of South Jordan, Utah teamed up to film a Pheasant Hunt in 3D.  This is one of the first hunting events filmed in 3D at professional grade and the footage will be used for both stock and promotional purposes.  The 3D film industry is growing rapidly and 3D hunts are the next logical progression for the industry. The overall project was a joint effort with Bear Luke Outfitters, 3DMI, Browning Firearms, and Basin Family Pharmacy to offer a different and unique experience to the 3D world.  The most common 3D stock footage is usually aerial shots of city scape or mountain and beach scenes.  With this particular type of shoot the viewer now gets a first hand look at what a pheasant hunt looks and feels like up close and personal.

The shoot took place at the Pleasant Valley Hunting Preserve outside of Myton, Utah.  Peter Fuszuard the owner and founder of 3DMI called it "one of the most difficult shoots he's ever done, but one of the most gratifying".  Peter manned the camera and three hunters Ryan Luke, Brandon Luke and Cory Christensen who also had one dog and the guide George Dean  were the participants in the hunt.  The guides brought three Springer Spaniel dogs and the terrain was "rugged and perfect" according to Peter.  He also commented on how well the dogs worked for filming and how amazing it will be to to get the depth with the dogs that 3D offers.

The hunt lasted close to five hours with 15 birds being taken.  The hunt was threatened by a potential storm that was foretasted to hit which would have made the filming in 3D difficult due to snow flakes appearing directly in front of the camera and having scenery in the distance.  The hunt was treated to blue skies and great weather which all contributed to a very successful hunt.  The most important part of 3D is offering depth, the shoot allowed for birds to be seen flying away and the hunters to be in the foreground.  Overall the idea is to show viewers how the hunt happens but have it be incredibly realistic. Peter thinks that there will be enough footage to put together a spectacular short clip to show to vendors, potential investors, and other outdoor companies who may be looking to film other hunts in 3D.

3DMI focuses on 3D filming and is quickly becoming one of the leading 3D stock footage libraries.  Peter Fuszard has 20 years in the film industry and recently relocated from California to grow his company in Utah while being surrounded by the incredible scenery that Utah has to offer.  Bear Luke Outfitters out of Salt Lake City, Utah is a Outdoors Marketing company that focuses on the outdoors and hunting.  Bear Luke Outfitters organized the hunt and brought in the sponsorships for the hunt.  Browning Firearms out of Morgan, Utah provided the guns and apparel for the hunt and Basin Family Pharmacy in Roosevelt, Utah provided the birds.  This joint effort shows the optimism and growth of the 3D market and overall film market for Utah.

3DMI and Bear Luke Outfitters are hoping to take advantage of the outdoors around Roosevelt to film other outdoor activities in 3D.  Peter commented that Roosevelt is an "untapped market" for outdoor sports and filming.  Peter was impressed by the natural habitat and the very different landscape the Uintah Basin offers.  Many film makers and commercial producers are searching for something unique in terms of scenery and background.  "They are looking for something different, Moab, Canyonlands, the Wasatch Mountains have been numerous times but this, this is truly unique and could offer some great shots" Peter Said.  As the industry grows in Utah, the Uintah Basin is sure to garner some attention for its raw and rugged landscape.

A different outdoors brand: Ruffwear

I am admittedly bias to this type of product.  I have a dog that I absolutely love and she is my adventure buddy.  Through all of our adventures I came to the conclusion that she needed some equipment too.  I started doing some research on what was the best brand for dogs and Ruffwear took the cake.  Ruffwear is a company that focuses completely on products for dogs.  It's an interesting game plan they have put together, lets take a look at it deeper.

Whether they like it or not, outdoors people love their dogs (I think they would all admit it).  They are also the owner of dogs that like them love the outdoors.  Sure there are breeds that are not "sport" dogs such as Danes, Mastifs, Chiuahuas, Greyhounds and Whipits.  The dogs you do see with their owners actively participating in the outdoors are Labs, Retrievers, Collies, Australian Shepards, Spaniels, Short Hairs, Weims and others.  Interestingly enough these dogs were all bred with one idea in mind.  They were dogs that had a purpose.  Hunting and herding, these dogs were high energy and "tough".  Consequently for someone who likes the outdoors these "tough" dogs are the weapon of choice and can run a lot, stand up to a lot and in the end love getting dirty.

Ruffwear has capitalized on the market that outdoor people are going to be outdoors with their dogs.  Their products range from durable frisbees to Vibram soled booties for your dog.  We own a life jacket for our little girl that allows us to take her boating and swimming in back country lakes and we don't have to worry about her getting pooped and drowning.  Ruffwear has done a great job with making quality and useful products.  It all begins with utility and they haven't missed much at all.  The company has also put a premium on their branding and established the name Ruffwear as the leader in products for active dogs.  Their branding is a fun yet sleek brand with bright colors and a Mountain Hardware meets Nickelodeon feel to it.  The products have been so well thought out that many other knock off brands are copying them in both look and feel. 

Even hunters have bought into the utility of the products and it's  not rare to see a short hair in a corn field hunting pheasants with some Ruffwear booties on.  While the initial focus wasn't to the hunting community it just made sense that hunters use the products because their dogs are usually the hardest working dogs bar none.  In a single day hunting pheasants a dog can run up to 20+ miles.  That's a lot of wear and tear on paw and the body.  A collapsable watering dish in the middle of the day makes sense too.  All in all the brand has done a good job integrating utility with a distinguished look and quality manufacturing.

Much like the other outdoor brands Ruffwear doesn't really need to advertise, the truth is that there is much more of pull marketing scheme than a push.  People are demanding the product and Ruffwear is filling the void.  As an overall presentation on the website it leaves a lot out and doesn't create an overall experience that makes you want to purchase the products for your dog.  It's not content rich but does show some good images.  In today's market the website is your brand and how you present it along with the overall experience is unquestionably one of the biggest drivers.  The presentation also works with CRM and retention.  By adding more to website preferably in scientific studies or even just opinion based studies the company could get even a larger following.

 
In the end I think the brand will continue to grow and with more feedback on the experience and a great product they probably won't see too much of a decline in sales.  I know when I visit the site, I want more and I want to be excited to buy the product.  Fortunately for me I have some products, a pack and life jacket and I know the quality and utility.  I'll buy the product but not because of the marketing.  The brand is good, but the marketing could be better.  I do like it and think it will be okay in the future.

Update: 1/26/11  I spent a bunch of time at the Ruffwear booth.  The folks there in Bend Oregon are doing a pretty good job.  The booth was pretty good and was true to the brand, the products themselves are very niched (obviously, they are for dogs).  We had a chance to talk to a couple of the guys there.  Greg F. was really helpful and we even got to put some booties on our dog Layla.  (See video).  I enjoyed the atmosphere.  Take a look.