Benchrest Documentary?

[Riflman]

I'm a shooter and a filmmaker, and recently did a bio-documentary about Mike Bryant called The Precision Riflesmith.

I'd like to do more shooting sports related documentaries to help educate the masses about what we do, get some of the stories from the founders before we lose them, and hopefully stimulate some interest in the shooting sports. The issue is, I have to be able to monetize it and pay the bills. Does anyone have any stats about the total number of BR shooters out there? I'm trying to gauge the market for people that might watch a 30 minute Benchrest documentary on Amazon, or might be willing to pay a few dollars to watch it on VOD. Streaming services like amazon pay $0.25 cents per view, and VOD only nets about 50%, so unless the market is large enough, I would have to do some kind of fundraiser to get this off the ground.

If anyone out there has stats on numbers of shooters in North America, and also internationally, please PM me. I'd also love to hear ideas on who I should interview if I was to do this.

Thanks.

 

[riflewoman]

You’ll find a lot more Bench shooters over here. https://benchrest.com/

I would also suggest that you look at the F-class guys, the PRS guys and the regular old Highpower guys. Some are here, some are on target talk.

You could also look at these guys. Bullseye Pistol could use a boost as much of the activity seems to be in the “action” pistol games. https://www.bullseyeforum.net/

 

[Riflman]

You’ll find a lot more Bench shooters over here. https://benchrest.com/

I would also suggest that you look at the F-class guys, the PRS guys and the regular old Highpower guys. Some are here, some are on target talk.

You could also look at these guys. Bullseye Pistol could use a boost as much of the activity seems to be in the “action” pistol games. https://www.bullseyeforum.net/

That's my concern regarding the non-action sports. As an artist, I'd like to cover them all. Unfortunately, I have bills to pay.

 

[sdean]

That's my concern regarding the non-action sports. As an artist, I'd like to cover them all. Unfortunately, I have bills to pay.

Fclass nationals in Raton, NM next month. Most of the top shooters in one place.

 

[Raythemanroe]

Have you thought about contacting the Pursuit channel or Outdoor channel to pitch a series on the competitive shooters across the board?

Ray

 

[Matthew Schwartzkopf]

You should come out to the NBRSA Group Nationals in Phoenix in October. Alot of the greats will be there including Walt Berger, Lou Murdica, Gary Ocock, Tony Boyer, Lester Bruno, and many more. Contact me for details.

There zre numerous shooting legends who's life stories could be a major blockbusters. Like Mid Tompkins and family just to start

 

[Raythemanroe]

Build it and they will come.

Ray

 

[Riflman]

Have you thought about contacting the Pursuit channel or Outdoor channel to pitch a series on the competitive shooters across the board?

Ray

Those networks are pay to play. You buy airtime and front the costs of production, then have to secure sponsors to cover the cost of production including crew time, travel expenses, post production, etc. Minimum $300k up to $500k easy. It's getting harder and harder to get sponsors since all the shows compete for the same people, and the network also trues to sell commercial space around your show. And sponsors will expect you to pimp the crap out of their products, which takes all of the entertainment value out of the show, and shackles the artist. It's much cheaper to shoot a doc. I did a bowhunting show in 2017 for Wild TV, but it's much cheaper for airimte in a local market. Getting distribution for a show on a more traditional network, where they essentially finance production and buy the show for a profit, is much harder to do. Not impossible, but much harder. It has to appeal to a very wide audience, have great characters, and typically an established audience.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

If you want a bigger audience you need to include other sports in it. A straight benchrest documentary wont get much play im afraid. 75% of the shooters you’d document wouldnt even know how to watch it

 

[Riflman]

You should come out to the NBRSA Group Nationals in Phoenix in October. Alot of the greats will be there including Walt Berger, Lou Murdica, Gary Ocock, Tony Boyer, Lester Bruno, and many more. Contact me for details.

There zre numerous shooting legends who's life stories could be a major blockbusters. Like Mid Tompkins and family just to start

I might come to shoot that as my first registered BR match. I've shot F-Class in the early 90's and IPSC in the early 2000's for a few years, but just shot my first fun match a few weeks ago. I'd be using a borrowed gun if I go. We'll see if I can afford the time/money to go. If I go to shoot in the comp, I won't have time to film though, and it would be challenging trying to interview the guys when they are busy at the match as well. I'd want to do interviews in a quiet room with some privacy, controlled lighting and sound. Not really interested in putting some crappy home movie together. Action shots and b-roll would be okay, but the interviews are a different animal.

Either way, filming is the easy part, post production is what takes most of the time and money.

On another note I met Walt Berger at one of the old Varmint Hunters Jamborees in SD around 1993. And I met Lou Murdica at my first fun match a few ago in Santa Clarita. I know that Tony recently lost his wife. Would be very cool to get some stories out of them and possibly some old pics and clips to use.

 

[CT10ring]

Those networks are pay to play. You buy airtime and front the costs of production, then have to secure sponsors to cover the cost of production including crew time, travel expenses, post production, etc. Minimum $300k up to $500k easy. It's getting harder and harder to get sponsors since all the shows compete for the same people, and the network also trues to sell commercial space around your show. And sponsors will expect you to pimp the crap out of their products, which takes all of the entertainment value out of the show, and shackles the artist. It's much cheaper to shoot a doc. I did a bowhunting show in 2017 for Wild TV, but it's much cheaper for airimte in a local market. Getting distribution for a show on a more traditional network, where they essentially finance production and buy the show for a profit, is much harder to do. Not impossible, but much harder. It has to appeal to a very wide audience, have great characters, and typically an established audience.

Perhaps you could set up a simple Corp., issue shares & raise funds w/ the expectation that the outcome would likely be a net loss per investor; perhaps well heeled individuals here & others might support the shooting related effort, for a tax shelter/loss, offset capital gains etc. I have a friend who self-financed an off-Broadway show, had couple investors (supported for the passive loss), ended up a loss for his Co., but tax-wise was useful...a labor of love for him, a singer/songwriter looking to branch out. His effort employed many people, provided great entertainment, show ran for months, and a great new work was created.

 

[Riflman]

If you want a bigger audience you need to include other sports in it. A straight benchrest documentary wont get much play im afraid. 75% of the shooters you’d document wouldnt even know how to watch it

I har ya. But other general shooters might be interested if you make the focus more about the pursuit of accuracy or something, then go back and cover the history of BR, get some guys talking about the addiction of chasing groups, show some of the gear and techniques, maybe cover how it spawned other accuracy-related sports (along with some brief coverage of them) then go over some of the challenges facing survival of the sport (to create some jeopardy) and end with some inspirational young guys talking about it to try and get people interested in try it out. As long as there is a logical story, and it's framed from an accuracy addiction perspective, I think more people will watch it.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

I har ya. But other general shooters might be interested if you make the focus more about the pursuit of accuracy or something, then go back and cover the history of BR, get some guys talking about the addiction of chasing groups, show some of the gear and techniques, maybe cover how it spawned other accuracy-related sports (along with some brief coverage of them) then go over some of the challenges facing survival of the sport (to create some jeopardy) and end with some inspirational young guys talking about it to try and get people interested in try it out. As long as there is a logical story, and it's framed from an accuracy addiction perspective, I think more people will watch it.

Im a br shooter so i for sure get it. We cant get new shooters interested with the ease and instant gratification of prs or 3 gun style shooting and the low cost to enter that as opposed to dumping $10k into br shooting and having marginal to good equipment and still finish at the bottom. That plus the limited rounds fired seems to turn them away. No telling how many ive introduced to br shooting and see them never make another match once seeing how it works but go buy a box of ammo and be competitive at one of the other disciplines. Couple all that with the old age of the majority of shooters and the distance traveled to matches its hard to recruit.

 

[Raythemanroe]

Im a br shooter so i for sure get it. We cant get new shooters interested with the ease and instant gratification of prs or 3 gun style shooting and the low cost to enter that as opposed to dumping $10k into br shooting and having marginal to good equipment and still finish at the bottom. That plus the limited rounds fired seems to turn them away. No telling how many ive introduced to br shooting and see them never make another match once seeing how it works but go buy a box of ammo and be competitive at one of the other disciplines. Couple all that with the old age of the majority of shooters and the distance traveled to matches its hard to recruit.

Maybe you shouldn't help with the documentary

Ray

 

[Riflman]

Maybe you shouldn't help with the documentary

Ray

Lol Ray!

 

[JMayo]

Dan Killough at Killoughs shooting sports. Owner ARA, 22 benchrest & Eley ammo sponsor might be interested in something like this.
Might get Eley as a sponsor.

 

[riflewoman]

That's my concern regarding the non-action sports. As an artist, I'd like to cover them all. Unfortunately, I have bills to pay.

Rather than make it solely about the shooting, make it about the shooters. I know a father daughter team who are tearing up a storm on the east coast. He’s a Navy Vet and she’s 10. She has just got her Sharpshooter card and went to the CMP nationals. The NJ State Assn has a good Junior Pistol Team. Some shoot 22 only others shoot 45s for the CF and 45 events. There’s a family who has a teenager taking up international smallbore. They don’t have a ton of money but they’re making it work. We have helped this family out some so the kid can peruse his dream.

The stories are out there and the people make it interesting for the general audience. That’s what sells.

 

[Ned Ludd]

Here are some possible topics around which you could potentially put together stories that would have a very high interest level:

https://www.nrafamily.org/articles/2019/7/31/rising-shooting-star-abigail-victoria/

https://www.nrafamily.org/articles/2019/8/7/profile-x-it-strategy-all-women-f-class-shooting-team/

http://forum.accurateshooter.com/th...durant-jenn-b-on-new-national-record.3942290/

 

[Boyd L.]

I can't understand why all shooters wouldn't be interested in a project like this. I'm primarily a small bore silhouette shooter, yet I read threads on all types of BR, 3-P/XC, F-Class, PRS, biathlon, and all the handgun barricade-shoot with your weak hand stuff. I also watch everything about any shooting related activities. Just like I'm not really interested in actually spending the money for a sheep hunt, but I'll watch footage of it all day.
I think shooters as a collective group will watch. I'm sure there are those so focused on their chosen discipline that they won't be able to being themselves to watch something else, but I can't believe that there's not a larger element who will understand and appreciate the long term impact of such a documentary (and supporting it) to all of our disciplines.
I don't know shinola about making or financing films but I'll watch it.

 

[Centuriator]

That was really fun to watch, you definitely left me wanting more! My only suggestion would be to take the volume down a bit on the background music.

The video is great for helping people understand what the difference is between a "factory rifle" and a custom-made rifle. A picture paints a thousand words.