Three rules that make this work
Phone footage is fine
Almost all of this is better shot on a phone in the moment than properly a week later. The only thing that genuinely matters is holding it steady and getting close enough.
Get permission first, once
Ask students at the start of the lesson, not at the end. Most say yes happily. The ones who don’t, you film around.
Faces beat action
A big jump is impressive. Someone’s face the first time they ride is what actually sells a lesson. When in doubt, point the camera at the person.
Bank the good light
Golden hour footage is worth filming even with nothing planned for it. It gets used eventually. Nothing else is worth interrupting it for.
Conditions & place
| Shot | When | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Wide beach with the wind up | Any windy day | The anchor shot. Get it once properly and it gets used again and again. |
| The wind filling in | Late morning | Water texture changing across the bay. Time-lapse works. |
| Golden hour riding | Last 45 min of light | The one people stop scrolling for. Worth prioritising over anything else if the light is good. |
| A flat, glassy day | No wind | Sounds pointless, isn't. Proves the account is a real place. |
| Langebaan flat water | On a trip | Needed before camps can be sold. Completely different look to Melkbos. |
Lessons & progression
| Shot | When | Note |
|---|---|---|
| First trainer kite on the beach | Every beginner lesson | Including the crash. Especially the crash. |
| Body dragging | Intermediate lesson | The unglamorous middle. Shows the method is real. |
| First water start | When it happens | Unmissable. Have a phone rolling any time a student is close. |
| First proper ride | When it happens | The payoff shot. Get the face, not just the board. |
| Student to camera, straight after | Same session | Ten seconds while they're still buzzing is worth more than a polished testimonial a week later. |
| First time on foil | Wing lesson | The board leaving the water is the whole sell for wing. |
People
| Shot | When | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Each instructor, 30 sec to camera | Once, any calm day | Name, years riding, what they like teaching. Do all of them in one session. |
| Stuart at the van or in the shop | Once a fortnight | Not performing. Answering a question he'd answer anyway. |
| The regulars, rigging up | Any session | Names on screen. This is what a crew looks like. |
| Team rider session | Ongoing | Their own footage, credited. Agree the tag up front. |
| Group shot at a sundowner | Every event | The single best proof that this is a thing people come to. |
Gear & shop
| Shot | When | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Two kites side by side, wind explained | Any windy day | The most useful gear post there is, and it needs no production. |
| Demo gear out of the van | At an event | Nobody knows the mobile test centre exists. |
| Slow pan of the shop | Once | With Stuart talking over it. Reusable for months. |
| Gear being serviced or repaired | Flat day | Quietly says you look after people after the sale. |
The kit
Nothing here needs buying to start.
- A phone is enough for everything on this list.
- Whatever action camera is already around covers the on-water shots.
- Worth having eventually, not now: something to keep the phone steady in wind, and a way to get a bit closer from the beach.
Being based at Van Riebeeckstrand is what makes this list realistic. It isn’t a shoot anyone has to travel to — it’s a walk down the road on a day that was going to happen anyway.