ENTER THE DONKEY was released in 2006, bringing in the dawn of a new age in kayak films. This mention of a new era is not motivated by the idea that the quality or content of the film was necessarily paramount, but more so because of the sudden and swift rise of a little thing called YouTube. It used to be that kayak films held unique and treasured content, unavailable anywhere else except the sacred DVD or VHS, but YouTube crushed that dream. Now that so much incredible footage is available online for free, DVD producers have a gigantic challenge in making content that is both quality and unique. If a film is to successfully sell in the current technological and economical climate it must either possess an extremely focused body of content that may not be viewed elsewhere, or it must have substantial advertising power behind it. Neither of the latter are easily attained, which leaves the majority of DVD sales to the chance of a phenomenon in regards to popularity and consumer demand, or a long-studied, focused demographic, in which case we are back to square one wherein we must have substantial time and/or money to plan the production of a great film.
No matter what the motive is for making a kayak film, or any film for that matter, in my opinion it’s only worthwhile if you enjoy it. I feel as if Joey, Chris and I shared our enjoyment of kayaking through this film, if nothing else.
In the spirit of the above mentioned, and the fact that we are almost sold out of the DVDs, I present the YouTube debut of ENTER THE DONKEY. I’ll let Heehaw Jones do the rest of the talking. – Spencer Cooke, Effort Inc.
If you are so compelled you may still buy ENTER THE DONKEY on DVD while supplies last.
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