In support of Jack Perks’ Britain’s Hidden Fishes crowdfunding campaign
Uncovering an underwater world around the British Isles' many rivers, lakes, ponds and sea.
Britain’s fish are often overlooked and under-appreciated and I think it is about time we put them in the spotlight! Jack Perks is a professional wildlife cameraman and photographer. Over the course of his career he has filmed every freshwater fish in the UK and many of the marine species giving him a unique understanding and appreciation for our fishy denizens.
We have many amazing wildlife spectacles on our doorstep all unfolding beneath the waterline and this film aims to showcase hidden, untold stories about British fish. It would be in the format of a 1-hour film with narration. They have an extraordinarily talented crew of editors, composers, consultants and camera operators.
This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create a cinematic-looking film about some of the most incredible creatures we have in the British Isles, everything from tiny sticklebacks to behemoth basking sharks. They are looking to launch the project in February and start filming straight away. Depending how filming goes this may extend into the year after so the film won’t be finished until at least 2022.
“Based in Nottingham, I spent seven years traveling across Britain to film every species of freshwater fish and have developed and refined techniques for filming them, including scuba, snorkelling, camera traps and pole cams. I successfully crowd-funded two films, one on fish called “Beneath the Waterline”, which looked at the people working with fish, and “Wildlife Exposed: Shetland Diaries”. I orchestrated the UK National Fish Vote in which the Brown Trout won, have written two books on fish and contributed to many more. I have also written columns for Angler’s Mail & Fallon’s Angler. I also routinely film for television on many BBC nature documentaries and angling programmes.
Basically I quite like fish.
”
Why fund this project?
This campaign is the only option to create a short film about fish as most see them as brown, slimy, boring things. However they are so much more than that, with the ruby reds and kingfisher blues on a grayling’s dorsal fin or the deadly patience of pike waiting for an unsuspecting shoal of rudd to pass by. This is a chance to put modern filming techniques Into practice. We’ll be using high definition underwater cameras, drones for a birds-eye view and beautiful, scenic cinematography. It’s an all or nothing project as Jack wants to make it right so if he doesn’t hit the target, it simply won’t happen. If he reaches and exceeds the target it will open more doors such as extra time filming, more equipment and other narratives we can follow.
The Team
This isn’t a solo project and there is a team behind Jack helping the production, from composers making original music (www.tomwanless.com) to editors, camera operators, consultants and Jeremy Wade who has agreed to narrate the film.
It will also involve many members of the public and people working with fish as they are on the hunt for different stories and ideas. They are hoping to film and document things rarely seen by the great British public to interest them in something they didn’t realise was on their very doorstep, perhaps in the local canal or village pond.
What can you do to help?
All funds for the campaign are greatly appreciated and you can also support by sharing the project.
Indiegogo has share tools at the top of the page, and they also have our Twitter and Facebook pages. You contribute to the project via Indiegogo which transfers funds via PayPal only if the project Is successful.
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/UkMiniFishStudy/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/RiverFishUk
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/britainshiddenfishes/
Whats the end result?
It’s a non-profit film and the idea is to showcase fish in a film everyone can see so it will be made available online. It’s all or nothing so if they don’t reach the £30,000.00 target the film won’t get made. It sounds like a lot of money but it's a tiny budget for a wildlife documentary.
Jack’s Contact Details:/// jackperksphotography@hotmail.co.uk /// 07722536029
As an Alliance of five organisations, we will build on the existing work of our partners and maximise our impact by taking a coordinated approach and vital action in order to halt and reverse the decline of wild Atlantic salmon.
The goal of the Missing Salmon Alliance is to build an evidence-base to influence national and international decision-makers to regulate activities that adversely impact wild Atlantic salmon.
The Missing Salmon Alliance
The MSA is comprised of the following members:
Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust, Atlantic Salmon Trust, the Angling Trust with Fish Legal, The Rivers Trust and Fisheries Management Scotland.
https://www.missingsalmonalliance.org