Q&A With Lewis Porter

What is your job title at Korda, and could you explain what an average day looks like?
“Senior Videographer on paper but I’d class myself as a content creator. I’m fortunate that my role is very varied. One day I could find myself filming someone like Spooner, the next I’m making product content, then creating short-form How-To videos or getting my teeth sunk into a longer-form edit. I’m also squeezing in packing to be away from home for extended periods of time, trying to get my receipts in on time to accounts, general life admin and trying to balance a home life!”

When did you get into photography and videography, and do you have a preference over one?
“I’ve always loved documenting whatever I’m doing, even from a young age, but it was around 2014 that I started to take it more seriously. I enjoy photography more at the time but when you get to watch a film unfold or you open an old hard drive and watch clips back… you just get so much more!”

Who inspires and influences you?
“It all stemmed from Instagram in the early days for me. Many of the accounts I took inspiration from I’ve gone on to work with. Oli Davies is a prime example, as are Carl and Alex. Subsurface when it first appeared on Insta was a massive influence. The same with CARPology. But Dan Whitford was the first friend who really pushed me to progress my work! At Korda I work with incredibly talented people—there isn’t enough of a word count to do them justice! Then you’ve got other creators across the industry and outside of fishing—there really is inspiration and influence everywhere!”

What is the longest filming shoot you’ve been on?
“32 days straight, I think. That was the Underwater shoot that ended up becoming the TEST TAPES, two Thinking Tackle episodes, a Vlog, a Mindset film and more!” 

So how many days were you out of the country in 2022?!
“I’m not sure about out of the country, but away from home, it was over 150 in the end. I won’t lie: I was feeling it by the end of it, but wouldn’t want it any other way!”

Out of all your shoots, which has been your favourite?
“The most memorable are the ones when things tend to go wrong or have been difficult, and they are the ones I look back on most fondly. The Cassien trip with Oli, Steve Briggs and the lovely Joan will always be up there. Oli dropped our van keys somewhere in the lake—which was far from ideal! South Africa for Monster Carp was eventful: the weather, the spiders, safari and sharing it with the team made it! The first Vlog we filmed at Gigantica was my first shoot with Danny. A solo shoot across two lakes with about 20 anglers to cover and it was just insane! Too many to choose between!”

On a big filming trip—say Monster Carp—how much prep goes into it and do you play a part in that?
“There’s an insane amount of prep work, but fortunately, Gary Newman fronts that! At most, I help with organising the camera kit before the trip. Underwater, though, was the first big shoot that I was asked to lead… that was mammoth (well, that’s what it felt like at the time)! I’d massively over-prepared but when you’ve got a 5-week shoot, 16 people (anglers and crew) to help orchestrate, in another country, it was better to be over-prepared.”

What are the hours on a big shot like Monster Carp?
“Monster Carp is the only shoot where there is a day crew and a night crew. As part of the night crew, we are always on the bank though and it’s hard not to get involved. For all the other shoots, you are never off duty. You are up all day filming technical chats, session updates, making sure you get key times of day (sunrise, time passing and sunsets), and then come the evening you are backing up footage. During the night I tend to be running around setting off star lapses and doing battery charging and general kit care (it’s a nightmare in the rain). You are also balancing working so intensely with another person or people; making sure you are giving each other space but also making sure you are covering the session enough. The disaster moments when they lose one or something goes wrong are so awkward to film but often the gold!”

Do you have a favourite angler to work with?
“Spooner—hands down. I am very grateful to have the opportunity to work as closely as I do with him. He is so insanely positive and just a dream to work with. Fairbrass, he’s the postman—i..e. always delivers. Although we don’t work together anymore, Hassan Khan will always be up there. Then you have Blair! An absolute machine and one of the most prepared and driven people I’ve ever met! Pitchers was always fun to work with back in my CARPology days. Often, working so closely with anyone in the environment that we do, you get to really know ‘them’.”

How often do you have a complete disaster and the film is a write-off?
“Very, very rarely, as there’s always a story to be told! It’s up to us to find it and make it. The Cassien trip, for example, was supposed to be an in-session with Steve but we just couldn’t get on the fish. In the end, we adapted and made Nash’s version of ‘30 Years Of Cassien’ that Yeomans crafted into a piece of magic! Then UNDERWATER TEST TAPES was the most recent near disaster!” 

Talking of UNDERWATER TEST TAPES—how tough was that filming trip?!
“Logistically, physically, and mentally—tough! The original plan was to film one at Lac Luna and then film the second at Gigantica, back-to-back, hence why we were scheduled to be there for so long. On the second day on set, Dan started to fish and from there it was just disaster after disaster! Technical errors, water clarity and the rest!”

What was the atmosphere like? It seemed really, really tense with Dan, but Tom managed to lighten the mood quite a bit, did he not?! 
“It was a rollercoaster, to say the least. From a director’s POV, you couldn’t ask for better, but as you can imagine, when things are going wrong, the last thing you need is a camera shoved in your face, let alone Dovey next to you! Sitting in the control tent writing my notes, it was unfolding perfectly! Spooner then joined us and for it all to unfold as it did, it was almost scripted! The time and effort in all the planning and organising had paid off! We had the perfect start to a film! But then the biggest disaster: the fish did the off! 36hrs later we made the call to put the Underwater project on ice and make the Thinking Tackles with Dovey and Spooner. An amazing film with the lads but in the back of your mind you know the fish still aren’t coming in front of the camera!”

Are we right in saying the film almost never made it into an edit and was potentially going to be written off?
“In a way. By the time we finished Thinking Tackle, there had been no carp in front of the camera for nearly five days and even after moving the camera—which involved getting the dive team to drive back out ahead of schedule—there was still no sign of life. Dan made the call to can the underwater filming. The plan was to go back in the spring of 2023 to finish!”

Taking yourself back to the actual shoot, at the end, when you all set off to come home, did you ever envisage how successful the film would go on to be (it’s currently on 500k after 2 month)?
“Driving home I was full of pride. 30 odd days of filming, 4 major films in the bag and at the time, what we thought was going to be the start of an Underwater film. The team had adapted, pivoted, pulled together, and made the best of every situation we were faced with. Even though the plan had been set out to go back, I knew in my heart there was enough of a story to be told and was determined to at least try and piece it together. 

“The rough cut was squeezed between Monster Carp, the vlog, and a host of other projects, but soon enough there was a film to watch. The day the first cut was shown to Fairbrass I was uncertain as to how it would be received. I prepared myself for, “it’s not really what we want to put out” but Dan walked out of the viewing room and said he loved it and with some extra work it could be IT! 

“The incredible Shaun Ladd took it on from there and crafted it into what is now Underwater TEST TAPES. Then came the realisation we were sticking out the next instalment of such a prestigious series! When you’ve got such an act to follow, I was sh*tting it! But upon reflection, the anxiety faded. As content creators, we aren’t entitled to the viewing figure, only the effort and energy we put into our work, and we gave it our all. It was our Underwater—our story, and we loved it. The numbers are nice but not everything.”

If you had to recommend just one film for our readers to watch that you’ve been part of, what would it be and why?
“Life at Nash 4, 10:50… say no more…”

Tough question to end: you’ve worked with the biggest names from all different companies, from Alan Blair at Nash to Danny Fairbrass at Korda, but who’s impressed you the most and why?
“I’ve worked with/for some incredible people in my career who have taught me so much. My dad to start with, CARPology’s editor, Joe, when I first started content creating, Blair whilst at Nash and now working closely with Fairbrass—you can’t help but be shaped by that. Blair’s passion, drive and energy is inspiring, infectious and the perfect example of what hard work and love for what you do can help you achieve in life. His wise words: make it happen! Dan’s love for everything carp fishing is insane! I’ve worked very closely with him over the winter, filming a vlog and my respect continues to grow. His relentless passion for his fishing is why he is so successful but he’s like that in all he does. I’m incredibly grateful—everyone can teach you something!”