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| fish ’n’ tip 0374 folks i’ve worked with-the enigma with rob paxevanos |
Dated: 1 May, 2007
Rob’s weekly FISH’N’TIP written for the week of Wednesday 25/4/07
 | The Enigma on location in the Rowley Shoals.
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In my job I have worked with some pretty interesting people including sporting stars, folk heroes, actors and TV personalities, but in this weeks column I’ll be looking at one of the many unsung heros who actually works with me all the time but rarely gets seen-my current producer Ted Van Beukering.
Ted is well known in the Television industry; he started work as a Camera Man back in the 70’s. This is where he learned the ropes and his ‘old school style’ is still with him to this day.
Ted proclaimed himself to be “the Enigma” on our first big trip to the Kimberley where he outdrank and out fished all and sundry. To many who have got to know him this name is very appropriate.
Personally I liken Ted to the ‘John Wayne’ of the crew I get to work with. He’s a real stand up and deliver style bloke which makes him really stand out in todays industry where arty types are more the norm. A few recollections of my adventures with Ted later in this column will no doubt illustrate exactly what I mean.
When I first started working with Ted he was a Camera Man with a reputation as being one of WIN Televisions finest “lensmen”. He had one of those huge old Beta Cams that weighed a Tonne and was about the size of a suit case. You could tell he knew that Camera inside out-it was a part of him.
The first few shoots were a real learning curve for Ted and I. Here I was trying my best to produce a few fish for his Camera, but I must admit I was finding it hard to have Ted, a producer, a sound man and me all crammed into my 12 foot tinny.
On top of this when a fish was hooked I couldn’t just reel it in as normal, the sun had to be in the right spot, the fish had to be between me and the Camera, I couldn’t face towards the fish. It was all very complex (and probably very comical to any onlookers.).
I was brand new to the game and thought by some magic of TV I could just catch fish and Teds Camera would be able to get the shots regardless-wrong! Ted would ask me to point the boat in one direction, and the wind would blow it another. The fish would swim the wrong way and then the lighting would change. It was quite hectic to say the least.
Ted would at times would have to be quite abrupt with what he needed me to do and it was only after a few years that I realized why-It is so much harder to edit a show when the original shots are not spot on.
So it was a little of a bit of a rocky road at first, especially considering our miniscule budget, but we still mostly had huge amounts of fun and when we both did what we knew best the shows eventually came out in the wash quite well.
Most importantly along the way we have become great mates and know exactly how to help each other when the going gets tough.
Back to the main storyline though, which is all about Teds Character, and one particular story always makes me laugh. Very early in the piece Ted and I covered some fly fishing stories together. I was excited to see eight pound trout be caught on a tiny size 12 hook, but I could see that Ted was not so impressed.
I can clearly remember him finally saying “What’s with this piddly little 8 pounder you’re getting excited about? Where I come from you hang a cows head over the side on a big hook and a rope, sit back, smoke and drink bourbon and wait for the boat to move!”
Ted did take a liking to popper fishing for GT’s though. He liked the way they could be hooked right at the boat and then rip off line and snag you on the bottom in 30 meters of water! He found great amusement to see my popper lures bent twisted, crushed cracked and otherwise destroyed.
He has also managed to stay up later and out drink many of the like minded rich or famous party goers we have travelled with. The rest of my team attribute this amazing skill too his Dutch heritage, that and a lot of training on the road.
Despite his love of late nights he is still there ready to go each morning, even on the cold 4am starts, and he still gets the goods. He holds the record for jump shots-he shot a Striped Marlin doing 21 jumps in a row from a seven meter Whittley that was being dwarfed by the huge seas that had developed. We still don’t know how he did it.
He is also known for getting shots that look like they were taken with a tripod yet they were taken straight off Ted shoulder. This amazes many in the industry.
But I don’t want to leave Ted with too bigger a head, it would drive the rest of the crew nuts on the next trip. So for the record he has been reassigned to being producer over the last year or so. He is really missing using his big camera, so you can stir him about this if you ever get to meet him.
Ted has also showed signs of getting soft, and on one recent shoot he even showed signs of compassion when I was sea sick. Unfortunately for me and as Ted was well aware this was far worse than when he used to bag me so I’d get angry and snap out of it.
I could hardly describe this guy with words let alone just one column. The more I think about it the more I realise he certainly is an Enigma.
See you on the water.
Rob Paxevanos
"Rob's column brought to you by the new Nissan Pathfinder Diesel: the fuel economy of a small car, the most powerful in its class and 7 adaptable seats"
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| Rob Paxevanos
Fishnet Pro Angler
Report brought to you by fishingaustralia.tv
Email : robpax@netspeed.com.au
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