2020 F3T Behind the Lens: TIME

For this installment of Behind the Lens, we sat down with Flylords founder Jared Zissu to discuss his new fly fishing film, Time. The film is told from the perspective of fly fishing legend, Flip Pallot and pays homage to the infamous Lefty Kreh and the life he lived.

Flylords: One of our favorite things about the film was that it mixes fly fishing in with some real life lessons. Was this something you planned before the film, or did it just fall into place throughout the shooting process?

Jared: I think more and more as we evolve and improve as filmmakers in general, we’re searching for stories that are more impactful than just fish porn. And we love fish porn, and there’s definitely a time and place for that. For this project in general, we had the honor of working with some of our absolute idols, like Flip Pallot, in honor of Lefty Kreh, So obviously there needed to be some deeper meaning involved with the stories and characters.

Flylords: Where was the film shot, and what camera gear was used in the process?

Jared: We shot the film in Mims, Florida. It’s Flip Pallot’s hometown, and there are a few rivers there. We shot for three days down at the Indian River. All the interviews were taking place at Flip’s house, which is an incredible place. Beautiful to work in. We shot everything on a RED camera, and all of the drone footage was shot on a DJI Mavic 2. We also decided to rent these cinematic anamorphic lenses. We kind of splurged on them for this project because our cinematographer thought that they would really amplify the shots we were trying to get.

Flylords: We really liked the opening quote at the beginning of the film. What inspired you to use that quote and what does the quote specifically mean to you?

Jared:  There were definitely a few edits, and what was interesting about this piece was that there were so many different people involved from the Fly Fishing Museum and all of their members, to all of our team, and to the Fly Fishing Film Tour. So, there were a lot of voices, especially on those first few laps. We were trying to find a way to introduce the film and that whole quote actually came from our editor, Ben, while he was just messing around. He wrote that quote up himself, and I don’t think he ever expected us to really like it and actually stick it in the film. I think once again, it takes your normal fly fishing film and puts something a little more unique on it when you start with that quote.

Flylords: What inspired you to use Flip Pallot as the main narrator of the story?

Jared: This is an easy one. The guy has got the most cinematic voice in all and beyond fly fishing. That was a no brainer. He was also just so poignant in our interview. Every time he spoke, the room just slowly drew quieter and everyone really wanted to focus on what he was saying.

Flylords: What were some struggles you faced during the filming process?

Jared: I think the first struggle that we encountered was probably trying to get fish in the boat. We had all the talent, we had all the gear, we had the team, we had the story, and getting fish in the boat to pull everything together was definitely a challenge. We got super lucky and out of nowhere got that really nice Bass. That really helped pull the story together because it draws in the audience with a special catch like that. So that was awesome. Another struggle was post editing. Like I said, there were a lot of people involved with lots of opinions, so just having to make decisions and trying to please everybody was tough.

Flylords: What was the overall message you wanted to get across with the film?

Jared: In our very preliminary conversations with Flip, we talked to him and one of the things he said to us was while we were on speakerphone in our production studio really stuck. He said all he had is time, that’s all he has. I remember us all listening to this legendary guy on speakerphone and we were all  26, 27, 28 year-olds, and that was such an impactful quote for us to hear. We’re at the age where time is moving so fast, exactly what Flip said in the video. Time is moving so fast and it’s easy to get carried away with all the little bullshit in life. Hearing that made us think, how can we tell this story about time through fly fishing and then incorporate Lefty who he passed away in 2018, and is the most influential person probably ever in the sport of fly fishing.

Flylords: How did you come up with the idea for the film?

Jared:  We got approached by The American Museum of Fly Fishing, and they asked if we wanted to do a film to engage a younger audience into the sport, and have the film featured in the Fly Fishing Film Tour. They thought that we did a nice job connecting with the younger generation and once that offer was put on the table, we put our heads together and said, who’s the best person in the sport that can connect the museum and history with the younger generation? Flip Pallot definitely came to mind as someone to work with on a project like this.

Flylords: For the younger generation who aren’t as familiar with Flip Pallot or Lefty Kreh, how would you explain to them their role and impact on the sport of fly fishing?

Jared: That’s a good question. There are definitely people who can answer that better than me, but from my perspective, they really embody the whole history of fly fishing. Lefty Kreh Traveled all around the world, teaching so many people about the sport and how to get into the sport. They really were pioneers, and without their influence I don’t know if fly fishing would be the same today.

The interview was done by Flylords Content Intern Owen Rossi, check him out on Instagram at @nativerelease.

Be sure to follow along with @teamflylords, for the behind the scenes look at @flylords adventures.

Also, follow along with the film tour @flyfishingfilmtour to see where they will be next!

Find out when F3T is in your town, and buy tickets before they sell out!

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