Love of hunting leads brothers to new opportunity
By Tina Foreman
Farmer Staff Writer
Long before they were old enough to hunt, Vaughn and Dustin Anderson of Watford City tagged along with their dad, Dennis, on his hunting adventures. As the boys got older and began getting their own licenses, their love for hunting continued to grow. Still, neither of them ever imagined that hunting would turn into a business opportunity.
But their love of hunting turned into a business when the brothers, along with their two hunting buddies, Dan Pavek and John Melland, formed Rough Creek Productions (RCP) in 2007. Through filming North Dakota hunting adventures, the hunting buddies turned business partners hoped that their passion for the outdoors would take the company to the next level.
“Our ultimate goal is to have our own show on one of the major hunting networks,” says Vaughn. “But, we’re really just expanding on our hobby and hoping that we can take our experiences and share them with others.”
Bringing the video camera along when hunting isn’t new to Vaughn and Dustin. They say the hardest part is knowing what to film and what to edit before making a final cut.
“Growing up, our dad videoed everything. So taking the camera with when we went hunting just seemed natural,” says Dustin. “Since we started the business, we are working toward having one person hunting and two people videoing. But sometimes we find ourselves doing it all. Hunting and videoing at the same time can be challenging, but it’s still fun.”
If you’re a hunter, you’ve probably watched at least one hunting show on TV. But according to the Anderson brothers, it’s rare to see those shows take place in North Dakota.
“Because of the lottery system in North Dakota, it’s harder to get licenses here than in a lot of other states,” adds Vaughn. “As a result, there are very few hunts from North Dakota on TV. We hope to change that.”
RCP is currently working toward getting 13 hunts filmed and edited so the show can be aired by a Dickinson, North Dakota, television station.
“So far we have filmed almost 10 deer hunts and at least 15 coyote hunts,” adds Vaughn. “We’ve done a little of everything bow hunting, rifle hunting and some youth deer hunting. It’s hard to get licenses in North Dakota, so we take whatever we can get.”
Hunting and filming aren’t new to RCP, and thanks to a little help from someone with years of experience in the film-making industry, the company is learning lots about editing footage and turning their filmed hunts into TV episodes.
“We aren’t in a hurry to start sending our footage off to TV stations yet,” adds Dustin. “We have a guy helping us with our footage and we’re learning a lot, which is great. At some point, we will send the footage out to other outlets. But for now, we’re just enjoying ourselves and learning whatever we can.”
For more information on RCP, go to www.roughcreekproductions.com.