Forums > HoP Competitions & Announcements - COL videos etc > Buyer's guide to COL!

Posted: 17th Nov 2005
sweet, i'm gonna auction mine off in 20 years to buy a small pacific nation which i will name c@ntusland.

Laugh Often, Smile Much, Post lolcats Always

Posted: 30th Nov 2005
better start rating it highly now then...

bummer about not being able to get hold of them all. to be fair though, i should really have got my act together a bit quicker...

It is our fantasies that make us real. Without our fantasies we're just a blank monkey' - Terry Pratchett

Posted: 5th Dec 2005
Good thing I was cheap and went for the VHS instead of making life easy and buying the DVD. I think the rating system is a good idea. Every video has different feel to it with the performers. Maybe another idea is instead of just listing the performers name, they should also give a few words about what they're spinning. Like fire poi, or UV sock poi, or juggling staff. Something like that would even be helpful.

Don't mind me, just passing through.

Posted: 8th Jan 2006
The great Col DVD collection has just arrived few days ago at my doorstep after its journey halfway round the world in just 7 working days, thanks Malcom & the HoP team.

I have watched each reel about twice now and I am stunned about the high level of Poi and staff spinning, which is inspiring and fascinating to watch and simply motivation in a box.

I couldn’t single out a reel or a player as “best” – each have their merits and the variety of styles and play is what makes the reels so exciting.

Also, I am impressed about the high level of Poi spinning already on Col 2, from 5 years ago. It occurs to me that people were generally at the current high level of moves already back then - but I still play so bad I cant judge nuances yet really.
What has evolved over time seems isolations, throwing and one-hand play, some players now spin pois onehanded like a staff and swap them in the air.

Overall performance has also improved.
While on most of the early work especially the guys shine with testosteron laden plays of amazing speed and incredible trickery, their overall performance is somehow reduced by the fact they submitted a poorly lit tape for their eternal moment of glory to us enthusiastic world audience showing them playing their worldclass spinning in scruffy shorts that barely cover a beerbelly while their dog sniffs around the garbage can in the background. What a glimpse into their private lifes aka backyards, what amazingly raw wildness and dervish jumping, but also what awkward footwork / body dancing at times …

The girls tend to focus early on holistic performances and underline their trickful poi play with a nice choreography including some sort of drama, often displayed in nice show costumes or even show makeup, shot over lovely backgrounds, very nice to watch …

Another improvement seems group play, again often lead by the girls who spice up their performances by choreographed double/triple play, where the players add to each other as opposed to group shots on early tapes documenting under the bridge practise sessions, where 5 players stand side-by-side with each doing amazing play but somehow taking away from each other …

So while the poi play itself maintains a high level throughout time, later reels tend to have improved body dancing, selected photography, greater settings, better lighting, more drama, play link to music and everything else that turns a play into a film …

As it’s impossible to single out a play or a tape, my reco would be to get the collection and enjoy seeing great spinning from around the world, as like often the sum is more than just the addition of its parts …

Malcolm, please re-release Col 3 and Col 1 on DVD to give us the whole picture over time. 2 vital stones are still missing in my puzzle and only you can complete the shrine of poi as perfect as it deserves to be ...

Posted: 12th Jan 2006
Could anyone say which COL is best for sock action as just bought 4 an its fire? got 2005 which has some good sock scenes so which out of the rest should i get?

Posted: 1st Feb 2006
non of the others have any sock action really for some reason...

and i'd say that technically there's been pretty big improvements since col2 but i don't think the col competition has ever really been about how technically you spin, more about how nicely do you spin and how good is your video entry - hence the general improvement in quality.

for the record i've got COL 4 and 5 and really enjoy them both but still haven 't written proper reviews of them yet. i'd say 4 is nicely varied with great ideas while 5 has some incredible solo efforts (Andy, Jools) and improved group work....

It is our fantasies that make us real. Without our fantasies we're just a blank monkey' - Terry Pratchett

Posted: 2nd Feb 2006
dnt spose you know what the music to andy's vid (Koh Tao right?) is? I emailed the addy at the end of the vid but no response an i really like that tune!

Posted: 7th Feb 2006
Generally people don't throw in any sock performances because they want to show off what they can do with fire. The sad result is really a lot of people doing very similar things. Personally, I liked the non-fire performances the best just because they were visable and just more fun.

No denying there were some really amazing fire spinners that were good to watch, but I never really liked how people spun fire just because they could.

That said, I do wanna comment on how good the videos were on a whole. Each had something really special to offer.

Don't mind me, just passing through.

Posted: 25th Oct 2006
*bumpety-bump*

I'm thinking about buying some more COL DVDs some time soon, was wondering if anyone had more feedback on the different COLs and what they're like? Anyone prefer a particular COL over the others, and why? Anyone think that certain skills/toys are more prominent in one COL compared to another?

I used to have COL3 and I'm a bit gutted I lost it moving house. I really liked the entry by Sage... I have a feeling she's on one of the others, but not sure which one...

Anyways...

Idolized by Aurinoko

Take me disappearing through the smoke rings of my mind....

Bob Dylan