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 GUIDE SEASON was shot on mini-digital video in and around Livingston, Montana, on a small budget with a crew of 15. The production was inspired by the highly publicized Danish Dogme 95 style, which advocates the use of small digital cameras, available lighting and small crews. The question to most filmmakers, of course, is whether a professional production will result. "To which we emphatically said, and still say, yes," said producer Dennis Aig. "Rather than a five-ton grip and electric truck, there was one crew member whose supplies consisted of a bounce board, a flashlight and some Christmas lights. You can do amazing things when you leave yourself no other options." Crew members doubled up on jobs and responsibilities, even working as extras when needed. Usual amenities such as star trailers and honey wagons were nonexistent. Wardrobe purchases relied heavily on local second-hand shops. Director Michael Hacker was full of praise for his small crew: "Shooting with a small crew was decidedly an advantage - it allowed us to move quickly and adapt to the environment: weather, light, real events and people. Also, it was more fun and allowed each member of the team greater identification with the work." Hacker has only positive comments about the Montana shoot. "The people were fantastic to us. We had no problems with locations or crowds or anything like that. Everyone went out of their way to help and never did we have the sense of being 'outsiders' or 'Hollywood types.' The beauty of the landscape and the interesting characters brought a richness to the story that would have been difficult to find elsewhere." The editing of GUIDE SEASON was done both on location and after the shoot. "The luxury of having the Avid [editing system] around during the shoot and during the breaks in shooting truly benefited the final product," said Hacker. "As post-production systems get less expensive, I think more productions will use the GUIDE SEASON model: shooting, editing, then shooting some more, then editing, et cetera." |
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