Behind the Stories

Lights, Camera . . . Learning!

By Bruce Reichert
November 18, 2008

"Behind the Scenes at Idaho Public Television" with The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute

When they started arriving 15 minutes early, we knew they weren't your ordinary "students." Indeed, most of them were older than us and had already received their college degrees. They also shared a common belief, that there were still things to learn in life, even if that meant going back to school.

Production associate Dave Thomason explains how to adjust the focus on the cameraLast week our Production team spent more than two hours with fifty members of Boise State University's Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. The group's director, Ellie McKinnon, had asked if we would offer a two-hour "Behind the Scenes" class on how television is made. We were happy to oblige. In fact, we've put together a photo montage of that evening.

 Afterwards, Ellie wrote to thank us. "What a remarkable, rich learning experience you provided . . . What talent and experience, expertise and good humor you exhibited, and what respect you garnered."

We knew they weren't your ordinary students!


Pathways of Pioneers: Idaho's Oregon Trail Legacy

By John Crancer
October 31, 2008

The official OCTA wagon train leaves the Oregon Trail Center in MontpelierA program about the Oregon Trail in Idaho has been on our "idea" list for several years. It was a project we wanted to do at some point because other Oregon Trail documentaries have devoted minimal time to the Idaho section of the trail.

The impetus to get moving on the program was a phone call from the Oregon-California Trail Center in Montpelier, Idaho. They were hoping to work with us on a co-production on the Oregon Trail that would feature Big Hill, near the center and other notable landmarks along the trail in Idaho.

When we also learned that in the summer of 2008 the national meeting of the Oregon-California Trails Association would take place in Nampa, the decision to move ahead was finalized. A couple of other events during that same summer also perked our interest. There would be two "modern day" wagon trains travelling from the Montpelier area west. Most of these modern wagons have rubber wheels and coSnake River Heritage Days Wagon Train on Hudspeth Cutoffntain all the conveniences of a small RV.

One modern wagon train would take the Hudspeth Cutoff and complete its trip near Burley in time for Snake River Heritage Days. The other would travel all the way across the state, first on the main Oregon Trail and then on the Jeffrey-Goodale Cutoff. That wagon train would finish their trip at the site of the national convention in Nampa. It appeared there would more than enough material for our program.

We decided the overarching theme of our production would be a "now and then" look at the Oregon Trail. We would contrast the landmarks the pioneers viewed with what travelers see today see when they retrace the same routes.

Historic wagons descend Big HillWe thought weaving the two modern wagon trains into the program would help transport viewers across the state to many of the historical spots. The challenge was to document their journeys intermittently along the way without spending the weeks the actual trips would take. As in the 1800s though, our modern wagon trains weren't always on an exact schedule and finding them in the hinterlands of Idaho was often an adventure.

In addition to dealing with the modern wagon trains and other "present" scenes along the trail, we also wanted to give viewers a real taste of history. As in other historically focused productions, such as Lewis and Clark we opted for "reenactments." Of course, finding authentic-looking Oregon Trail style wagons along with teamsters willing to drive them was not an easy task.

Repairing a horseless wagonWith the help of the staff and volunteers at Montpelier's Oregon-California Trail Center we were able to find five wagons and drivers and a couple dozen "walkers" to recreate the descent down Big Hill. We were even lucky enough to find a team of oxen to pull one of the wagons. Organizing this large collection of people and animals wasn't easy. The team of oxen bolted when they smelled nearby irrigation water, fortunately stopping at a fence they easily could have plowed through. We also had two teams of horses take off with wagons, luckily to be recovered down the road with no major damages.

Big Hill itself was another challenge. It's so large that even with three cameras it was tough to cover all the angles. The other logistical problem was that once the wagons started down the hill there was no stopping. It was tough for our photographers to stay ahead of the group to set up for the next shot. Though it turned into a real "run and gun" shoot we think we captured some of the spirit of that notable landmark.Oxen team and wagon descend Big Hill

We also photographed two other reenactments for the program, one on the relatively pristine eastern side of the Fort Hall Reservation and another at the annual Three Island Crossing Event. We hope these scenes and those from Big Hill will give viewers a better appreciation of what the emigrants experienced. I know from my own personal experience and our photographers that riding in one of those old wagons is a lot rougher than you can imagine. It's easy to understand why most of the emigrants walked.

In addition to photographing the reenactments, we've interviewed a number of trail experts and historians to help bring the past alive. We needed their expertise to help us sort out the history. It's amazing how many different routes of the Oregon-California Trail there are in Idaho and how many significant sites are in our state. Between documenting the major landmarks, following the modern wagon trains, coordinating thOld wagons along the Oregon Traile reenactments and researching paintings and photographs, our summer calendar quickly filled with Oregon Trail assignments.

We now have much of the material "in the can" and are in the process of trying to figure out how to sum up decades of history, show viewers what they can still see, and explain why it all matters today. It may not be the extreme challenge faced by the pioneers, but from start to finish our Oregon Trail documentary will be one long journey.

To see how it all turns out tune in during our March Festival for "Pathways of Pioneers: Idaho's Oregon Trail Legacy."


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