Behind the Stories
Lights, Camera . . . Learning!
By Bruce ReichertNovember 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.
Last 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 CrancerOctober 31, 2008
A 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 co
ntain 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.
We 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.
With 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.
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 th
e 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."