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Behind the Scenes:
An Interview with the Jeff Gentes,
Producer, Writer, Editor of "Monumental Arizona"To film this high-definition program, producers chose a mix of aerial and ground photography to capture the reality of the sites because, according to producer Jeff
Gentes, helicopter and aerial photography is limited in what it can do."You can only come in so low, and zoom in so much. We had to look at each site to see what would work best and come up with a plan," he said. "And there is risk involved -sensitive, high-definition camera equipment is mounted on the nose and side of a helicopter, which is a large, vibrating machine."
Gentes added that helicopters also present some special problems: Where are they based? Where can they refuel? How long can they stay in the air? And there are restrictions about how low helicopters can fly and where they can land.
Read the complete transcript and view clips from "Monumental Arizona.""Areas around wildlife habitats are verysensitive, and in Navajo National Monument, some of the ruins are under rock outcroppings," Gentes explained. "Park rangers there were afraid the vibration from the helicopter blades might loosen the rock and cause damage. Each park has its own rules, so we met with managers ahead of time to be sure we respected those guidelines."
There has to be a plan, he says, but you also have to be prepared to change the plan when the unexpected happens. For example, the weather turned out to be more challenging than they expected. Filming was planned for November when the weather in Arizona is usually at its best.
"We came in tee-shirts and shorts and wound up flying over northern Arizona in a helicopter with the door off at a temperature of 21 degrees," he explained. The crew also encountered lots of rain and cloud cover.
Gentes says Arizona is perfect for filming in high definition. "You can see 100 miles and the air quality is good. High definition photography offers great depth of field. It's exciting to be able to create those kinds of images.
"The goal of shooting in high definition is to come back with images that are perfect. There are actually three 'photographers,' in the helicopter: the pilot, flying at 80-100 m.p.h., is keeping the aircraft flying smoothly; the cameraman, who is lining up the shot; and me, acting as assistant cameraman, working under a dark cloth and watching the television monitor, shading what he is photographing. It's like creating a TV studio in the helicopter," he adds.
Gentes says they have learned to always expect the unexpected.
"Flying over Organ Pipe, we had great lighting and were getting some terrific shots when some dirt or moisture hit the lens. We had to put the helicopter down, clean the lens and get the shot again," he says. Later, when they landed in Ajo, they were stopped by immigration agents who wanted to know who they were and what they were doing. "They examined our permits carefully. They had been tracking us on their radar all day thinking we might be smugglers."
Ideally, filmmakers like to shoot at the beginning and the end of the day when the light is most dramatic. On the day they drove to Ironwood Forest to get some ground shots, the weather was gray and threatening.
"We waited for hours, and just as the sun was going down, I saw a patch of blue sky. Within minutes, the gray became orange and the light was gorgeous," Gentes said. "We were shooting everything we could to capture this fabulous lighting when I noticed that Ragged Top Mountain was glowing a fantastic red. I grabbed the camera, started shooting, and backed into a cholla cactus. I got the shot, but it took a flashlight and pliers to get the cholla barbs out of my backside."
Read the complete transcript and view clips from "Monumental Arizona."What's amazing about aerial photography, especially in Arizona, is that you can fly for miles over nondescript landscapes and then be taken by surprise, Gentes explained. "Approaching Canyon de Chelly, there's nothing but desert scrub as far as you can see. Suddenly, there is this fantastic canyon. You are totally blown away by something you never expected to find. It makes you think about the first people who actually found these places and wonder what they felt. In some ways, I feel we are documenting their experiences."
Altogether, the crew had just seven-to-ten days to complete the filming. Shooting on the ground took much more time than they expected. "I drove 2000 miles in 10 days," Gentes said. "We set up shots, unpacked, then packed up and moved on. Wherever we went, people stopped to see what we were doing. They were fascinated by the high definition images. And they always wanted to know when they could see high definition programming in their homes."
Well, it's finally going to happen. High definition programming is being broadcast worldwide throughout the system. The future is bright, and Gentes believes public television is particularly well positioned to take advantage of this technology because so much of its content is documentary and nature programming.
Monumental Arizona is the second Channel 8 production filmed and broadcast in high definition. The first, Over Arizona, premiered in August 1995. Both are part of the station's award-winning Arizona Collection.
