This is a hard one to put into words...
Starting in 2000, this is a film to replace a 1977 Academy Award winning documentary which runs on the big screen at the various INTERNATIONAL HORSE PARKS. In particular we are shooting for the KENTUCKY HORSE PARK in Lexington, KY.
3 directors later, and me still the original DP…and this film maybe 30% finished...I am still curious about its future. Its very frustrating shooting for a week and then put on ice for 16 months until the next 3-day installment happens.
Since this film is presented in c'scope, we decided to shoot in Super-35 4-perf with standard spherical optics. The main reason was that this film’s original scope was to shoot in Jordan, Egypt, China, Mongolia, England, UAE and the US. Since we would be shooting in so many places either shipping my cameras in or renting local, the chances of obtaining anamorphic glass of consistent quality would be almost impossible. Plus the need for lighter and faster lenses for some of our action rigs: steadicam, chariot and buggy mounts, helicopter and truck rigs, etc…
We actually scouted the vast majority of these exotic locations and I can personally tell you to NOT believe what some foreign rental houses tell you regarding the gear they supposedly have. After reading slick rental catalogues about some of the Middle-Eastern countries, and then actually visiting these regions and being told that all of their 535’s & 435’s were out on rental that day, but seeing a really beat-up 2C sitting on a shelf! Or looking for a Fisher dolly [which was on their list] but finding a metal firedoor with a set of steel wheels wielded on to its flip side….you begin to worry.
Anyway, some of these images we captured are breathtaking: like the American Indian riding up a slope to overlook 4,000 buffalos across the great plains! Or a Confederate Cavalry charging in the morning mist…beautiful stuff.
Since this project is all about man’s history with the horse, we are to shoot Egyptian chariots, Bedouin caravans in the underground city of Petra, etc...
Hopefully this will someday be finished and we can all sit back with a box of popcorn and enjoy!