PROMOTIONAL ISSUE PRESENTED BY
A LOOK INSIDE THE HOT ZONE JULIANNA MARGULIES LEADS AN ENSEMBLE CAST IN NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC’S LATEST LIMITED SERIES INSPIRED BY TRUE EVENTS
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CONTENTS FEATURES
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GOING VIRAL How Richard Preston’s nonfiction bestseller The Hot Zone became a thrilling six-part drama about the threat of Ebola
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HIGH AND MIGHTY The creative team behind inspirational climbing doc Free Solo retraces its path to the Oscars
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WILD WILD WEB Valley of the Boom creator Matthew Carnahan looks back at the pioneer days of cyber-culture
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PROOF OF LIFE Survivalist Bear Grylls zooms in on the world’s most punishing environments in Hostile Planet
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LET IT FLOW The Flood narrator Angela Bassett reflects on the cycle of life in Botswana’s Okavango Delta
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THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS As The Story of God enters its third season, its creators consider the spiritual show’s enduring appeal
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THE WINTER SOLDIERS The tech team behind Life Below Zero reveal what it takes to shoot in temperatures below freezing
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T’S HARD TO BELIEVE that the first issue of National Geographic magazine was published 131 years ago, and that the very first photographs appeared in its pages less than 20 years later. “Since then,” says Courteney Monroe, President of National Geographic Global Television Networks, “we’ve been at the forefront of visual storytelling with our magazine publication for decades—breathtaking visuals have become synonymous with us. We take that idea very seriously, and we apply it across all of our platforms. Even Instagram. We’re the number one noncelebrity brand on Instagram, with 100m followers, which is a testament to our visual storytelling because it’s populated by our photographers’ work.” WHY NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CONTINUES TO BE AT THE FOREFRONT OF VISUAL STORYTELLING BY DAMON WISE
BRAVE NEW WORLD And the brand continues to impress and evolve: in 2018 Nat Geo became the first network ever to win three cinematography Emmys in a single year, for Jane, Life Below Zero and Genius: Picasso. This year they went a step further with Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi’s exhilarating and highly cinematic free climbing doc Free Solo, which won the Oscar for Best Documentary. “Nat Geo was the only company that would take this leap with us,” enthuses Chai Vasarhelyi. “They just appreciated and respected the spirit of adventure.” Michael Cheeseman, cinematographer on Life Below Zero, agrees. “Nat Geo gave us the freedom to be creative with our cameras and think outside the box,” he says. “Having them let us be as creative as possible, to make such a cinematic show, was huge.” Likewise,
Plimsoll Productions’ Martha Holmes couldn’t think of a better partner for wildlife series Hostile Planet. “We very much wanted to get into the blue-chip landmark natural history space,” she says, “and Nat Geo, having not done natural history for a few years, was keen to do so themselves. But they wanted something edgy and different, so we endeavored to do that.” And in 2019, the company is looking to go bigger and better. Says Monroe, “I feel a tremendous sense of privilege to be leading National Geographic television at this time when we’re chasing such exciting projects from a creative perspective, and that our former parents at 21st Century Fox and now new parents at Disney are investing in us the way that they are. I couldn’t be more excited.” ★ D E A D L I N E .C O M / AWA R D S L I N E
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A WARNING HOW RICHARD PRESTON’S 1995 BIOHAZARD-OUTBREAK BESTSELLER THE HOT ZONE BECAME AN EXCITING SIX-PART MINI-SERIES BY DAMON WISE
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ncluded in American Scientist magazine’s list of “books that shaped a century of science”, Richard Preston’s non-fiction classic The Hot Zone has long been considered the definitive study of the origins of the Ebola virus. It is also, as horror writer Stephen King would testify, a gripping read, and it was this perfect mix of information and entertainment that drew in its writershowrunner duo of Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson. “Richard’s book was such a pageturner,” says Souders, “that I’d say about halfway into it we realized we wanted to do it and that there was no turning back.” Add the involvement of Ridley Scott’s Scott Free and the deal was sealed. “It was a no-brainer,” adds Peterson. In development since publication, with producer Lynda Obst, The Hot Zone was initially envisaged as a standalone feature until Nat Geo showed interest in running it as a sixpart mini-series, focusing on the pioneering lab work of Dr. Nancy Jaax, played by Julianna Margulies. “I’m sure it would have made a good feature film,” says Souders, “but being able to do six hours of it allowed us to get into the characters a lot more. Not just our hero, Nancy Jaax, but also her husband Jerry—we were able to look at their relationship, going through something like this together. So what ended up happening was that it gave us a chance to take the things that were in the book and create and develop storylines and character arcs that really were just tailormade for a TV mini-series.”
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From the very start, says the pair, they always knew that The Hot Zone would be a psychological thriller. “One of the things that appealed to us about the book,” says Souders, “was that it took everyday people and threw them into this really extraordinary, insane situation, and you got to imagine what you would do in that situation. So we loved the idea of having to figure out a way to put the viewers in these people’s shoes, in the middle of such a crisis.” “I think what we really responded to in the book as writers,” adds Peterson, “were the different types of dilemmas that each character faces. They have to ask themselves, ‘Who do I have a duty to protect in this moment—do I have to protect the general public or do I just keep my family safe? Or do I just look after myself?’ That’s why the book really spoke to us. And so our hope is, while people are watching it, they’re sitting there thinking, Whoa, what would I do?” The result is a series that, from its terrifying opening scenes, takes a forbidding subject matter and turns it into something human, relatable, and even life-affirming. Says Souders, “Obviously, it’s a TV series and not a documentary, so we did create it to be entertaining and to be something that people are excited to tune into and love talking about. But also, as a bigger takeaway, we would like people to realize this isn’t a nation-versusnation issue. This is a human issue, it’s a global issue, and it’s something that we all need to come together to work on.” ★
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FROM HISTORY
FEELING THE HEAT (Clockwise from top left) Liam Cunningham, Julianna Margulies and Noah Emmerich star in Nat Geo’s contagion thriller.
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ALL-ACCESS Juliana Margulies as biosafety specialist Dr. Nancy Jaax.
A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH TEN YEARS AFTER SWEARING OFF MEDICAL DRAMAS, ER STAR JULIANNA MARGULIES JUST COULDN’T RESIST THE HOT ZONE How did you get involved with The Hot Zone? Nat Geo and Scott Free, who produced The Good Wife, came to me with this project and I said, “Oh, no, it’s not my kind of thing, thanks.” I hadn’t read the book, I’d just always vowed to stay away from anything to do with medicine, or medical dialogue, after six years on ER. And then I read the script and I couldn’t put it down. I thought, Oh my God, everyone needs to know about this. I was really taken by the story, taken by the character I play, and then I jumped in. Once I was in those heavy Hazmat suits and saying the scientific, complicated, impossible dialogue, I thought, What on earth did I sign up for?! Who is the character you’re playing? I play Nancy Jaax, who was a colonel at USAMRIID, which is the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases. She and her husband Jerry were both colonels there, and she became one of the top
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Biosafety Level 4 scientists. She researched not just Ebola, but anthrax, the Marburg virus, and AIDS as well, to try and find cures and vaccines. She’s one of these women who won’t take no for an answer, and she’s really dedicated to her profession, but what I loved about her is that she’s also a mother and a wife, with a house full of pets. Anything living is something precious to her. And so finding the cure for things that kill living beings—it’s her sanctuary, ultimately. What would you like people to take away from The Hot Zone? I’d love the conversation to revolve around the fact that Ebola is a real threat to every country. It’s a global threat, and we have to wake up and start supporting the science behind it, and supporting the scientists who are willing to put their lives on the line to prevent it. But also—and I know this sounds so hypocritical when I say this—it’s great entertainment. You’ll be glued to your seat. —Damon Wise ★
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THE ART OF SCIENCE THE HOT ZONE’S CREATIVE TEAM ON THE CHALLENGES OF RECREATING THE HIGH-TECH MEDICAL FACILITIES OF THE LATE 1980S BY MATT GROBAR
SCIENTISTS Topher Grace as Peter Jarhling and Paul James as Ben Gellis in The Hot Zone's labs.
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lthough the nightmare scenario presented in The Hot Zone is still a very clear and present danger, some of the once-cutting-edge scientific instruments it shows us belong, thankfully, to the past. This might be reassuring for the viewer, but it posed substantial challenges for its crew and even its cast, who had to perform in weighty, outdated biohazard suits. Along with art director Britt Doughty, it was up to production designer Mark Hutman to tackle the minutiae of antiquated technologies and the complexities of laboratory protocol in order to make the experience feel urgent—and real. Zeroing in on the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), where the series takes place, Hutman and Doughty engaged in exhaustive research in order to understand the look and the geography of the space. Examining photographic and written materials from sources such as Getty and National Geographic, the pair was also aided by doctors Jerry and Nancy Jaax, whose harrowing experiences the series depicts. “Their information trickled in to us,” Hutman recalls, “and it was copious.” After scouting locations, the team landed on the University of Toronto for the lab exteriors—with its Brutalist architecture, two of its campuses were a perfect match. The lab interiors, meanwhile, were built on soundstages and comprised four levels: various staging areas, an ultraviolet chamber, an antechamber (to prevent accidental exposure to deadly viruses), and the “Ebola Suite” itself. Inevitably, each interior called for a specific set of props, which were challenging to track down. It was property master Emma Monaghan who was charged with finding the appropriate varieties of centrifuges and electron-scanning microscopes so that sets could be dressed with period-accurate equipment. “It wasn’t an easy task, but she did a lot of digging,” Doughty says. “It was those little details that I think were really key to selling this reality.” ★ D E A D L I N E .C O M / AWA R D S L I N E
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THE PATH TO THE OSCARS FOR MOUNTAINEERING DOC FREE SOLO BY MATTHEW CAREY
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n the face of it, Alex Honnold’s breathtaking 2017 attempt to scale Yosemite National Park’s El Capitan without ropes—or, indeed, any kind of back-up at all—would seem to be a particularly solitary undertaking. Ironically enough, capturing that feat took an entire team of cinematographers. Co-director and cinematographer Jimmy Chin had to assemble a crew with a rare skillset. “I needed elite professional climbers,” says Chin, who belongs to that select group himself. “And even among elite professional climbers, there’s a certain type we had to hire, and that’s big wall climbers, which is a very specialized skill. But they also had to be really incredible cinematographers.” NYC-based DP and camera operator Clair Popkin fit the bill. “You really just had to be on your A-game the entire time,” Popkin remembers. “There were no do-overs.” Popkin shot footage of Honnold at the base of El Capitan as he began his bold ascent, then scrambled up the mountainside to get more vital shots. “I had to race him up to the top,” he recalls. A knee injury kept fellow cinematographer Mikey Schaefer from climbing that day, so
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Schaefer handled the ground-level camera and unwittingly became a character in the film, as co-director Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi recorded him turning away from his viewfinder at key moments, unable to bear watching Honnold put himself in such a dangerous situation. Schaefer says many viewers have responded emotionally after spotting him after screenings. “People are like, ‘You’re the person I relate to in the film. Can I give you a hug?’” he laughs. “I’m like, ‘I understand.’” Schaefer and Popkin also shot material away from the mountain; subtle moments that give human texture to the story, such as scenes of Honnold sharing intimate moments with his girlfriend, or an interview with his loving and surprisingly understanding mother. This remarkable work paid off with the ultimate honor: an Academy Award for Best Documentary. “I’m definitely still pinching myself,” admits Chin, and Schaefer feels similarly blessed. Knowing all that went into shooting Free Solo, he observes, “I’m not sure what I’m more impressed with—that we won an Oscar or that we actually managed to pull the film off.” ★
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CLOSE TO THE EDGE HOW THE FREE SOLO TEAM EDITED ALEX HONNOLD’S DEATH-DEFYING ASCENT BY MATTHEW CAREY
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obody who has seen Free Solo can forget the suspense of watching Alex Honnold scale El Cap with his bare hands, putting his life at risk with every move. Such moments tied viewers’ stomachs in knots, a filmmaking achievement that owes much to the skill of editor Bob Eisenhardt, who won the American Cinema Editors Award for the film, the second ACE Eddie of his career. The climbing sequence plays so intensely, Eisenhardt says, because of the scenes that lead up to it. “The secret of editing the climb was in what came before, and establishing exactly what Alex needed to accomplish,” he reveals. “I think the tension builds from that. That doesn’t come from the sudden surprise of a horror film; it’s the slow build of knowing what he has to do, and wondering whether he can do it—or not do it—at any moment.” For the ascent, Eisenhardt cut from footage shot by multiple cameras. Graphics were also key, highlighting the most dangerous points for Honnold on the mountain. “Not only do they orient you and move you along, but you’re able to leap forward in time to the next critical section,” the editor explains. The hours spent in the edit, recalls co-director Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, were validated by seeing moviegoers react to the death-defying climb. “I remember watching it the first time with an audience,” she says. “Bob and I were like, ‘Oh, this is terrifying for people. It’s super-visceral.’” Chai Vasarhelyi and co-director Jimmy Chin have nothing but praise for Eisenhardt, who edited their 2015 Meru, another mountaineering doc about an attempt to climb Meru Peak in the Indian Himalayas. “Bob is our closest and most admired and respected collaborator,” says Chai Vasarhelyi. “I’ve learned more from him than anyone else about filmmaking.” But admiration also came from a more unexpected quarter: Honnold himself. “I’m not a climber,” Eisenhardt says, “so one of the nice things at the end was Alex just saying to me, ‘That’s exactly the way it should have looked. It makes perfect sense.’” ★
DIZZYING HEIGHTS (Top left) Co-director Jimmy Chin and (inset) editor Bob Eisenhardt; (above) free solo climber Alex Honnold. D E A D L I N E .C O M / AWA R D S L I N E
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THE HILLS ARE ALIVE… HOW MUSIC AND SOUND EDITING MADE FREE SOLO A CLIMB TO REMEMBER BY MATTHEW CAREY
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scar night brought mounting tension for the creators of Free Solo as the announcement of Best Documentary neared. But one member of the production team never doubted the outcome—re-recording sound mixer Tom Fleischman. “I saw a rough cut probably a year and a half ago,” he recalls, “and I knew at that point Free Solo would win. The first time I saw it, it just blew me away.” Fleischman was part of a talented group responsible for the sonic landscape of the film. “Sound is critical. It’s everything,” says co-director Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, whose sound department was led by close
collaborator Deborah Wallach. “She’s done every single film I’ve ever made.” Wallach helped give viewers a visceral sense of Alex Honnold’s incredible endeavor—climbing the 3,000-foot granite face of El Cap without ropes. This involved adding sound that couldn’t be recorded in the field, and underscoring audio captured during the climb. “It’s a very subtle thing,” Wallach observes. “You’re trying to set up a mood and an atmosphere to enhance some of the movements and make sure that the breaths are all clear; that you’re feeling his actual presence.” The score by composer Marco Beltrami— known for his work on the Scream films and The Hurt Locker—only heightened the nail-biting drama. “Alex has little achievements along the way to the summit, yet you want to keep the suspense for the entire time,” says Beltrami. “That was probably the biggest challenge of the film.” Fleischman’s role was to marry all the audio elements for the final mix—score, dialogue, sound effects and more. “For the music, we probably had 36 channels,” he recalls. “And sound effects, there was quite a bit—all the ambiances, the wind and the birds and the insects and all the background sounds.” The sound man says he finds Honnold’s achievement extraordinary, but not something he would seek to emulate. “I’m someone who has a tremendous fear of heights,” he admits. “I’d never be caught dead on the side of a mountain like that.” ★
BASE CAMP (Left to right) DP Clair Popkin and co-director Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi at work on Free Solo.
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REALITY BYTES Matthew Carnahan directs on the set of Valley of the Boom.
UNCANNY VALLEY
VALLEY OF THE BOOM CREATOR MATTHEW CARNAHAN EXPLAINS THE THINKING BEHIND HIS AUDACIOUS SILICON VALLEY DOCUDRAMA BY MATT GROBAR
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lthough he notes, dryly, that “Silicon Valley does not love to look backward,” Matthew Carnahan had “an absolute ball” doing so with his new series, Valley of the Boom. Approached by STX Entertainment to spearhead a series on the internet’s humble beginnings, followed by the boom and bust of ’90s tech, Carnahan took a step back to reflect on what he could bring to the project. Investigating this chapter of Silicon Valley’s history, in which a handful of companies competed for internet ownership, he suddenly understood how surreal it was for those looking to strike it rich in the dawn of the digital age, and that’s how he found his way into the series. A singularly ‘meta’ docudrama, somewhat in the vein of Adam McKay’s The Big Short, Valley of the Boom is an experiment with form, striving to match the “disruptive” nature of a fascinating American moment. Inspired by
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such fourth-wall-breaking works as Thorton Wilder’s Our Town and Dennis Potter’s The Singing Detective, Carnahan’s series would constantly direct attention back to its own “theatrical reality”. Alongside expert commentary from the likes of Mark Cuban and Arianna Huffington, the series puts forth an assortment of clever devices to decode complex tech topics, including puppetry, interpretive dance and freestyle rap. For Carnahan, the only downside of developing the series was the level of “granular” research it entailed, and the eight months of “pretty deep digging” he endured. In the end, though, the series creator felt he could “take all of that and put it in the Bizarrea-tron, and kind of shake it up,” giving the historical narrative a new life. “When I pitched it to Nat Geo, the thing I said to them was, ‘I want to do something that is not within your aesthetic vocabulary,’” Carnahan recalls. “My hope is that the form and the madness of the moment meet in a way that’s satisfying.” ★
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LIVE AND LET DIE C
ontrary to popular belief, says Hostile Planet producer Martha Holmes, the safest place to live on Earth is the very bottom of the deepest ocean. “It’s totally dark and the pressure is crushing,” she says. “But at least it stays the same. So if you can adapt to the crushing pressure and total darkness, you’ll be fine.” Breaking with the tradition of sedate wildlife shows that present the natural world as visually exquisite wallpaper, Hostile Planet aims to show just how hard life is for the majority of the world’s species. “Wildlife shows are traditionally organized by habitat,” says Holmes, “but we wanted to emphasize the extremes of each habitat.” As a result, each episode spotlights a unique environment—mountains, oceans, grasslands, jungles, deserts and polar—to navigate the brutal conditions endured by its inhabitants. Says producer Guillermo Navarro, “We address the poles, with their extreme cold, then the mountains, the jungle, the grass, the oceans… And all of them, even though they
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were completely different and were telling their own specific animal stories, they were all adding up to a bigger story of how the planet has evolved so rapidly.” Though the show does deal with the impact of climate change, this is not the focus. “The really important thing about the series,” says Holmes, “is that the animals that live in these places are brilliantly adapted to those places. Polar bears are perfectly adapted to live in the cold Arctic. What they’re not adapted for is the Arctic with no ice, and our changing weather patterns make it really hard for animals to know what’s coming at them. “But it isn’t a climate change series in the sense that we’re saying, ‘This is the result of man’s activity.’ We’re not saying that at all. All we’re saying is that there is change coming, and the animals are largely surviving. But they’re being pushed to their absolute limits, and some of them aren’t going to make it.” To front the series, former SAS serviceman and survivalist instructor Bear Grylls seemed the perfect choice. Says producer Tom
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THE MAKERS OF HOSTILE PLANET EXPLAIN WHY IT’S NOT YOUR MOTHER’S NATURAL HISTORY SERIES BY DAMON WISE
Hugh-Jones, “Bear Grylls is famous worldwide, particularly in America, as the king of survival, and since we’re looking at the amazing ways animals survive in these extreme habitats, he felt like a natural fit in that way—one survival expert talking about the true survival experts.” Navarro agrees. “Bear is someone that knows what it’s like to experience very extreme environments, so for me, he’s a human being that’s had experiences that are closer to what the species are going through.” The result is a series that doesn’t sugarcoat the state of the world today. “It’s got a bit more attitude than a normal wildlife show,” says Hugh-Jones. “We were thinking of a younger audience and trying to make it a rollercoaster ride. It’s a bit more red in tooth and claw than some of the usual natural history programs. There’s lots of drama and character in there, though at the same time it’s not a depressing watch, or a death fest. We’re celebrating these animals and the extraordinary ways they triumph in these seemingly impossible situations.” ★
FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM (Above) David Reichert films the Emperor Penguins march at the Cape Washington Emperor Penguin colony.
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NATURAL WOMAN THE FLOOD NARRATOR ANGELA BASSETT REFLECTS ON BEING CAST AS THE VOICE OF MOTHER NATURE How did you get involved with The Flood? Nat Geo reached out to my manager and agent, and asked me if I wanted to be a part of it. I had already had a bit of a relationship with them previously [in 2015], when I directed an episode of Breakthrough, called “Water Apocalypse”, which was about water— how to preserve it, how we gather it, and how scarce it is. It had been a wonderful working relationship before, so I was up for it. Did you know anything about the subject matter? No, it was all new to me. I wasn’t familiar with the Okavango Delta [in Botswana], and the flood that comes and goes each year, so I wasn’t aware of the beauty of that part of the world. I’ve been to Africa, but South Africa and Nigeria are the only two places I’ve been, so it was a little bit of a learning situation for me. What was unique and very wonderful was that there was a screen in the recording studio, so I was able to see the images play out—and, of course, I was enthralled.
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How do you approach the narration? I was just trying to make a character out of Mother Nature. She can be harsh and unforgiving, but she can be loving and beautiful. I wanted to draw the listener in by bringing different aspects of that to life as much as I could, using the human voice and those pictures, those images. What does this show mean to you? It’s a part of the world that I’m completely unfamiliar with, and may or may not ever get to see. But I think there’s something relatable in the cycle of life that the animals go through there. There’s feast, there’s famine. There’s a lot, there’s a little—I think we can all find some connection between that and our lives. It’s a wildlife paradise that hopefully we can take note of, and attempt to preserve. Because once it’s gone, it’s gone. We mustn’t take it for granted. —Damon Wise
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BEYOND BELIEF T
hree seasons into The Story of God with Morgan Freeman, executive producers Lori McCreary and James Younger see their series in a new light. Following Morgan Freeman around the world on a quest for enlightenment as he seeks to understand the world’s many religious traditions, the series started out “like a travel show”, Younger reflects. “Like Religion 101.” To some degree, in its third go-round, the docuseries has narrowed its focus. As inquisitive and educational as ever, The Story of God remains rooted in fascinating historical perspective— but, at the same time, it is starting to lean into the personal, now more than ever before. Centered on an array of compelling personal stories, Season 3 showcases the infinite possibilities of religion, examining the unique relationships that its subjects have to their own faith. A highly personable host, Freeman has found a number of “personal connections” emerging from his travels, as he hears many stories of transformation, McCreary explains. Forming organically before the cameras, bonds began to emerge that surprised even the production staff, and will surprise viewers as well. For example, in Season 3, the actor reunites with Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche, a Tibetan Buddhist teacher he first interviewed in 2015, and his dynamic with Freeman can only be described as electric. “They come from completely different backgrounds. They’ve only ever met one other time, and it’s such a beautiful connection that they make,” McCreary says. “Those are the moments in this show that get to me.” This season, the well-traveled Freeman adds more stamps to his passport, heading to Canada, France, Vietnam and beyond to explore faith through new prisms. As in seasons past, both Freeman and Nat Geo opened doors, into worlds inaccessible to most. “I’m not sure that any other production would have got access to one of the Vatican’s top
SEASON 3 OF THE STORY OF GOD TAKES MORGAN FREEMAN ON A MORE PERSONAL SPIRITUAL JOURNEY BY MATT GROBAR
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UNKNOWN WORLD The Story of God host Morgan Freeman and (inset) a taste of this season’s fascinating guests.
exorcists,” Younger notes. By some miracle, the series’ team also gained exclusive access to the Cathedral of Notre-Dame, and one of the world’s most famous historical artifacts— the crown of thorns that was said to have been placed on the head of Jesus Christ prior to his crucifixion. While Freeman and his fellow EPs shared a number of first-time experiences in Season 3, the latest season is in line with themes explored before. “There’s always this idea of looking at the light in the dark—where people see evil, or sin, or the devil, and trying to understand that,” Younger observes. “I think
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those themes are very interesting in divisive times, when people have to blame each other, or find sin or evil in other groups of people.” Undoubtedly, exploring the dark side of humanity is fascinating. At the same time, it’s an overwhelming sense of goodness and connection that keeps bringing Younger and McCreary back to The Story of God, peeling back the layers of a tale as old as time. “It feels soul-filling to be working on something that is not just highlighting the conflict between ‘us and them,’” McCreary says. “It’s about something that is very personal for all of us, which is our own personal beliefs.” ★
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THE BIG CHILL
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or cinematographers Danny Day and Michael Cheeseman, living Life Below Zero means expecting the unexpected. Out in remote areas of Alaska, the pair document the day-to-day routines of a handful of subsistence hunters, finding their own schedules highly variable. Two DPs out of close to a dozen, covering five or six locations on a given day, Day and Cheeseman’s daily workload routinely hinges on factors such as location, weather, and the activities they’re filming at the time. In Alaska, the largest of 50 states, so much depends on the season. In the winter, weather conditions can be daunting. For Cheeseman and his Life Below Zero colleagues, -40 degrees is a “pretty common temperature” to
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encounter. Throw in the wind-chill factor and the climate becomes even harder to tolerate. Simply to survive at these extreme low temperatures, the DPs insulate themselves with “very high-tech gear,” Cheeseman says, including military boots, heavy jackets and thick pants. Due to the nature of their job, they struggle the most with protecting their hands. “We can’t wear big mittens and operate a camera,” Day explains. The solution? Gloves thin enough to allow for dexterity, and thick enough to protect against frostbite. In the winter, the DPs must tend not only to themselves, but also to their gear. “These cameras aren’t meant to be in -40 degrees,” Cheeseman notes, “so the challenge is always there.” Neither are their batteries, which “drop
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A DAY IN THE LIFE OF LIFE BELOW ZERO’S CINEMATOGRAPHERS BY MATT GROBAR very quickly” in these conditions, requiring many spares to be kept on hand. Sometimes, it’s simply too cold to film, at least for any significant amount of time. In this case, the DPs will take shifts on location until they get the footage they need. Summer presents new challenges and new opportunities. During this time of year, temperatures can get up to 70 or 80 degrees, and there is more sunlight to go around, allowing for 12 hours of filming per day instead of the usual six. It’s in the summer, though, that large predators like grizzly bears—and less predictable foes— emerge. “Another big animal that people don’t think about is a moose,” notes Day. “A moose can be just as dangerous as a bear, especially if they charge you.” Whatever the time of year, and whatever the weather, Life Below Zero is chaotic, requiring total preparation, and the ability to adapt. “Most of the time,
THE ICE GUYS The Life Below Zero crew brave deadly sub-zero temperatures to capture the daily life of Alaskan subsistence hunters.
we don’t really know what we’ll be filming until just a few days before we head out,” Day says. Even after the story meeting, when plans are laid out, the brief can quickly change if ‘cast members’ reconsider their plans. On the average day, the DPs will draw on a wide range of tools—including GoPros, Canon C300s, Sony FS700s and drones—to capture every event from every conceivable angle. Over 100 episodes into the series, the team has encountered all kinds of obstacles, responding quickly to each sudden change in climate or itinerary. In the end, they do what’s required, every time—whatever it takes to get the shot. ★
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