When woodwardblog.com started almost four years ago, I told subscribers I might be doing occasional “extra” posts in addition to the Statesman column. This is one of those.
As some of you know, I was fortunate to write the scripts and narrate Wide Eye Productions’ “Idaho, the Movie” back then. A hit by any measure, it won an Emmy and inspired viewers to ship it to every state and to more than 60 foreign countries.
Now we’re working on the sequel, “Idaho, the Movie 2,” to be released for this year’s holiday season. Viewers who loved the first movie have been asking whether we’d do another one, and we wanted to film some of the beautiful and intriguing parts of Idaho that we missed the first time around. Idaho is too big to fit into one documentary film.
This time we’ll go to the newly designated Boulder White Cloud Wilderness, the weird but wonderful Shoofly Oolite formations and the rugged Magruder Corridor. Viewers will meet Henrietta the long-billed curlew, visit geothermal hot springs, see other-worldly landscapes like Hell’s Half Acre. And much more.
As stunning as the photography was in ITM1 (as the writer-narrator I can’t take any of the credit for that), the sequel promises to be even more of a visual treat. Technological advances of the last four years are allowing Wide Eye photographers to do things that weren’t possible then, and they want to raise the bar even further by shooting scenes from a helicopter. Scenes that can’t be photographed any other way.
That’s nosebleed expensive, so Wide Eye is launching a Kickstarter campaign. Supporters will help its photographers film remote areas of Idaho in a way it’s never been seen.
Why not use a drone? They will where possible, but in many cases it isn’t. Drones can’t be more than half a mile from the operator on the ground, and parts of Idaho’s back country are so remote and difficult to reach that putting operators there is virtually impossible. Also, drones are prohibited in wilderness areas. Cutting-edge, gyro-mounted cameras on helicopters will help the photographers film remote, rugged parts of Idaho with absolute smoothness and breathtaking resolution.
What’s in it for those who support the Kickstarter campaign? For starters, donors will receive a DVD of the movie and have the satisfaction of knowing their support helped make it better. Increasing levels of support come with posters and T-shirts, Wide Eye nature films and multipacks of Idaho the Movie 2 DVDs up to joining the team on a shoot and seeing yourself in the finished film.
We could make the movie without helicopter photography, and it would still be beautiful. But we hope to use the best technology available to take it beyond beautiful. We want it to be jaw-dropping. I’d be honored if any of you choose to help make that possible.
As always, thanks for reading. Here’s a link to a short video that will tell you more:
Tim Woodward 