A Circle in the Desert–Project Report #3

FESCH.TV INFORMIERT:

Successful Filming on Location and an Unexpected Setback!

I have recently returned from a four-week cinematography tour of my special lands on the Colorado Plateau in Utah–landscapes that are the visual heart of my film. I can’t express how pleased and gratified I am to have gathered the bulk of the footage I needed for the film, including many amazing aerial shots that I’m excited to share upon its completion!

But, the wild and high deserts of the Colorado Plateau are not a theme park. Nature rules, as always, and during the monsoon season of rains in July and August of this year, the 65-mile loop dirt road that winds through the northern section of Capitol Reef National Park was flash-flooded in two places, washing the road completely away in those spots. The road was and still is entirely closed, which meant that I could not access this important area for the show. Road crews were working on rebuilding the roads there as I was filming in September, but their progress was and is unknown at the time of this writing.

Disappointing for sure, but it is what it is, and I will simply have to return in the spring, hoping that they have had time to repair the path and open it again for myself and others to travel.

That means, of course, a necessary delay in the finishing up of the film and its premiere. I had hoped to get it done by spring, but this will delay me a few months. I’m now projecting a premiere sometime in the summer instead, successful road repairs allowing.

Patience, they say, is a virtue!

In the meantime, I will have a nice long winter season to work on some animation segments for the film and do some other finish work on the music. Mainly, though, I’ll be able to process the amazing amount of footage I did acquire in my recent trip and proceed with the final editing for most of the film! Maybe this was a blessing in disguise? Perhaps, but I will guide it to serve me and the film anyway!

Even with nature’s delay, I’m hoping I will retain your interest in my project of the heart and I’ll keep you informed as things progress. Over the next few weeks, I’ll post some new updates that I filmed in the field last month and show a few of the areas that I’ll feature in the final film! Stay tuned and thank you for your continued interest in “A Circle in the Desert!”

-David