Attachment E_NOCA Onscreen Talent.docx

Attachment E – NOCA Onscreen Talent

Attachment E – NOCA Onscreen Talent

The style and approach shall be determined during the Development and Pre-Production Phase. The following notes are considerations and preferences born out of conversations with the park and are provided for reference to offerors as they develop their proposals. This is NOT intended as a shot list.

This film is about a wild place, not people. The park exists for its own sake, whether we set foot here or not. People are NOT required to be on screen however they can be an effective way to show scale and how visitors interact with the landscape. Off-screen voices can be used to weave together people sharing their emotional connections to NOCA. (Talent is being used as a generic term for anyone who’s voice or visual appearance is part of the production.)

Style preferences - Voice

a. Narrative is woven together by multiple diverse voices (at least five) expressing their connection to the park. These people do NOT need to be seen on camera.

b. Narration can be used but is not required.

c. Not ‘hosted’ by a lead presenter.

d. Space for natural sound. No more than 40% of the film with voices/narration.

e. The film is always about the landscape, not any individual.

f. Voices need to include tribal representation.

Style preferences - Onscreen talent

a. People may appear on camera for scale and emotional connections but are not required.

b. No more than 20% of screen time should include people in the frame.

c. If people are on camera, needs to be a diverse representation of age, ethnicity, and gender.

d. If people are on camera, needs to include tribal representation.

Group 1: High Altitude/ Vertical emphasis: These are high skilled or more ‘difficult’ adventure activities. There needs to be diversity within this subgroup (i.e., cannot have all men in this category and women and minorities just in lower skilled activities).

Mountaineers: Safety gear is critical. Avalanche risk must be assessed. Must be at least two. Skiing is okay but in conjunction with mountaineering (not shown as a stand-alone pursuit). Very iconic for the park. Valuable for taking us into the heart of the wilderness. Also ideal for exploring more snowbound landscape.

Pilot: Aerials provide excellent perspective for visuals and understanding the scale and interconnectedness of NOCA, a great way for exploring the remote high alpine peaks and the park during winter.

Rock climbers: Safety gear is critical. Must be at least two. Must be traditional (trad) climbing, not bolted sport climbing. NPS climbing rangers required to be on-site. Useful for showing scale. Summer or early fall due to snow.

Group 2: Water related: These are good opportunities for diverse characters or multi-generational groups.

Angler: None of the fish in alpine lakes are native and should not be featured. Common activity in Stehekin but the salmon are not native (other fish are). Great for connecting to salmon but needs to be on the west side. Skagit river is an option. A really good place to get underwater, face to face with sockeye and kokanee salmon is in the Chilliwack River in later summer during their runs. Potential traditional tribal use (would not be fly fishing).

Kayaker/Rafter on River: Pair of kayakers or rafters on the Skagit. This would include rapids, overhanging branches, salmon habitat, and feel active, adventuresome, dynamic. Spring, summer, or fall.

Kayaker/Canoer on Lake: Devils Creek, Lightning Creek, or the hidden waterfall on Ross Lake provide stunning quiet, steep mountain sides, lush greenery, cascading falls, and evoke calm and reflection. This would be a good opportunity for a multi-generational group. Mostly a summer activity.

Group 3:

Upper Skagit or other tribal member representation: If other characters are included, need to include tribal member representation, should be active and treated equally to other ‘characters’ in a group 1 or 2 level. Can be any age, ideally breaking from stereotypical roles.

Hiker/backpackers: Can be solo. Good way to connect to night sky. Good opportunity for diversity. Mostly a summer/early fall activity due to snow.

Glacier expert & other researchers: Would need to look at this within the context of the overall story and treatment. Not as a science story, but representing different values - what the place means to them. Some options: Glacier monitoring is in the spring, around April. Fish spawning and surveys take place on the fall (October/November). Butterflies in the spring (April-June, depending on flowers, etc.), other plant research, spring and into fall.

Pack use: Okay to highlight the activity of pack use but need to be careful not to promote a particular business. There are stock sites throughout the park, and it is another way to access the backcountry. Mostly summer.

Front country visitors: Families, small groups, school groups, or other visitors experiencing the front country. Possibly useful as a way to expand diversity and help viewers see themselves in the park. Mostly summer, early fall.

Do not include:

Skiers: After conversations with park staff, this is not commonly done or something they want to highlight or encourage. If mountaineers have skies and that is part of their travel, that is okay.

Fire lookout person: The fire lookout structures themselves are a place that many go to for solitude - to experience the smallness of themselves and the largeness of the landscape. For some, the beat poet connection makes them a pilgrimage of sorts. The lookouts are a good way to show an activity that is connected to the wilderness but not an adrenaline rush. We can get that through the remoteness of the visuals - the views and the lookout structure. Maybe a time-lapse to show the transition of time as we hear excerpts from past logs or poets. All of this can be better communicated without an individual actually there.

Park rangers: Uniformed rangers do not need to be in the film. Park staff out of uniform or family members may be used if needed for some of ‘characters’ since they can be from such a distance that they are not recognizable. This may make some production logistics simpler. Rangers can be used as an example of a visitor in a shot for scale, but not as an interviewee. Rangers will be there to monitor any UAS use when filming in the backcountry, so they might be used to show different activities.