“The Lewiston / Clarkston valley has a rich history. It is here, at the confluence of the Clearwater and Snake Rivers, where Lewis and Clark camped on their westward journey over two hundred years ago. Residents boast that the valley is the gateway to Hells Canyon, that Lewiston was Idaho’s first capital. However, the valley also has a much darker past, one that many know about, but few publicly acknowledge. From 1979 to 1982, five people disappeared. Only three of the bodies have ever been found. All share one suspect.”
I have been waiting to share this for AGES!! I shot it in the summer of last year in Lewiston, Idaho over a period of about 10 days on the Canon 5DmkII and the 7D. Directed by Vernon Lott and Jennifer Anderson. I am incredibly proud of this film. It’s beautiful and very powerful.
The trailer is up, but I am not sure when it is being released. Last I heard it was either going to go round festivals or go onto iTunes. Check out the website here.

I will do a write up of the shoot very soon now that the trailer is here. But in the meantime enjoy! My excellent assistant Preston Kanak did some of the pick up shots for this…
Also check out the end title track edited to shots from the film below the trailer.
It really shows you that the Canon DSLRs can produce some beautiful images!!
For the opening shot Preston simply held the Canon on the front of the boat. Simple as that. For the helicopter shots I shot everything with a simple open door, Canon 5DmkII with 24-105 F4 IS lens resting on a pillow then used smoothcam in FCP. You can see the test I did below…
52 comments
Looks fantastic… I can’t wait to see it.
Philip can you ask the people that own the rights to also sell the movie on Amazon and XBOX 360 and PS3 PSN store and Vudu movie service.
I have three Roku Boxs that I sometimes buy stuff for.
I have a old Apple TV but buying content from iTunes is a pain. You have to back up what you buy. With all the other services you content is all in the cloud just stream it when you want.
I am sure they will…doesn’t the new Apple cloud service change this though?
No, iCloud is only for music and photos and documents, and its only 5gigs.
http://www.apple.com/icloud/
http://www.apple.com/icloud/what-is.html
Its only iTunes and PS3 PSN store that you have to back your files.
Quick tip for PS3 users buy “Confluence” from Vudu on PS3 so once you buy it your content is in the cloud.
That looks stunning and seems like a great story Philip, nice one!
Looks Great!! Love the editing too – did you do the ariels as well?
yes i did!
Very nice. I spent better part of a year shooting cold case stories, happy to say I’ve seen a couple of them solved. I always find shooting these kinds of stories very interesting.
Look forward to seeing it.
Looks Brilliant! Congrats!
can you explain how you done opening shot above the water?thanks
Loved the opening shot! Can you share how that was done?
Aw yea! Looks awesome!
There are some really awesome shots in here.
My favorite was the opening shot, flying over the water.
Loved the trailer …
It just goes out to say, how the right tools in right hands can make so much of difference to a way how a story can be told.
Please do keep us posted on the launch/release dates.
And am def looking forward for the Host too 🙂
Shiv
Looks beautiful and strong story. Philil, how did you make those air shots? Any advice, equipment?
That looks amazing Phil. Can’t wait to see it. Altho, as a father of two, may be hard to watch. Looking forward to your write up.
Wonderful images ! Can’t wait to see it !
Will it be available with subtitles ? (let’s say… french ones :D)
Looks amazing. How did you do the helicopter shots? Any stabilization?
Very nicely done Philip. Love the interview lighting and timelapse stuff.
I would really like to know how you stabilised the helicopter shots.
Great stuff!
@timothy
I think Philip explained this in the post
“For the helicopter shots I shot everything with a simple open door, Canon 5DmkII with 24-105 F4 IS lens resting on a pillow then used smoothcam in FCP”
I’d love to know a few more details about how this was shot. I’m going up to shoot some footage out of a helicopter soon with my 5dmkII. This is the simplest solution I’ve come across so far to minimize vibrations without using a gyro. Do you have any behind the scenes footage from this shoot?
– What kind of pillow was it? A small headrest one, foam or feathers or a larger one with springs?
– Was the pillow placed on the floor of the helicopter?
– Did you shoot it at 30p and slowed it down?
I guess I’ll just have to bring a few options and try it out but if you do get a chance to reply I’d appreciate it!
hi ben
just two pillows from my hote room taped together. Then placed on my lap. I should have shot 30p and slowed down but shot at 30p.
p
Well done mate, looks pretty incredible. Shots panning over the mountain are fantastic as well as the front of boat opener.
J
Really great work Philip! We’re also finishing production for a documentary on GH13’s investigating Natural Gas Drilling in the U.S., that we plan to have a trailer for this week… see a rough of one chapter: http://www.publicherald.org/archives/12532/investigative-reports/energy-investigations/
Is there any fundraising for this film (kickstarter)? I’d like to feature it in our + Truth page for The Public Herald when we launch the website next week.
Anxious to see the full film soon.
Seriously man, the shots are beautiful.
Before I read this I actually thought some of the shots were from your new baby ..the ‘RED EPIC’.
I dont even think ‘cinestyle’ was out then was it?
awesome man
FCP smoothc. and MB-
Were you in “M” mode ?
if so, whats with the sudden shift of light intensity @ 1:16 ?
Looks like a change of f.stop or shutter speed?
What happened.
no idea…
Looks so stinkin purty man. Great shots. It still blows my mind the images that fall out of the 5 and 7d. We are living in the future….for now.
have you filmed this entirely on 5DMk II ? Or other DSLRs? I want to know what color sampling are you using ? Is 4:2:0 enough for this kind of project ?
5d and 7d all of course recorded in camera
simply stunning !
thanks for sharing !
My old stomping ground! Great job as usual.
Awesome, the opening shot had some stabilization besides grabbing it on the boat? intense take.
Looks like a good piece of documentary work. These cameras excel for people shots so good!
I did notice some strange warping in the aerial shots that today with Warp Stabilizer in After effects might look less jumpy. Otherwise a flawless shoot!
Bloom,
Quick off-topic commment: What is your current computer setup for your heavy video editing ?
Thanks!
top spec macbook pro 17″
Looks great! Has an Errol Morris feel which I love,
but also includes strong visuals.
Looking forward to it!
Keep us posted…
Joaquin Montalvan
This looks so good man! Some really beautiful Shots.
Hey Phillip, I love the way it looks and generally love everything you shoot, but I have to say I’m not sure the 5D is the best camera for a documentary. Or, maybe just scenics, but the interviews look so polished that it feels like a television PSA or commercial. Just a thought…
hi daniel
actually all interviews were done on the 7D and its actually way softer than say an f3 or fs100!
Hey Philip,
I’m an aspiring dp from New York, I stumbled onto your site a little over a year ago and I’ve watched all of your films and kept up with your commentaries, even your micro-blog. I just wanted to say that to me, your films always make me feel something and are not only truly inspiring, but you also manage to connect on a more personal level. Thank you so much for not just simply posting your work, but going into the depth of why and giving me info I would only really get by shadowing someone on set.
THANK YOU!
NY WELCOMES YOU FOR ANOTHER MEETUP!! 🙂
Really looking forward to seeing this. Of course it will freak me out about never letting my kids out of sight ever again.
I know this is a bit off topic but have you heard anything about this film coming out called “Act of Valor.” They say 90% of the film was shot on DSLRs 5D and 7D). I had to watch the trailer a few times because it looks like a RED at times.
Back on topic
Those shots are AMAZING! Like I expected some really good shots but it flows so well and I love the look and feel it produces.
Yeah, it looks great. Shane said that 80% was 5D 15% 35mm Film 5% Sony F950.
Was just watching the smooth cam footage for the helicopter, Big improvement after fcp Smoothcam. Which settings did you use and how does it stay so clean
My experience and the experiences of most of the people i know with smooth cam are not so great. Mostly the background of the footage starts to become jumpy and a strange blur comes over the image. Am i looking over something?
Thanks in advance
Just seen the trailer Philip, what an incredible story. Any chance of a Cinema or TV release in the UK? It almost seems like the film needs to be watched on the big screen for the full experience.
everything is perfect… except titles font
What don’t you like about it?
Stunning. Simply beautiful images and a fantastic looking story too. Can’t wait to see this! Well done again Mr Bloom!!
I recall you mentioning on a podcast a while back that this job was coming up for you. This looks like a really chilling story. The footage has a really nice color to it and cuts well with the old newspaper articles. My favorite shot is at 30 seconds, but the editor couldn’t have picked a better opening shot. Can’t wait to watch the doc!
Hey Philip, I am really excited to see this one – I am from the Lewiston area (how many of your followers can say that!). It’s a beautiful area and looking to seeing more of your shots and video from the area.
Keep us posted on this, please!
Love the aerial shots Mr. Bloom! The are already really smooth right out of the camera. What flat Picture Style do you prefer for the 7d and 5d?
Looking forward to seeing it Monday night at the NW Filmmakers Festival in Portland!
Hi !
Very nice look & surely a very powerful story.
I’ve done quite the same thing on my own doc, grading with Magic Bullet.
You can watch the trailer here: http://vimeo.com/17594410
Good luck for this documentary,
A+