About this project

Mountains in Motion: The Canadian Rockies is a time-lapse documentary short about the life of the alpine landscape and the experiences of the people who have moved through it within past centuries.

PHASE 1 of the production is already complete. With help from you, and the Kickstarter community, we will be able to take this project into the final phase of shooting and post production. Please view the first official trailer below to get a taste of what this project is all about! You can read more about all the other details below the video.

OFFICIAL TRAILER//

As a time-lapse enthusiast, I wanted to create a TL documentary that offered more than just visuals. My plan was to create a film that would utilize time-lapse photography as the principal technique for acquiring the visuals while narration would provide a story of the deeply rooted history and geology of this incredible region. Professional time-lapse techniques capture the life of the landscape with the utilization of motion-control camera movements and a multi-month solar-powered time-lapse camera deployed into remote wilderness locations to capture seasonal change.

I’m heading up the project with Banff-based photographer and mountaineer, Paul Zizka. Atlanta composer, Michael Wynne, has joined the team to produce an original score while mountain culture journalist, Meghan J. Ward, assists with the script.

My inspiration for this documentary was initially sparked during a visit to Banff, Yoho & Jasper National Parks with my wife in 2010. The Canadian Rockies had a very strong effect on my interest of alpine landscapes. Perhaps it was due to the drastic contrast between the wilderness I was familiar with in the south east United States. Regardless, the seed of inspiration for Mountains in Motion: The Canadian Rockies had been sowed. I was now committed to create a film that would share my passion for the sedimentary rocks and glacial-fed turquoise waters that make the Canadian Rockies so beautiful with others around the world. Considering my geographical location in the United States over 2300 miles away from these mountains, I teamed up with a passionate photographer from Banff, Paul Zizka. Paul & I planned for the time-lapse project through numerous e-mails and eventually met face to face for the first time in March 2011 on my return trip the Banff. At this point in time, I had committed to personally funding the film out of my own pocket while we awaited word on an Alberta-funded grant we had applied for. I personally budgeted for a winter (March 2011) and summer (July 2011) shoot with the main expenses revolving around travel costs. The film officially began production in March 2011 when I traveled from Atlanta, GA, USA to Banff, Alberta, Canada for the first week of time-lapse production. The custom-built solar-powered D-SLR time-lapse camera that I spent weeks building in my garage travelled to Banff during this trip for it's debut. After a few tests and a debilitating shutter failure, we eventually deployed the SolarCamera for a 4 month time-lapse sequence of a thawing glacial lake. In late July 2011, I returned to Banff to continue shooting the documentary. This trip involved a mixture of easily accessible locations and remote back-country travel (without the use of horses or heli). I invited long time friend and avid trail runner, Guy Thorsby, to join the expedition and assist with gear and wilderness logistics throughout the 2 week journey. During this trip, we moved the solar-powered time-lapse camera to a new location with hopes of capturing more seasonal change and maybe even evidence of glacial recession. All of this was considered Phase 1 of production and it was a success with the unfortunate exception of being turned down for the grant we had applied for.

We need your help to raise funds for Phase 2. We’re shooting this project on location in the rugged and remote landscapes of Alberta and British Columbia within the three national parks formed around the Canadian Rockies: Banff(AB), Jasper (AB), & Yoho (BC) National Parks. Our 2012 budget will support travel expenses for our production as well as post production expenses and film festival submissions. Travel expenses from Atlanta to Alberta are a large portion of the budget, but I would also like to fairly compensate major players in the film for their contribution to the project. The production team has already agreed to donate their time for the project--- but they deserve to have some extra funds to pay their bills too. Please note, I will not be personally collecting any money from this campaign, I simply want to see the project through completion with the upmost focus on quality and viewer experience.

With help from you, we will be able to take this project into the final phase of shooting and post production. Please join us and become part of the Mountains in Motion project!  We would greatly appreciate your efforts to pass this along to friends and family, post it on your blog, Twitter and Facebook pages... help get the word out to others who might take interest in Mountains in Motion: The Canadian Rockies.

The final film premiere goal is set for the 2012 Banff Mountain Film Festival.

Please remember, this is an all or nothing fund-raising campaign. If the project goal is not met, Kickstarter will return your donation. Let's make this happen and reach our goal!

MiM CREW_______________________________________________________

• Doug Urquhart - Director / Time-lapse Photographer / Post-Production
• Paul Zizka - A. Director / Time-lapse Photographer / Mountain Guide
• Michael Wynne - Original Score / Sound design / Mixing
• Meghan J. Ward - Writer
• Guy Thorsby - Wilderness Logistics / Trail running ninja
• Brian Manley - Logo Design
• Dan Evans - supporting TL photography / powder guru
• Yuichi Takasaka - supporting astro time-lapse photography
• Karen Urquhart - Producer
• Jennier Rice-Morton - Travel logistics
• Hugh Kelly - Narrator, Speedy Spots
• SPECIAL THANKS to Oscar @ Aperturent.com for gear hook-ups!
• SPECIAL THANKS to Jay & Chris @ Dynamic Perception.
• SPECIAL THANKS to Erik Huber @ Upthink

Select scenes from MiM were projected 80 feet wide on the Georgia State University campus in July & August 2011. More info here.

http://mountainsinmotion.ca/

PLEDGE UPDATE 11-07-2011

For those of you in North America who want a view of our home galaxy this winter from the convenience of your home, I'm now also offering prints of the Milky Way from a recent trip to Hawaii in place of the MiM print. I have produced a few prints for my own enjoyment and they look amazing @ 8x10 and the panoramic Milky Way shots look incredible @ 15 1/4 x 19 1/4 (see pledge options to the right). If you want a Milky Way print please let me know after you pledge. You will receive your print in January 2012 after the funding is complete. All other Mountains in Motion material (i.e. disc, etc) will deliver separately in Fall 2012.

A few of my favorite Milky Way images available for print displayed below (see more on my Flickr page):

A FEW PHOTOS FROM OUR 2011 EFFORTS__________________________

View the complete galley on Flickr.

Meg, Shannon, Guy & Doug preparing dinner @ Iceberg Lake.

Doug ascends the final moraine to Iceberg Lake with the Dynamic Perception dolly.

Sunrise in Paradise Valley

Sunset @ Silverhorn Creek w/ Mt. Weed visible in the distance

We stumbled across a Coyote den with 4 curious pups in K-Country

A very frozen Canon 7D & Dynamic Perception rig

The SolarCam survived it's first winter in the Canadian Rockies.

Winter sunrise @ Bow Lake

Testing the SolarCam in freezing conditions.

Hanging out @ Bow Lake for the afternoon.

Utilizing a natural block of ice to rig the moco dolly

SolarCam deployment #2

Winter Aspen moco pass

Summer Aspen moco pass

Setting up a mutli-axis moco shot @ Castle Mtn