Filming Sleeping Bear Dunes in four seasons

From staff reports

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore wants to update the introductory film it shows tourists at the National Lakeshore’s Visitor Center in Empire. That film is dated and shows images of people on the Dune Climb in the 1970s and ’80s. It’s time to move into the 21st century with modern imagery, say Park Service staff. That’s why the National Lakeshore secured funding to contract with the Richmond, Virginia-based film company Orange Frame to produce a new Sleeping Bear film, which the Lakeshore hopes to unveil in 2020. 

Crew from Orange Frame has filmed in northern Michigan twice in 2018—during winter and spring (you’ll remember that extras were sought in January to snowshoe, sled, cross-country ski, or ice fish on camera). The crew will return later this month to capture summer footage. The Sun spoke with Orange Frame production manager Christine Lockerby about the progress they’re making and her impressions of Sleeping Bear.

Glen Arbor Sun: How many times has your film crew visited Sleeping Bear to film? Which seasons so far? And when do you hope to complete the film?

Christine Lockerby: So far we have filmed at Sleeping Bear Dunes twice, in winter and in spring. We’re coming back in late August for a summer shoot, and will also capture footage in the fall. The film will be finished by late 2019, then the park will determine the release date.

Sun: What were your first, second and third impressions of Sleeping Bear, and the region? Where have you stayed? Where have you eaten, etc.?

Lockerby: We had never been to northern Michigan before starting this project, and didn’t know what to expect. We were blown away by how beautiful the area is, Sleeping Bear Dunes in particular. It’s been great visiting throughout the seasons too, the experience is so different each time. And everyone we’ve met is so friendly and welcoming.  

We usually stay in Airbnbs, there are a lot of great options in the area and being in one house makes it easier for our crew to do all the after-hours work like prepping gear and managing media. We’ve stayed all over the place, from Platte Lake to the Lake Leelanau area. We’ve tried a lot of great restaurants, I think Shipwreck Cafe in Empire has become our favorite lunch spot.

Sun: What would you share (about this region) with someone who’s never been?

Lockerby: It’s a beautiful, surprisingly diverse area with something for everyone. We were shocked to realize that the same place we saw people ice fishing in winter is also a popular wine region. You can have a rugged wilderness experience or a lazy beach day, there’s great outdoor recreation but also fascinating cultural history to explore. I can’t imagine anyone coming here and being bored.  

Sun: Any particular challenges or hurdles associated with filming or producing this film? By contrast, what’s been the biggest advantage with this project?

Lockerby: This is a really unique project because we are filming at a very large, incredibly diverse park over the course of four drastically different seasons. Starting the project in winter was a fun challenge, our crew had to adapt to filming on snowshoes, which most of us had never used before. But we got the hang of it! And then trying to plan each seasonal shoot is tough because the seasons can change so quickly and unpredictably. We scheduled our spring shoot in mid-May, when it could have been snowing or might already look like summer. We got lucky and conditions were perfect, but I’m sure we’ll have similar challenges timing our fall shoot with the changing leaves.

Sometimes the park’s diversity works to our advantage, though. When you’re filming almost entirely outdoors, you’re at the mercy of the weather, and if it doesn’t cooperate you have to change plans last minute. But with the park being so big, there’s usually somewhere else we can go to get other shots and make the best use of our time. We’re lucky to have amazing support from park staff, who have been incredibly helpful at suggesting last-minute contingency plans and alternate locations. Their knowledge of the park is crucial when we have to adapt quickly to changing conditions.

Sun: What other kinds of projects has Orange Frame undertaken of late? How does this project compare?

Lockerby: We recently finished a series of videos for the Florida Panhandle Shipwreck Trail, filming with underwater archaeologists at eight shipwrecks off the Florida coast. We’ve been working on several history-related documentaries in Virginia, and also another NPS film at Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument (in Idaho), which focuses on paleontology and related sciences. All of our projects are fascinating to us, and each comes with its own unique challenges, such as filming underwater with a 360-degree camera setup at 130 feet deep. But Sleeping Bear Dunes is probably the most logistically intensive film we’re working on right now, due to the park’s size and complexity and the fact that we’re filming over the course of a year. It’s really nice, though, to spend this much time on one project and really get to know a place. I think that familiarity, and the connections we’re building over time, are not just personally rewarding but also will be evident in the final films we produce.