HOLD STEADY with the big picture of American identity and nature. This is one of the editorial imperatives of putting together Behold The Earth. What does hold steady mean? A viewer hears a spoken observation or thought from one of our interviewees, and then experiences an interpretive visual sequence w/music. We linger. We hold steady for a bit. Eventually, we move to the next observation. In this way, landscape by landscape, we have a chance to recognize evidence of our identities and heritage.

A much pared-down version of something similar can be seen in the 65 episodes of our television series Sunrise Earth. In that series, however, we present no thoughts, no music, and far fewer edits.

I wonder…are the moments of holding steady similar to the first observations within a well-conceived scientific experiment? Or the stillness of having one day a week where we can find rest and some connection to a power larger than our own? Cal DeWitt told me about his discipline of humming Psalms as a soundtrack for his daily experiences. More on that from him soon.

Taking time to notice matters. During nearly 20 years of producing structured narrative film and television, I’ve often found that I depart a shoot location with a fairly low level of confidence that I’ve actually been there. We race around too much. And at the end, amidst good-byes with support crew and guests, I find myself feeling “I would really like to come here someday.”

The fixed recordings of Sunrise Earth NEVER evoke this feeling however. We leave, confident we’ve been.

Posted on May 27th, 2009 in Christians, Indie Film, Neo-Traditional Music, Scientists

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