Q&A With Primal Quest TV Director Tim Powell
Posted on 07/01/08 10:15 AM| by Kraig
By Craig Stein
July 1, 2008 - Big Sky, Montana
As Primal Quest Montana 2008 approaches it’s conclusion on Thursday July, 2 most of the major filming on the project has been completed. The program is already being edited and producers will deliver (4) half-hour episodes to Rush HD in mid October, 2008. Rush will begin promoting the broadcast sixty days in advance of the premiere. Details will be posted on the PQ website as they become available.
Director Tim Powell kindly agreed to take time out of his slam-packed shooting schedule to answer some questions from the Primal Quest media staff.
Q: Tim, what is your history in the AR community? What races have you been involved with and in what capacity?
A: I was a Producer on Eco Challenge British Columbia and Eco Challenge Borneo, and Supervising Producer/Director on Eco Challenge New Zealand, Eco Challenge Fiji and Armed Forces Eco Challenge. I was also Producer/Director on Raid Gauloises Ecuador and Raid Gauloises Nepal.
Q: How has your big wall climbing experience influenced your extreme sport film career?
A: My adventure background, especially climbing and mountaineering, is a huge asset for understanding the sport of adventure racing as well as understanding the mindset of the racers. If I am able to climb alongside them with a camera, or follow them through mountains or jungles, it gives me a unique insight into the experience that they go through, as well as giving me a bit more credibility as one of their peers rather than just a film producer.
Q: What kind of experience does your TV crew have that relates to being able to film such an intense event like PQ?
A: With these types of extreme events, the crew must be hand-picked. There is a balance between television experience and the ability to work effectively in the outdoors. With camera teams following competitors through extreme terrain in the worst of conditions, there are really very few people in the world that are able to handle the harsh environments and still keep filming. The racers are world class athletes at the top of their sport and the field camera crews have to also be world class. They must carry everything the racers carry in terms of safety equipment and carry a camera and extra batteries. While the teams are pushing through focused on winning a race, the camera team must not only keep up, but be able to move ahead, pull out the camera and get the shot. When conditions are miserable and the racers are struggling just to survive, the camera teams are also struggling just to survive. However, they still must have the energy to pull out the camera and shoot. They must also be expert filmmakers with the ability to tell a complex story. It is a rare talent and only a handful of people in the world are really good at it. Those are the people that we have here. We also have camera operators that also function as story producers. Again, their task is daunting as they are managing a story that is unfolding twenty-four hours a day for ten days, in all kinds of terrain and weather, over a five-hundred mile course. We happen to have some of the best I’ve ever worked with.
Q: How does this event compare to others you have produced as far as budget, talent of your crew, etc.?
A: This event has a much more limited budget than Eco Challenge. This focuses to concentrate more on personal stories and makes logistics of moving camera teams around the course much more challenging. However, I feel that this year’s Primal Quest series will be the best that I have done. We have some great stories and this has been an extremely challenging course.
Q: What are some of the main challenges involved with directing a documentary style program covering such an expedition length adventure race?
A: These events involve huge logistical challenges as well as stretching the boundaries of film production. As a director, my job is finding the best people to work with. Producer Renee Humbert and Suzanne Mercado have been two of the best people I have ever worked with. The production elements have run flawlessly and Renee’s creativity and experience make my job much easier. Renee and Suzanne deserve all of the credit for making the television production happen. Also, Don Mann has been great to work with. He has given us the ability to decide how best to cover the race and has provided excellent support to the television effort. As busy as he is with the event and making sure the racers have a great experience, he always finds time to work with us and his positive energy lifts the spirits of the crew.
Q: Going forward, do you see yourself working with Primal Quest on future race productions?
A: I look forward to continuing my relationship with Primal Quest and next year’s event has a lot of momentum. We hope to expand the reach of television distribution and also expand our coverage next year.
Rush HD, www.RushHD.com, is the only HD channel dedicated soley to action sports. Rush HD is part of the Voom HD Networks, a subsidiary of Rainbow Media Holdings. It is available on Cablevision and Dish Networks.
Primal Quest and Rush have partnered on a three year license agreement for Primal Quest to be aired in North America and Worldwide territories in the High Definition format. Rush was an intregal part of expanding the planned coverage for 2008 with Rush Executive Producer, Rob Faris and Rush Supervising Producer, Stefan Van Engen adding valuable insight to the creative and technical aspects of the Primal Quest Montana 2008 programming.
Primal Quest has been approached and is in discussion with some of the fasting growing and top rated cable networks in North America to broadcast the program in Standard Definition. This broadcast would follow two months after the Hi Def premiere on RUSH HD. More details are expected to be announced by the end of third quarter, 2008.
In addition, Primal Quest is also working to secure Standard Definition license agreements in several countries outside the US including Europe and Australia. Opportunities are available for PQ partners to become presenting sponsors of the HD and Standard Definition Broadcasts.
