Petroglyph National Monument

It has now been 6 months since we began showing “A Beautiful Mystery” and we continue to receive daily positive comments. As you recall, the story line of the park is rather complex and other conventional interpretive means are often just not as effective as the visual and graphic masterpiece that your created.

I feel blessed that you were selected to create the Petroglyph National Monument film. We reviewed several other companies nationwide and their films, but were struck by the sensitivity with which Great Divide handled Native American issues. Oftentimes Native Americans are portrayed as coming from a culture of the past. In the Petroglyph National Monument film you were able to show a respect for cultural tradition but bring the audience up to the present, where the Native Americans are a part of today’s world.

I must admit that I was worried about how the film was going to share the Pueblo perspective. You managed to have thoughtful yet sensitive questions and prompts that enabled the interviewees to feel at ease. All of them commented to me that they felt your interest was in helping them tell their own stories.

In addition to your patience, your humor and your sincere desire to make this an award winning film, we all are in awe of your spectacular video shots and camera angles.

Thanks you again for this Beautiful Mystery!

Sincerely,
Diane Souder
Chief of Interpretation and Outreach
Petroglyph National Monument

Casa Grande Ruins National Monument

The film you produced for Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, Casa Grande: A House of Many Stories, has exceeded our expectations. Our entire staff and representatives of our traditionally associated tribes who assisted with the project are pleased with the film. This is high praise, considering the many sensitivities involved in producing a film that represents multiple perspectives.

You demonstrated cultural awareness, a respectful and receptive manner of interacting with participants, and careful consideration of all viewpoints—based on science, oral tradition, and Native American spiritual beliefs—throughout this project. All participants, from archeologists and craftspeople to tribal elders, were treated with consideration and respect.

One of our goals for the movie was to provide opportunities for the audience to make their own intellectual and emotional connections with not only the past but with contemporary Native American cultures. We believe you achieved this goal by structuring the film around the voices and heartfelt comments of the people who are most closely associated with the monument. Viewers will leave the film affected by the people and the place.

Monument staff is particularly impressed with the carefully developed interview format and the sensitive and insightful questions asked of representatives from traditionally associated tribes. In addition to providing a framework for much of the movie script, the unedited film footage of these interviews includes such thoughtful and informative responses that we plan to use it as the beginnings of a new ethnographic archive for the monument.

Our appreciation of your phenomenal photography, production of an evocative musical score that reflects the unique nature of our site and cultural nuances that distinguish the O’odham tribes from other American Indian cultures, and the integration of modern animation technology to provide views of virtually reconstructed archeological structures, cannot be overstated.

Working with you and your staff from Great Divide Pictures has been a pleasure. We will be proud to show the new film for years to come. I would be happy to recommend you to other national park sites with similar projects.

Sincerely,
Carol West
Chief Ranger

Shiloh National Military Park

Chris was extremely patient listening to what we wanted and then working together with us to condense the complex story of Shiloh into a manageable half hour version that is both clear and entertaining. We are very excited over what Chris has “in the can” after our on-site shoot. (I might add we used a large number of re-enactors on both of our recent projects and the positive relationship Chris and his crew built with these folks was like night and day compared to our experience with the previous company.) If you can get Great Divide to handle your project, they will be a wonderful choice. I think you will find Chris to be a true partner rather than just a government contractor.

Woody Harrell
Superintendent
Shiloh National Military Park

Glacier National Park

We recently completed a major exhibit project for the Saint Mary Visitor Center at Glacier National Park. These exhibits look specifically at tribal perspectives (Blackfeet, Salish, Kootenai, Pend d’Oreille) about the land we today call Glacier National Park. A major component of the exhibit project is a series of short videos based on interviews with tribal elders and leaders. As envisioned by the designer, these videos were to show elders telling traditional stories. While this idea had merit, we ended up with something much more powerful…something that has really touched visitors in unexpected and positive ways. I am thankful we selected Chris Wheeler and Great Divide Pictures for this work. Chris brought a sense of vision and understanding of working with tribes to our project and gave us a powerful look at personal and wider tribal relationships with the park. Chris was masterful while working with tribal elders. He set them at ease, showed patience and tact during each interview, and helped provide a bridge between the park and the tribes. We got some very emotional and provocative responses that help visitors see the very deep and spiritual connection between the tribes and the park. Great Divide Pictures then put these interviews into a storytelling format along with spectacular park footage and historic photos. Each short video became an entryway into a different world as tribal elders shared very personal connections with the park. Instead of simply sharing traditional stories, Chris’ vision gave us a look at the past, present, and future relationship between local tribes and the park. Chris and his team did a great job with all aspects of our project – design, photography, interviewing, editing, and final production. The entire staff at Great Divide provided outstanding customer service and often went beyond what was required to make their product better. We greatly appreciate their effort and hope to work with them again.

Mark Wagner
Hudson Bay District Interpreter
Glacier National Park

Pipestone National Monument

I would like to express my appreciation to Chris and Sonny for the outstanding work they did in producing the Monument’s new orientation film. It was evident from the beginning, during the review of their proposal for this project that they had the experience and understanding to produce the film we envisioned. Their ability to listen to the park staff and make changes as the ongoing review process evolved was fantastic. They conducted numerous interviews of American Indians in developing the story of the film, with many of the people very complimentary of the sensitivity and understanding Chris and Sonny demonstrated during that process. They quickly grasped the spiritual sensitivity of the pipestone story and treated it with respect, a personal attribute I highly regarded, which developed a level of trust they consistently lived up to. I am extremely satisfied with the final film and feel fortunate to have had the opportunity of having Chris and Sonny produce it.
Glen H. Livermont
Superintendent
Pipestone National Monument

St. Croix National Scenic Riverway

Great Divide was selected by the park to create the new St. Croix NSR movie based on their previous work. Throughout the process they have been great to work with. After listening to the park describe what we wanted in a movie, they have focused on getting us that movie. Their film footage is beautiful, and the rough cut that we are currently reviewing is being very positively received by park staff. We expect that the movie will fulfill the desired goal of providing an opportunity for an emotional as well as an intellectual connection between park visitors and the river. We appreciate the extra efforts they have made to make this a movie we will be proud to show for many years.

Jean Schaeppi-Anderson
Cultural Resource/Interpretive Specialist
St. Croix National Scenic Riverway

John Muir National Historic Site

Great Divide produced a 22-minute orientation film for John Muir National Historic Site, the first site-specific film in the history of the park. The film provides the viewer an opportunity to connect to both Muir’s national significance as a preservationist and his life in the context of the house and orchards preserved by the historic site. The film’s content sets the stage for the visitor’s experience in Muir’s home. The film, shot in High Definition, is beautiful to watch and provides a cohesive, well told, and tightly knit story.

It was a wonderful experience working with the staff and producers at Great Divide Pictures. They provided excellent guidance to the entire process, from script writing to final production. As their client, I was directly involved with many aspects of the creative process including providing source material, script review, music selection and the final cut of the film. They also took time during the shoot to talk about and share with me different facets of the process such as how they were going to frame a scene, light a room, or edit different camera shots into a single scene.

David K. Blackburn
Chief of Interpretation
John Muir National Historic Site