Great Day For Climbing

Great Day For Climbing was my entry into the 2007 Banff Mountain Film Festival and the UK's Kendal Mountain Film Festival. Being selected as a finalist from the hundreds of entries to these two prestigious events was a huge honor. Great Day also toured with the Banff MFF world tour in 2007-2008.

Tell a story and know your audience.  The "no-budget" project Great Day For Climbing is a spoof on musicals.  In spite of resistance from many sources, I had confidence that this 7 minute short would be appropriate for the audiences that might be viewing this film in concert with serious high budget films on human drama, environmentalism, and adrenaline. It was created as an emotional break, a chance to relax and revel in some silliness for a few minutes between more serious films. This was exactly how it was received, although feedback from Banff indicated that it was more a hit with the older crowd and a bit of a headshaker for the younger set. Considering that everyone involved was over 50, maybe this was not surprising. In any event, it is a testament that content rules and if your story and idea are sound, you don't have to spend a fortune to produce a film. I am always delighted to see that Banff and Kendal allow for the "little guy" in their festivals along with the famous, well funded and connected.

Steve C on the green screenIn staying with the no budget requirement, I called upon friends to Craig actually 3 feet off the groundplay the parts. Everyone exhibited good humor and patience as we filmed various scenes. The use of standard DV allowed for minimal green screening of certain parts that had to be added later or faked.

Great Day For Climbing is now in the catalog with Steepedge, a new service in 2011 that allows customers to download adventure films not normally available for very reasonable prices. download adventure films at Steepedge