BACK TO THE HUDSON
5 YEARS ON…
ROSS FERRIER | 17 SEPT 2024
This September we got the opportunity to head back to the Hudson River to link up with our good friends at Ninth Wave Global and partner on a new documentary piece exploring the historic link between music and activism in the Hudson Valley.
We spent 10 days behind the camera shadowing folk music collective 'The Hudson River Incidentals' as they travelled the river by canoe, playing gigs at their stop-off points along the journey. It was a privilege to engage with the various communities throughout the Hudson Valley as locals, young and old, shared stories of their personal connections to the music culture over the years.
It is unusual for us to get the chance to revisit the sites of our previous adventures but it was rewarding to return to the Hudson River 5 years on and document the progress being made in this ongoing restoration project while reconnecting with old friends along the way.
One of the most attractive elements of this project was that it afforded us a diverse range of shooting opportunities. Every day was unique and might see us shooting stunning landscapes, incredible wildlife, music performances in fascinating locations and sitting down with some wonderful people to record real stories of the Hudson Valley.
It wasn't all plain sailing however. There are many challenges shooting a documentary when the whole kit truck has to fit into two rucksacks so that it can be transported on canoe. It is definitely not easy shooting with long lenses, balancing as the boat sways with the water. The Sony FX6 cinema camera was certainly put through its paces but its modular design allowed us to run a lightweight set up, that was much more stripped back compared to our usual larger camera rig, while at the same time still being able to offer the high-end shooting capability that the film required.
After 10 days of adventure along the river, the team travelled through the canal locks of the Erie Canal which links the Hudson River with the Mohawk River in an annual event alongside more than 130 other canoes and kayaks. It was an epic spectacle and the festival atmosphere made a fitting end to our long and tiring journey.
