BEHIND THE SCENES

Keep Cool was a huge challenge but an extremely fulfilling project. With only about 6 days of shooting spread out across two trips an entire year apart, we had limited resources, and the initial plan during the first shoot was to produce a 3-5 minute YouTube video. Thanks to the generous guidance of our partners, Zanzibar Holdings, we had the opportunity to meet and interview many more people than expected, and I knew this had to be a bigger story. The project gradually grew in scope in the edit, eventually landing at the 30 minute runtime of the final film.

From chasing after extremely fast tree planters across treacherous forest floors, to learning how to fly a drone to get the aerial shots for the film, this was a learning experience I will never forget. Fortunately, I had great help from my colleagues, especially fellow cameramen Everett Bumstead and Matthew Talarico. Likewise, huge thanks also to Tony and Nicole Harrison, who helped plan the logistics and arranged for us to see so many people and places in such a short span of time, making sure everyone was ready and available for us to film. I am extremely grateful for everyone’s time and participation during the production process, and I hope the film does justice to their story.

External links:
- IMDb page | Film Freeway page

Press/Interviews:
- RED Movie Awards: Exclusive Behind the Scenes interview
- Wildsound.ca: Podcast interview | Written interview | Audience feedback video

CREDITS

Creator/Editor/Narrator | Ed Akselrud

Executive Producer | Matt Hill

Camera Operation
Ed Akselrud
Everett Bumstead
Matthew Talarico

Logistics & Coordination
Tony Harrison
Nicole Harrison
Mike Madill
Taviana MacLeod
Stephanie Clement
Olivier Lavalee

Aerial Photography | Ed Akselrud

Quesnel Aerial | Jason Hamborg

Sound Mix | Tyler Swafford

Still Photography | Elyane Larocque

Drivers
George Timmins
Taviana MacLeod

Music | Musicbed.com