Quicksand Fans

Hi.

Just out of curiosity, I was wondering about all the people who put out videos for sale and all the people who put videos in the Home Movies section. Where do you film? Where are your locations? I'm not looking for specific addresses or even specific cities, just general areas. Northern Michigan, southern Illinois on the banks of the Mississippi, etc, would be fine. Studio 588 is in Arkansas. The archenemys folks seem to be in Maine, I think. Kaol used to film in Chester, Illinois on the banks of the Mississippi. A couple named Dwayne and Carla were in the Pacific Northwest. MPV is in California (which part?). But what part of the country are Nessie, Pamela Rose, and Devilclown filming in? Some years ago, wasn't there a woman named Chris who also filmed in the Pacific Northwest? Where did Demanding Urge do his stuff? I get the impression the Upper Midwest may be more active then I would think, sitting here in Indiana.

Second location question for the filmmakers. When you are preparing to film a scene out in nature, how do you know the mud will be deep enough for the scene? Is there some physical feature that tells you this mud should be very deep? I ask this having recently watched "Little black dress", cavewomen 2, and the new Krystal quicksand clip, and having seen the preview for "compulsive sinker".

Thanks,

Bob St./

I can only answer with reference to my own experience. First of all, yes Studio 588 is in Arkansas but that is really irrelevant to what I think your question is really about. All the pits at the Studio are man-made. Regarding the recognition of natural areas as suitably deep for sinking (which I think is what you really meant to ask about) I think the answer is you just can't tell from appearances. From what I understand, also, your can tell all that much from prior experience either. What was 15 feet deep last year might be bone dry or all water this year, especially along a river.

russty wrote:Hi.

Just out of curiosity, I was wondering about all the people who put out videos for sale and all the people who put videos in the Home Movies section. Where do you film? Where are your locations? I'm not looking for specific addresses or even specific cities, just general areas. Northern Michigan, southern Illinois on the banks of the Mississippi, etc, would be fine. Studio 588 is in Arkansas. The archenemys folks seem to be in Maine, I think. Kaol used to film in Chester, Illinois on the banks of the Mississippi. A couple named Dwayne and Carla were in the Pacific Northwest. MPV is in California (which part?). But what part of the country are Nessie, Pamela Rose, and Devilclown filming in? Some years ago, wasn't there a woman named Chris who also filmed in the Pacific Northwest? Where did Demanding Urge do his stuff? I get the impression the Upper Midwest may be more active then I would think, sitting here in Indiana.

Second location question for the filmmakers. When you are preparing to film a scene out in nature, how do you know the mud will be deep enough for the scene? Is there some physical feature that tells you this mud should be very deep? I ask this having recently watched "Little black dress", cavewomen 2, and the new Krystal quicksand clip, and having seen the preview for "compulsive sinker".

Thanks,

Bob St./

russty wrote:Hi.

Just out of curiosity, I was wondering about all the people who put out videos for sale and all the people who put videos in the Home Movies section. Where do you film? Where are your locations? I'm not looking for specific addresses or even specific cities, just general areas. Northern Michigan, southern Illinois on the banks of the Mississippi, etc, would be fine. Studio 588 is in Arkansas. The archenemys folks seem to be in Maine, I think. Kaol used to film in Chester, Illinois on the banks of the Mississippi. A couple named Dwayne and Carla were in the Pacific Northwest. MPV is in California (which part?). But what part of the country are Nessie, Pamela Rose, and Devilclown filming in? Some years ago, wasn't there a woman named Chris who also filmed in the Pacific Northwest? Where did Demanding Urge do his stuff? I get the impression the Upper Midwest may be more active then I would think, sitting here in Indiana.

Second location question for the filmmakers. When you are preparing to film a scene out in nature, how do you know the mud will be deep enough for the scene? Is there some physical feature that tells you this mud should be very deep? I ask this having recently watched "Little black dress", cavewomen 2, and the new Krystal quicksand clip, and having seen the preview for "compulsive sinker".

Thanks,

Bob St./

PRP films in central Wisconsin at Trollwood Studios. We have a peat pit, and now two clay pits all man made. Filming in natural settings you never know what you will get as Fred has stated.

We are pretty well shorn of clay and real mud. But if you're willing to go with peat, where I'm at ain't bad.

I never get more specific online than "America, North, And Mostly In The Middle.".

russty wrote:Second location question for the filmmakers. When you are preparing to film a scene out in nature, how do you know the mud will be deep enough for the scene? Is there some physical feature that tells you this mud should be very deep? I ask this having recently watched "Little black dress", cavewomen 2, and the new Krystal quicksand clip, and having seen the preview for "compulsive sinker".

I know nothing 'til I've gotten into it.

The routine goes like this:

During the off-season, I'll Google-Map and paper-map my way to potential locations. I figure I need the exercise anyway. I target wet places on public parklands and go to them. I can't tell if it's going to be deep but it's not hard to see what won't work, because by now I know what kind of plants grow where there's mud, and I know what grows when it's dry. So if I see frozen brown grass, it's dry, but if I see frozen mud plants, it's got potential.

So I start crossing stuff off the list. Sometimes I hike and sometimes I bike through trails, but I've dragged my bike through some mighty interesting places...going through a foot of icy slushy water can be a challenge.

By spring I'll have a list of stuff that's not crossed off the list. When it's thawing, I start investigating these in my cold-weather mud gear. I get off the trails and into the marshes and start crawling over everything, usually in my waders with a couple layers of sweats beneath.

Pretty much, at this point, there's only two things that can happen:

I sink enough to make me happy...or I don't.

If I don't sink, I move on. If I'm happy with it, though, then I keep it.

I find shooting clips somewhat distracting and, for me anyway, it's easy to do stupid things when my mind more is on getting a shot than anything else. So I don't shoot until I've had some practice with the site.

By the time I post a clip here, I already knew how deep it was.

I can't answer the question on what producers do to insure that their natural sites will work with a model. I can't imagine that there is any other answer, though, than for the producer to do for his model exactly what I do for me. Which is to go there himself, hop in, and see if it works before getting out the camera.

Sites can change so much and in such short periods of time that I can't help but think that any other approach (such as just showing up and praying for mud) is financially risky.

Nessie

How do you find deep mud? Trial & error! Go to a likely spot river,mudflats,quarry & explore. This is half-well 1/3-of the fun & just keep looking for the best places.How do you tell? Step in & try. Last Sat I went to a clay pit & searched,spent 1/2 hr trying likely spots & went knee deep a few times & then at last nothing to show on top but I sank slowly surely to my neck as I struggled & spent nearly 1/2hr getting out again!