Filming On Location: Enchanted Rock

Under the blistering Texas sun we climbed the hill like we owned it and then we took the best shot we could.

Our current project, The Inner Sonic Key required a scene where someone is meditating on a hill amongst a blanket of flowers and a picturesque backdrop. With a few different angles, one person in the shot, no audio, it seemed like a fairly simple project. Originally we planned the shoot during April this year at Turkey Bend, TX where the blue bonnets go on as far as the eyes can see. It was the perfect spot with plenty of wide open spaces and some cool rolling hills. I had been there the year before scouting the location and knew it would be perfect. However when I arrived this year the landscape had totally changed. The massive amounts of rain that central Texas had received in Spring 2016 had caused the river to rise above the bluebonnet meadow, drowning out most of the blue bonnets. So we scrapped the blue bonnet idea and continued to search for another adequate location.

After looking online for a few days it finally dawned on me that the perfect location was just an hour and a half drive from Austin –Enchanted Rock.  Elevated and isolated in the Texas hill country, it was the ideal location without the worry of any curious onlookers.  It was also scenic, huge, and historically mystical.

As an added bonus we decided to use a drone for some aerial shots hovering up and over the meditator. This would look amazing since the drone would reveal the incredible size of this place. I had no experience with drones but I knew a videographer that did.  Jason Smith had done some projects involving aerial drone footage so I felt confident he would be great for the job. With Jerry’s storyboards and Jason’s expertise of filming we were set.  I just needed a couple of willing subjects who were willing to be actors for a day.

Enchanted Rock National Park – Photo Courtesy of Texas Parks & Wildlife

On the morning of June 10th, we arrived bright and early to Enchanted Rock hoping to be the only ones there. Unfortunately we weren’t. There must have been at least 100 people who’d already arrived with the same idea – to beat the heat. That didn’t discourage us. We just had to find a way to do the shoot around them. We all eagerly hiked up the massive hill in front of us, back packs full of gear and water. It was a challenging haul and halfway up I wondered why I didn’t hire more assistants.

Eight hours under the Texas sun was probably a little longer than we needed to be but we all survived. Darla Deal and Alyssa Hudson were my two actors who did a fantastic job under Jason’s detailed camera work. Jordan was my assistant who did most of the behind the scenes footage as well as a half dozen other tasks. Overall it was a successful shoot and we had a lot of fun.  Hopefully some of it will make the cut. Until then here is a short behind the scenes video.

For more information on The Inner Sonic Key go to the website at http://www.innersonickey.com